What am I Supposed to Do Now?
A/N: Here's the next one shot in the series. Hope you all enjoy.
Langston had actually slept in for the first time in so long. She did not remember the last time that she had actually slept in. Usually, Markko called and woke her up by like 9:00 A.M. She loved that they had reached the point where they spent every waking moment together, but sometimes she just wanted to sleep in. She got ready for the day and went downstairs hoping there was not too much drama going on. The house was surprisingly empty. She grabbed some breakfast and turned on the news. She did not like to admit it to anyone but when she lived alone, she had gotten used to watching the news.
In local news, the Angel Square diner has burned down. Fire officials are calling it a total loss.
Langston jumped up and went to find her keys. She started to freak out. Markko was supposed to open this morning. He normally called her to wake her up and tell her to come down for breakfast but she had not heard from him. Tears started to stream down her cheeks. He had to be okay. She could not lose him, too. He was all she had. Today of all days, she could not find her keys. Of course, Dorian, Mrs. Manning everyone was gone. She tried to call Markko again, and still no answer. She finally just decided to walk and went to Angel Square.
--
About an hour earlier…
Markko really did not want to go to work today. He had stayed up too late talking to Langston and just wanted to hang with her. He did not want to have to go deal with people all day. Sure, she would come see him like any other day, but it was different. He finally pulled in the parking lot and was shocked by what he saw. He went up to the fire marshall. "What happened?"
"It happened over night. No one was hurt but the place was completely gutted." He saw Carlotta talking to Gigi and went over and talked to them. He felt bad for Carlotta. Her whole life was gone. He wondered what could have caused this. He stood there for an hour, just watching it all. He could not believe it no matter how he tried.
--
Langston finally made it to Angel Square and saw his car and started to freak out. He had been there. He had to be okay. There was no way she could deal with him being gone too. She saw Gigi outside talking to that guy that had stopped the wedding. She really did not like what she had done to Adriana but she needed to know if Markko was okay. She had to know. They walked away before she got the chance. She sneaked inside, not caring if it was safe. She had to find him or what was left. She went over to the counter and saw the keys on the counter. Her heart felt like it's going to stop. It was true that keys do not always melt. She fell to the ground in tears. "How could he be gone?" She sat there more scared then she had ever been in her entire life. Losing her parents had not even felt like this.
Markko needed to get out of there and go see Langston, but could not find his keys anywhere. He finally realized they must be inside. He went inside through what was left of the kitchen and could not find them. He wondered if they fell and went around the corner. That's when he saw her sitting on the floor, holding his keys, shaking in heart breaking tears. He kneeled down, "Langston, what's wrong, baby?"
She looked up so upset she barely heard him, then looked at him and threw her arms around him. "Markko, you're okay. I thought you were gone." He held her tight.
"I am right here."
"I heard about the fire and then you did not answer your phone." Her voice quivered. "I thought you were gone, and that I was all alone."
"Shh, it happened last night. I forgot my phone at home. I was going to call you when I got here. I did not mean to scare you." He held her tight, his heart breaking for putting her through this. "Here, let me take you back to my house for a while. Let's get you out of here." He put his arm around her and took her back to his house. He sat them down on the couch and got her a glass of water. "Are you okay?"
She cuddled close to him. "I am sorry for freaking out. I could not find you and it hurt worse than losing my parents." He held her.
"I am so sorry for putting you through that. You are everything to me and I see how scared you are."
"Markko, never leave me."
"I will never leave you. You are my first and only love."
She smiled. "I am being so selfish. How are you handling all this?"
"I am fine. I will deal like always."
She looked at him and could tell that he was not being completely honest with her. "Markko, are you sure? I can tell that it's affecting you in a big way."
He looked at her. "I really feel for Carlotta, you know? She spent her whole life in that diner. Now, it is gone. I feel selfish, too because I can't help but think what do I do now?"
"What do you mean?"
He was unsure whether or not to go on. "I still wasn't rich but I finally was able to not feel so poor and just the poor kid from Angel Square. I could take you places, I could do things. Now, it is all gone. I am going to be back to just pocket change soon."
She could not believe what she was hearing. She never knew that he felt that way. "Markko, I do not see you like that. You are not poor. This is a nice house."
"It is nothing like the Buchanan Mansion or La Boulaie. My father works hard to take care of us and so does my mom. They can not afford to just give me money. I liked being able to take care of myself. Before you say it, please do not tell me that you have a platinum card that can take care of us."
She held his hand. "Markko, I do not care about the money. We could never go out places and I would still love you more than I have ever loved anybody in my life. Don't you see that is why I was so scared? I do not want to ever be without you. When you're not around, I hurt. I do not feel the need to be clingy and annoying about it, but I need you in my life. Money does not matter."
"I just want to be able to buy you nice things and show you how much I love you."
She put her hand on his face. "Markko, you show me how much you love me every day. You are always there for me, you love me, you make me laugh, and that is all I need."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really."
"I think that this is almost a good thing. Not that the diner is gone, but that we both got the chance to talk about all this. It is not that I ever thought that you saw me like that, but I just sometimes feel like I stand out because I do not dress as nice as the rest of you or have you know the expensive video Ipod, but I feel like I was doing okay."
"Markko, you are so much more than that."
"I get that now. Thank you for being here for me today. I was really upset."
"Me being there for you? I had a freaking nervous breakdown and thought you were dead."
He held her again. "I am still so sorry that I scared you. I am not going anywhere."
Langston kissed him softly and leaned him back on his couch as they held each other close and kissed passionately most of the afternoon. Both of them had been so afraid of different things, but as long as they had each other, they knew they could get through anything. They did not get how it happened but somehow they had become not only boyfriend and girlfriend, but best friends who supported each other too.
