I don't own anything. All the characters belong to Kurt Sutter. I'm just playing with his toys.
I am so sorry I did not get to update when I usually do. My computer was having massive problems and had to be reset and wiped, which took nearly two days. I didn't lose any of my work, but I wasn't able to edit and revise everything like I normally do, which made it impossible to update. And unfortunately, I won't be updating this weekend because I'm traveling out of town to see some relatives, but I will update again next week.
I want to thank you all again for the reviews and all the love this story is getting. The response is still surprising (in a good way) and I love having all this feedback. So, AngieInWonderland, Karina, ee, sbcorn, Lein-Wan, Brandy, and Guest-reviewer, thank you so very much. I also want to thank the person who took the time to send me a PM and check to see if I was updating. I was glad that I was able to get a word in to someone that this was going to be updated and I wasn't just off of it for awhile.
So, please keep reading, review and enjoying!
10. Atonement
Holly couldn't just wax Paul whenever she felt like she needed to find a zen moment or two. Retail therapy was out since she still had to pay Pop's medical bills and every extra penny she spent needed to go to paying for college. She was thinking someplace where it either rained a lot or snowed a lot. That way, the weather would match her mood. So, she'd taken up yoga. She'd bought a "Yoga for Dummies" book and now she was sprawled out in the backyard trying to figure out how twisting herself into a proverbial pretzel was supposed to be something even a beginner could do. She wasn't sure she was that flexible and it was really hard to concentrate with school looming over her head like a thundercloud.
It was seven in the morning and she'd gotten up extra early for this. It was two weeks since the party and today was Valentine's day, the worst day in the world for anyone who was having problems in their love life or lack thereof. Holly fell somewhere in the middle of both categories and she was cool with that. Except for when it was Valentine's Day and she had to go to school and watch every other girl there get flowers or chocolate or a stuffed animal or all three. Fuck that noise. If perfect attendance hadn't been such a big deal to her, she would have called in sick.
After another five minutes, Holly finally went back into the house and took a shower. She was showered, dressed and leaving the house with thirty minutes to spare and falling back into the same rhythm she'd had before she'd gotten tangled up with the club and its least friendly member. It felt different from before, but it felt better than the second-guessing and indecision she'd been floundering in for the past several months. She was on the path she should be and that was what mattered.
She dropped Sully off at Scoops, having called ahead to see if Chuck would be willing to keep an eye on her wayward mongrel for her. And then she was off to school. Students were everywhere and Holly parked her car and threw herself into the mass without a backward glance. It was a whirl of notes and lectures and watching every single girl in school receive cards and candy and flowers. The entire building smelled like a flower shop and it was overwhelming. She'd seen Janet and her boyfriend, Andy, walking arm in arm through the hallways with starry eyes. Janet had an armful of roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.
It was easy to ignore all the romantic displays before her, save for the smell. And when school was over, Holly breathed a sigh of relief until she left her last class and stepped out onto the first step outside the building. Happy Lowman was sitting on his Harley, parked beside her car looking agitated and as friendly as ever. Holly had a split second to register his presence when Aaron Foster caught her attention. "Hey, uh, Holly," he called to her and she turned toward him, ready to tell him she wasn't in the mood for bullshit from anyone today when she noticed the large bouquet of Gerber daisies. She stared at them for a moment and then looked up at him. His cheeks were redder than normal and he was holding the flowers out toward her. Holy shit, a boy bought her flowers for Valentine's Day.
Holly took them with wide eyes. "Uh, thanks?"
"Happy Valentine's Day, Holly," he managed to mumble and then he stepped around her and down the steps out into the parking lot. Holly watched after him at a loss for words and then looked down at the flowers. They were colorful and they didn't smell nearly as bad as she'd expected them to. And it was kind of nice getting flowers after all. Even if it was a useless gesture. She shrugged to herself and walked down to her car, still staring at the flowers as she tried to understand why he had given them to her.
Did that mean he actually did like her? There was always a chance Cammie had put him up to it. It was a very real possibility that she needed to consider. But if he really did like her, she needed to figure out a way to tell him she wasn't at all interested. He was starting to look like a really nice guy, but she was just getting back to getting her priorities straight and she wasn't about to let another guy ruin it for her.
She unlocked her car and slung her backpack into the backseat, looking over the vehicle to the still silent biker. "What do you want."
But Happy wasn't looking at her. He was busy glaring at the flowers she was holding. Then he looked up at her with a pointed expression. "Today is Valentine's Day." She didn't say anything else and they continued their silent stare down until Holly decided she'd had enough. "Look, not that this isn't the most stimulating non-conversation that I've ever had, but I have things I need to be doing. I have to get to work-"
"Where have you been?"
"None of your business," she snapped. Who did he think he was? What gave him the right to know where she was? It wasn't any of his business. It would never be his business. "What, are you stalking me now? What do you care anyway?" Ignoring her words, he spoke again. "Your spare key is gone."
"I moved it."
"Why?" She hadn't expected him to ask her outright, but she refused to let him see any other emotion but indifference. "Because I don't want you coming over anymore. I want you to stay away from me. I don't like you. I hate your stupid face and your stupid tattoos and your stupid bike. Go away." Well, that hadn't been the most mature way of telling someone to fuck off, but it would have to do.
His face closed off further and Holly waited for the angry threat she was sure was on the tip of his tongue. But Happy remained silent. He started up his Harley and sped off. Holly climbed into her car and sat there for a moment. That had been for the best. And what exactly had he expected? For her to make some glib comment about how much of a badass biker he was? No, she wasn't going to be doing that anymore. Not now and not ever. And he needed to get over it, just like she was.
The dogs and cats had all been fed and watered and they weren't scheduled to be groomed for at least another day. She was in the back office, converting more files and bopping her head along to the radio as she sipped her coffee. She was on the last one and she was almost done. Greg was in the cat area administering meds. None of the cats liked him. She could hear some of them hissing.
With the last file finished, she scooted her chair out and grabbed her mug and went to sit at the front desk and get some homework done. She had to read two chapters from her history textbook and it was killing her. Two pages in and she had her feet thrown up on the desk, while she pulled her hair over her face, right above her upper lip, and sang along to some nineties pop song by the Backstreet Boys, purposely lowering her voice as far as she could.
"What are you doing?"
She leaned further back in the chair and looked over at Greg. He was probably trying to give her some sort of reproving look, but instead it looked like he was trying to do his taxes in his head. "I'm pretending I have a moustache. What are you doing?"
He blinked at her, like a big, dumb cow and then went into the break room. "Sweep the floor."
Holly stuck her tongue out at his back and went to snatch the broom from the janitor's closet and started sweeping the vestibule. The vestibule was always spotless, they hardly ever had anyone come in. Greg was just trying to give her busy work. She got half way through sweeping before she was trying to swing the broom around like a bo-staff.
"Holly, just finish your homework," Greg told her, standing in the break room doorway with a frown on his face.
"Killjoy," she muttered gloomily. She really hated history. It was so boring. She put the broom back up and slumped down in the desk chair, propping her chin up in one hand as she leant over the textbook and began reading, writing down dates of interest. Someone rang the bell and she looked up with a smile. "Hi, how can I-" the smile immediately fell from her face and she scowled. "Oh. It's you. What do you want? Your face is still stupid by the way."
"The fuck's your problem with me?"
"Well, besides me realizing how much I don't like you, you're a massive slut with poor impulse control," she told him without missing a beat. A muscle in his jaw ticked and he somehow managed to scowl even deeper at her, but she continued on. "If you want me to keep going, I can, but I'd rather finish my homework and finish up my shift here. Now either adopt another dog or a cat or get the fuck out of here."
"So that's it then?"
"Is there supposed to be more, Happy? Was I just supposed to be fine with you doing what you did and move on like it was no big deal?" She asked, not wanting him to answer and fully aware that he wouldn't. "I thought I made it clear to you who I am. Did you somehow think you're exempt from that because you're in the club or something?"
He didn't reply and it was all the answer she needed. "Wow, so I can add astoundingly self-absorbed to the list." Holly was completely disgusted with him. The fact that he thought so little of her and so much of himself made her blood practically boil. "I was just supposed to eventually spread my legs for you and pretend that you weren't fucking a dozen other girls on the side, right? Act like it's no big deal at all? Whatever you think we had or were going to have, we don't. I'm done playing your games."
"You think this was a game?"
Holly slammed her textbook shut and shot out of her chair and he reared back to avoid having her nearly headbutt him in the process. "What else was it? What am I supposed to think it was? Because I don't know what it was, but it's done. It's over."
"No, it isn't."
"Yes, it is," she reaffirmed. Happy looked like he was very close to coming over the counter and strangling her. His eyes were wild with unrestrained anger and his fists were clenched. "So you need to move on. That's what I'm doing. Just go back to pretending I don't exist."
"That's what you want?"
"Yes." No. She didn't. She wanted him to tell her he was sorry and that he wouldn't do it again. That he would stopping fucking with her head and finally get the balls to stick to his decisions instead of running every time they got too close for him to deal with it. She wanted him to have as hard of a time as she was. She wanted him to be just as miserable. She wanted him to curse her name every night before he went to sleep and dream of her and how he didn't have her. She wanted him to be the type of guy who gave an actual damn about her enough to care and pay attention. But he wasn't that guy and he never would be and it was time for her to just let it go.
"No." Well, wasn't that just a wonderful of him? Finally stepping up to the plate almost three weeks too late. Her palm itched to slap him. It would serve him right.
"That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works, you fucking retard," she howled at him as she waved her hands in the air. "I'm not interested. Get it through your thick Neanderthal skull. I don't want you here. I don't want you at my house. I don't want you waiting for me at school. I don't want you anywhere near me. I can't stand you."
"That's bullshit. All this over a crow eater?"
"Jesus Christ, please tell me I'm not the adult here." She fell back a step and rubbed at her eyes. "Yes, Happy, all this over the crow eater. And the crow eater before her and the one before that one and so on. It helped me to see where I stand with you and that's not where I want to be, I warned you not to treat me like them, like I'm easily replaceable and you did it anyway and this is what happens when you treat someone like this, Happy. You made it clear all you wanted was sex. You couldn't get it from me so you went and got it from someone else. So, you just go back to them and keep getting what you want."
"What do you want?"
"I want someone who's not going to fuck everything with tits and who's fine with just sticking with me. That's what I want." It should have been obvious, but Happy was turning out to be one dense motherfucker.
Happy studied her for a moment, his expression stony. And then, he stormed right out of the shelter and Holly felt like she was finally able to breathe. It hurt like hell, but she could breathe again and that made it easier to keep from crying. He would not now nor ever, see her cry over him.
"You can go home if you want." Holly jumped and turned to see Greg standing in the doorway. He was still holding that damn mug of coffee and Holly wanted very badly to knock it out of his hand. She was still shaking with anger and mentally exhausted. She tried to smile, but her energy was sapped. "I'll finish my reading and then I'll go."
"You did the right thing."
Holly didn't need him to tell her that. She knew she had. But that didn't make it feel any less awful.
Holly sat behind the wheel of her car in the shelter parking lot for a good ten minutes just trying to calm down enough that she didn't feel like she was going to fall apart. The argument from earlier kept replaying over and over again in her head. She still couldn't believe the scene he had made and she couldn't believe how much it made her want to cry. She punched the steering wheel and then finally started the car. She still had some homework left over and she couldn't ignore it just because some dick with an ego the size of the continental US thought he could barge into her life and tear it apart whenever he felt like it.
The ride home was spent rubbing tears from her watery eyes and sniffling in silence. It was beginning to get dark outside when she pulled into the drive way. There was an all too familiar motorcycle parked under the carport and Holly almost rammed it with her car purposely. What the hell was his problem? Why couldn't he just fuck off and leave her alone?
She stormed out of the car and up to the front door, throwing it open. Happy was standing over the stove and he was cooking. Happy Lowman was standing in her kitchen cooking. Holly had expected him to be sitting on her couch like a belligerent lump, not standing there, cooking. It smelled delicious, which made her angrier. "What the fuck, Happy? I thought I made myself clear."
"You did." He was already ignoring her again. Holly bit her lip to keep from screaming. Sully was watching from the living room, looking nervous. Holly shut the front door eventually as she watched Happy put food on two different plates and then set them on the table. He sat down and looked up at her. "You gonna come over here and eat or just stand there?"
"Is it poisoned?"
He gave her a look and then bent his head and started eating. Hesitantly, Holly joined him, sitting across from him and eying the plate warily. Steak fajitas. He made steak fajitas. "I didn't know you could cook."
"I can do a lot of things."
She simply nodded and began eating, surprised at how good it was, but she didn't say so. Instead, she nodded to the backpack at her feet. "I still have homework to get done."
"Figured," was all he said and they finished their meal in silence. Holly looked over at him as she picked up her empty plate and took it to the sink. "I don't understand what you think you're doing."
Happy shrugged and rubbed at his bald head and she got the distinct impression that he was embarrassed. Sighing out through her nose, she took his plate from him and he latched onto her arm. "We cool?"
"No," she told him honestly and he fell back in his chair. She tilted her head to the side, studying the scowl on his face. He looked so very put out by her answer and he had his arms crossed. He looked like he was pouting. She could feel her resolve practically shatter; he was just so fucking adorable when he pouted. Like a sad pit bull that needed a hug and a tummy rub. "But," she amended, and he cut his eyes over to her, "we're getting there. You can stay while I do homework."
That had him snapping back into action. He snatched the plate back from her and she jumped, but he was already standing at the kitchen sink, washing her dishes, in her kitchen like it was something a man like him did all the damn time and Holly just didn't know what to think. This was just so hard for her to comprehend. It was the Quantum Physics of their weird-ass relationship and she couldn't stop herself from gawking at him like a complete idiot. "Go do your homework. I'll be there in a minute."
He was trying. He was trying for her. Thank God, she was on her way to go sit down in the living room, because she felt like she was going to pass out at any moment as it finally dawned on her that Happy actually did care about her enough to put in some real effort. Holy fuck, it was happening and now that it was, she was back to shaking and shivering and flipping the fuck out like she had been before. Jesus fucking Christ, a relationship with Happy Lowman was back on the table. Quantum motherfucking Physics, right there. Lyla was going to absolutely die when she found out, Tig was going to shit ten bricks and a steel beam, Rat was probably going to get his ass kicked again, and she was just going to sit there and try to figure out how in the fuck this was actually happening. Because it was.
This wasn't like it had been before. This was relationship territory. They'd just had the relationship talk minus the words. Right? Dear God, that man was one smooth fucker, she had not even realized that's what he was doing. She should slap him for that. Or kiss him. She should punch him and then kiss him. Or just sit there and try to form coherent thoughts because holy fuck, Happy Lowman wanted to date her. He wanted a relationship with her. That was what she'd told him she wanted from a guy when she'd yelled at him and he'd decided the terms were fair and agreed to them. She had not expected that. She hadn't ever really expected anything from him since they met except maybe eventually sleeping with him and then the both of them deciding they may or may not want more or less and that would be the end of it. But now, this was happening and she didn't know whether to puke her fajita up or high five herself. How the hell had she managed to pull this off? She wasn't even trying.
It felt just like it had when he first started coming over to watch television while she did homework. He sat on the couch in stony silence while he drank his beer and she read all of "MacBeth". They would be reading it and having a class discussion the next day. It was important to be prepared for that, but she was sure that sometimes she could feel him staring at her and it was hard to concentrate knowing that. Even if it did make her feel pleasantly warm all over, it was distracting. Really distracting. Again, she didn't know whether to punch him or kiss him.
When she was finished with all her homework a couple hours later, she fell back on the couch, drawing her knees up to her chest, and she kept her eyes firmly glued to the television. She buried half her face in her knees to hide her half-smile when she caught him watching her out of the corner of his eye.
Clearly, he was trying and he sucked at it. It definitely wasn't something he did. Ever. And she definitely appreciated the effort, even if he wasn't doing very well. But he made her dinner. That was something she would never be able to ignore. He was better at it than he knew. Playing with the ends of her hair nervously, Holly glanced his way and back down at her hair. He was looking at her fully now, though he looked a bit suspicious considering what was going on, but that was Happy Lowman for you. Always suspicious of everyone and everything outside the club. It didn't matter that it was her. And she supposed he was also a bit wary of her because she was giving him a hard time. It didn't matter that he deserved it. It was obvious that Happy was used to getting his way and her refusing to let him do what he pleased was throwing him off. Good, he needed to get knocked down a peg or two. And it was very amusing and super adorable to see him pout. Not that she would ever tell him he was pouting. Or how adorable it was and it made her want to cuddle him. That wouldn't go over well.
Holly wasn't deterred. Instead, she slowly inched over to him until they were sitting mere inches apart and then dropped her head back down to hide her smile. She jumped in surprise when she was pulled sideways, falling into Happy's side with a tiny "oof" and she squirmed to try and sit up a bit. But she stayed there and didn't try to push him away or yell at him and call him names and it made the corners of his mouth twitch upward and there was nothing he could do about that. And Holly was smiling widely and her cheeks were red and she looked happy and when she laid her head on his shoulder, Happy let himself smile for a moment. It wasn't so bad giving her what she wanted every now and then. Especially when she was just so very pleased with him. That mattered to him more than it should and he was starting to kind of be okay with that. So long as she didn't push it that much farther. She was letting him touch her and so what if it was cuddling? He may not have liked it that much, but it was getting them in the right direction and he could put up with it for now. If the cuddling ever got to be too much he could always shove her off the couch and she'd get it. But right now, he needed to put up with it because well, he fucked up and this was the price he had to pay.
Plus, waking up in the house was welcomingly familiar, even if he had to sleep on the couch still. She'd let him back in, was letting him try to fix things, and it was such a relief to know she wasn't done with him.
Holly was already up and eating a bowl of Raisin Bran with her backpack packed. Her hair was still wet from her shower and she was already dressed and ready to go. She gave him a shy smile as she stood up and rinsed her bowl out in the sink and then placed it in the dishwasher.
"You working today?" He knew she was, but he felt like he needed to say something. They were both standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at one another in awkward silence, both completely out of their depth. She nodded and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll be home at the same time if you want to come over." He didn't say anything and she didn't expect him to.
He watched her car pull out of the driveway and she stopped in front of the mailbox, pulling out a large stack of mail.
When he went to work, he felt relieved, like he always did when he finished a meeting with Alvarez, who sometimes called on him every now and then to "tie up" some loose ends. He never got smiley faces for those because they weren't exactly club business, though he could argue they were since the Sons and the Mayans were business partners in Diosa Norte, and that meant their club business was technically his club's business. And Alvarez respected him-feared him, really-and he knew Alvarez wasn't out to get him, but Mayans were still Mayans in his eyes. If you were in any club other than The Sons, you were a potential threat.
It was a quiet day in the garage. Rat wasn't there. He was over playing bodyguard at Diosa (which meant he was probably fucking one of the escorts at that very moment). Jimmy was busy trying to run through the vast number of oil changes they had coming in that day, and Chibs and Tig were helping Venus with the inventory. Quinn was down at Red Woody. There was nobody to give him shit about anything. It was nice. Really nice. He could do his job and not think for once. There was nobody there, yammering in his ear about how fucked in the head he was for thinking about even attempting to go there.
He didn't need that shit anymore. He'd finally worked through it enough to know this was something he wanted to explore and he wasn't going to get over it until he did so. Leaving Holly alone was out of the question. It was just not an option and anyone suggesting it was was going to get their shit kicked in, guaranteed.
There was the clicking of high heels nearby and Happy looked up to see Venus standing outside the office, smiling at him with a thoughtful expression. "How are you doing today, Sugar? Enjoying the quiet?"
He nodded and Venus gestured for him to join her while she had a cigarette. He glanced over to see Jimmy watching them without really looking in their direction and decided it was in his best interest to do as she said. Venus was a lot better to talk to about things anyway. She was much more delicate about getting her point across. Happy abandoned his work and stalked over, watching as Venus puffed on her Virginia Slim. He stuck a toothpick in his mouth and fell back against the wall of the building, sliding his sunglasses on. "How's it goin', Vee?"
"Quite well, thank you for asking." And she did sound genuinely pleased. Venus was always positive. Even at the worst of times and it served to keep Tig even-keeled. Sometimes, Tig was even too fucked up for Happy to deal with.
The pair stood in silence for awhile and then Venus gave him a sideways glance. "I noticed Holly's been dropping Sully off at Scoops. Chuck said he's been watching him for her. He's eating the shop out of soft-serve vanilla."
That last part had him smirking and he rolled the toothpick around in his mouth lazily. "Yeah, she doesn't drop him off here because she said he's a bad influence on Cheech."
"She's not entirely wrong." Her easy smile turned into a grin. Happy gave another one of his silent nods, but his smirk stayed firmly in place. "She's still worried Jarry might try something."
Venus' lips thinned out into a scowl and she tapped her right heel down on the concrete firmly. Venus didn't like Jarry. Jarry had an air about her that was off-putting. Jarry liked to pretend she was "one of the guys" and that she could handle shit just as well as any of them-better, even. But it was just a front she presented that they could all see through easily. She took the pay-offs because she was weak. And once the club was full on legit, she became obsolete and that chipped away at the image she was trying to present. Plus, it distanced her from Chibs, whom she very obviously had a personal vendetta against.
"Well, Sheriff Jarry is a very antagonistic woman who, unfortunately, is in a very real position of power. Holly would not be the smart young lady she is if she wasn't taking such serious precautions." She blew out a plume of smoke, and it looked almost elegant compared to the way he'd seen other women do it. Smoking was such a nasty habit and yet, here was Venus Van Dam making it look glamourous. Venus was "the unicorn in the den of leviathans". That's what Holly had said once. It was a weird as fuck thing for someone to say, but she was right. Venus was the club Unicorn. That set him off smirking again.
"I hope she's not working herself too hard," Venus mused out loud, that thoughtful and concerned look on her face. She was just so damn motherly. If she could bake worth a damn, she probably would have handed him a plate of cookies and patted his head at some point. "She's just so set on being the best academically, so serious."
"That's a good thing." And it was. Holly was smart, smarter than him-he dropped out at sixteen-and she knew stuff. She'd just pop off random scientific facts all the time. She didn't do it often, but sometimes, one would get stuck in her head and she just had to tell him and he liked that. He also liked that she never asked him if he thought she was pretty or if she looked fat or if he really did like her. She didn't give a shit what he thought about her clothes or her make up (lack of since she'd stopped wearing it again) and he guessed she knew he thought she was attractive. His smirk dropped at that. Did she know he did? She was, he thought so. Those long legs and arms were just about the sexiest things ever. He'd discovered that when he made out with her at the Christmas party. And they were very soft. He rubbed his hand on his jeans. His fingers were itching to touch her again.
"Yes, but I still worry. Especially, with how badly her Grandfather is doing."
Happy crossed his arms and stared out over the parking lot. Holly didn't talk about her Pop and she never had talked about him much, but when she did mention him, she always got sad and she bit her lip like she was trying to keep from crying. He hated that. He couldn't stand crying women, but seeing her upset made him really, really mad for some reason.
His mother had been updating him on Holly's Pop's health and how he was going steadily downhill. His mom didn't think the old man had much time left. He didn't like thinking about it because once the old man was gone, Holly was going to end up going nuclear, he just new it. You could only bottle up so much pain and anger before it all came pouring out. It was a side-effect that he knew well, considering he was practically the foremost expert at bottling things up. That was what had gotten him in the doghouse with Holly in the first place. Shit, he didn't want to think about it anymore. He was still pretty bitter about her getting so pissed off at him for fucking up a few dozen times.
He sighed to himself. It didn't matter anymore. The damage was done and he was owning up to it and getting his shit together. He just needed to focus on that.
"She'll be okay. She's strong," he told Venus. He plucked the toothpick from his mouth and tossed it. He was overthinking shit-something he only did when he was thinking about Holly-and it made him need a cigarette bad. He pulled his pack from his kutte and lit up, inhaling and exhaling.
He glanced back toward the garage. Jimmy was still working away, completely oblivious to the world around him. He'd stopped joking around as much as he used to and he was putting in more effort around the garage and within the club. But it didn't raise Happy's opinion of him by that much.
Venus gave him one of those thoughtful looks that wasn't quite as sly as Gemma's had been, but was suspicious enough that it made his jaw clench as he prepared himself for it. Venus ashed her second Virginia Slim and gave him an appraising look. When Gemma had looked at them like that, it had always made him and the other club members feel two inches tall. But Venus always made him wonder what it was she saw because their was always a twinkle of pride in her eyes when she looked at them that way. It was that damn positivity of hers.
"You know, you're my favorite club-member. Besides, Alexander, of course, you're my favorite and I have a soft spot for you, truth be told." There was nothing flirtatious in the way she said it. But it was conspiratorially spoken in a soft almost-whisper. She dropped her cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it under her heel and patted his shoulder gently as she sauntered back into the office. "I think, you're good for her, regardless of what anyone else may think. For what it's worth."
He finished off the last of his cigarette and flicked the remainder far off into the lot and rubbed his head as he returned back to work, his lips twitching as he tried not to smirk too much. Surprisingly, it was worth a lot to him.
Holly made a stop at Teller-Morrow after school to drop Sully off so that she could go to work. Predictably, he headed straight for Happy and Holly rolled her eyes at the pair of them. Happy smirked at her, but didn't say anything, not that he would, the smug bastard. But that still managed to make her roll her eyes again as she took her small duffle out of the trunk of her car and jogged over to the clubhouse. Picking up Sully from Scoops, cut into the time it took to go from school, back home to change, and then to work, so she'd been stopping to change at Teller-Morrow. She hated changing in that stupidly cramped bathroom, but it had to be done.
She managed to change into her scrubs without falling into the door more than once, but nearly faceplanted twice when she pulled on her shoes, yelling out a very loud "Fuck" as she slammed into the wall and then again into the door. Holly stuffed her clothes into the duffle, not bothering to fold them because she didn't have the time and they needed to be washed anyway.
She threw the door open and stepped out into the hall, struggling to zip up the bag in her haste. She was so busy fighting with the bag she didn't notice the biker standing in her way and ran right into his chest. She stepped back and looked up to find Happy watching her with that infuriatingly blank look on his face. Without a word, he took the duffle bag from her and zipped it shut with relative ease, making sure to give her a look as he did so. She rolled her eyes at him and he smirked in response.
"What's up, Buttercup," she asked in a teasing tone, bouncing up on the balls of her feet. If he was going to be an insufferable twat, then so was she. However, he seemed unfazed by her ridiculous term of endearment as he turned back toward the entrance, taking her arm as he went to guide her out. "You're gonna be late."
"No, I'm not," she disagreed. And she wasn't, she had another twenty minutes to get there and that was plenty of time. He didn't say anything, he simply opened the door to the clubhouse, holding it open for her to pass through first and she eyed him as he did so. He ignored her curious gaze and she grinned. "Well, look at you, being all chivalrous and adorable."
"Fuck off."
She couldn't help it. He was just making it so hard for her to keep her mouth shut about this. "Are you gonna carry my bag and walk me to my car, too?"
He outright glared at her. "Yeah, you got a problem with that?"
"Not at all," she told him honestly, poking his arm, "I like it."
He growled, but that seemed to mollify him a bit. She bit her lip to keep from laughing. That would just piss him off and start a fight. She glanced up at him and watched as he gnawed on his toothpick. "You coming over tonight?"
He nodded, but didn't look at her. His movements had become less relaxed and she looked around him toward the garage. Chibs and Tig were standing outside the office, watching them. Chibs looked worried and Tig looked very very angry despite Venus standing nearby, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. Tig was actually baring his teeth in their direction. Holly mentally scoffed. Like those two had any room to talk. Like their relationships weren't ever called into question by anyone else. Hypocrites. She reached over and squeeze his hand and then let go. "Ignore them. They're just being a couple of nosy douchecanoes. They'll get over it."
"It doesn't bother you?"
Holly glanced up at him again and shook her head. "No, I don't give a shit what they think. What about you?"
"Ain't their business." That was all he said and she could tell he meant it. What really bothered him was that they thought it was their business. He didn't give a damn what they thought either. He'd obviously gotten over it just like she had and that made her heart skip a beat and her cheeks redden. He was the only person that could make her blush and while it was embarrassing and it made her feel self-conscious, she knew it meant she really liked him and it also meant no matter what this was worth it to her. But she'd never tell him that. It go straight to his head and she didn't plan on stroking his ego any more than necessary. He was too smug for anyone's good already.
"Which is why they're such douchecanoes." She popped the trunk of her car open and watched him put her duffle bag inside. Tilting her head to the side, she leaned against the driver side door. "What do you want for dinner?"
He looked up at her as he slammed the trunk shut. "I don't know." It came off as more of a question and she knew she had caught him off guard. Happy came around the side of the car and leaned against it, not close enough to touch her, but not far enough away that she had to reach for him. They both crossed their arms, inadvertently mirroring one another's postures and for Happy, that just reinforced his opinion on their strange, new relationship. He was never telling anyone that because he would never live it down. "Whatever you want."
"How about chicken?"
"S'fine," he said with a shrug. She nod and pushed herself off the car. "Ok, now get off my car and get your lazy ass to work."
"Mouthy bitch," he muttered, smirking and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?"
Nothing, absolutely nothing, because he was still on thin ice with her and he was scared shitless of fucking up. He was dangerously close to becoming whipped and he needed to do something about that soon. He scoffed over his shoulder at her as he walked away. "I'll see you later."
Holly watched him go, watched as he stalked right passed Tig and Chibs without even acknowledging their presence, and went back to work. Sully was laid out on the garage floor behind him. Smiling to herself, Holly climbed into her car and pulled out of the lot, waving at Tig and Chibs as she went. She really didn't give a shit what they thought and knowing Happy didn't either was sort of freeing.