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An hour and twenty five minutes later Scarlett stood before the chest. She was fully dressed. The dress fit perfectly, highlighting her curves, thanks to the quick thinking of Nova. A small smile crept onto Scarlett's face when she realised just how well her friend knew her, even after all these years apart. She was wearing silver heals that added two inches to her height, Scarlett had wanted to wear her black boots but from the glare Nova gave her it was clear there was no chance of that happening.
"What are you thinking about?" Nova's voice broke through her thoughts in a way that only Nova could.
"Nothing…just…" she trailed off before gesturing at the chest. Nova was the only other person who knew about the deadly weapons within and where the key to the personalised lock was kept.
Nova pulled the Face. The Face was a strange mix of of annoyance and sarcasm; it pretty much said 'You've got to be kidding me right! That is the dumbest thing ever', the Face was Nova's signature. "Scarlett. No. You don't need them; you're going on a date not a riot. And besides, if anything bad happens…well it's not like you're defenceless without knives."
Scarlett nodded grudgingly, "You're right."
Nova grinned broadly, "Damn straight I'm right!"
There was a knock at the door. Scarlett and Nova exchanged a look and a smile. "Coming!" Nova called as she sprayed her favourite perfume on herself. Scarlett glanced down at her ring; it was clear and shining, resembling a diamond, perfect.
Nova opened the door revealing two very smartly dressed 'Sons of Ipswich'.
"Ladies." Reid said with a charming smile and a low bow. The blonde was wearing black dress pants and a loose fitting white shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and the top two buttons undone. Over his right shoulder was a matching black suit jacket. His blonde hair looked somewhat the same and yet…there was something about it that just looked different. Scarlett had to admit, he looked hot!
But then she saw Pogue, and any thoughts of Reid disappeared in a heartbeat.
'Wow…' Pogue had his hair pulled into a tight ponytail and was wearing a formal suit and shiny black shoes. Scarlett swore she could have died when the cocky look on his face dropped and a look of admiration tainted with a hint of lust took its place. Despite herself Scarlett felt her cheeks redden with a blush and suddenly she felt nervous.
"Ready?" Reid said, his eyes not leaving Nova's for second. When Nova nodded Reid extended his hand and when Nova slipped hers into his…it looked as though his face was about to split from the force of his smile. As they headed down the hall Nova threw a quick smile over her shoulder at Scarlett, not that she saw. She was far too busy looking at Pogue.
Pogue's POV
Nova may have opened the door but Scarlett was all Pogue could see. She was beautiful. Her dress complemented her perfectly, showing off her hourglass figure. The top of her dress left Pogue having dirty thoughts and for the first time in a long time he felt slightly self-conscious.
Scarlett's cheeks were tinted pink with the hints of a blush. Her lips were coloured a light red, nothing flashy just enough to highlight them. Her hair flowed over one shoulder in loose ringlets. Her heals added to her height but despite that she was still only slightly taller than his shoulder.
Getting a grip on himself he cleared his throat, "You look…stunning."
"You look pretty amazing yourself." Scarlett replied in a sing song voice. "So where are we heading?"
"Patience my dear, don't wanna ruin the surprise!" He answered as she stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door closed behind her and locking the door. Pogue watched, intrigued, as she taped the key to the side of the door frame with a small piece of duct tape. "What are you doing?" he asked as casually as he could manage.
"Its and old agreement with Nova, on the nights were both going out we would tape the key to the door, that way who ever came home last would know if the other wanted privacy. If the key still there then it's safe to enter, but if it's not, find somewhere else to stay." Scarlett explained with a smile that took Pogue's breath away. It was a different smile from her usual bubbly one. This smile held longing and fondness at an old memory.
Pogue was hoping that tonight would be a night she could look back on and smile.
"Smart. Caleb and I used to do something similar with a tie on the door knob." Pogue laughed as he gently took her hand and led it to the crook of his arm before they made their way down the hallway.
She laughed, "Classy!" she frowned as a thought dawned on her. "Where ever we're going how will we get there? I mean I know you have an awesome Ducati but if we are gonna ride I think I might need to change."
Pogue hadn't thought of that. He had been planning to 'borrow' Caleb's mustang but Reid had beat him there by five minutes and after the summer fiasco his parents had banned him from using the family cars. "Ummm…" he trailed off as he racked his mind for a possible solution that wouldn't mean Scarlett would have to change.
"Unless of course you know how to drive a Chevy Impala '67?" she asked almost casually as she pulled out her keys from her small bag, the lights of the hallway glinting off the knife key chain.
"Are you serious? I would kill to drive a car like that!" Pogue answered a little too enthusiastically.
"Good, because I'll kill you if you so much as scratch my car, I shit you not!" she threatened as she held out the keys. Pogue laughed slightly as he took them.
Scarlett's POV
"That's the one, that's my baby. She isn't much but she's mine." Scarlett pointed out her impala proudly. It had a sleek black paint job with a shiny finish and in the dark it almost faded into the night.
Pogue whistled in appreciation as he walked her to her door. As he made his way to the driver's seat Scarlett did a quick check of the car for weapons. Grabbing the throwing knife from the back seat she managed to throw it into the glove box just before Pogue slid into the driver's seat next to her.
After a few minutes of driving and mindless chatter Pogue pulled the car into the parking lot of a fancy (and expensive) looking Italian restaurant. Above the double doors hung a sign that read 'Heaven's Door', the doors themselves were painted pearl white to match the theme. Parking the car and killing the engine Pogue walked around the front of the car and opened her door for her.
Her arm looped with his as they made their way through the doors and to reception. The restaurants lights were dimmed and the soft sound of music created a romantic atmosphere. A small 'wow' escaped Scarlett's lips.
Pogue smiled, "I take it you like it?"
"Are you kidding? This place is beautiful! It must cost a fortune!" Scarlett knew that she sounded horribly starstruck but she couldn't help it. Looking back to her old life she would never have guessed that she would be standing in a fancy restaurant with possibly the hottest guy she had ever met. It felt like a dream.
Pogue shrugged as he tried (and failed) to supress a smirk, "Old money has its perks. Come on." He led her further into the restaurant to a booth near the back. The restaurant was fairly full from where the booth was stationed you would never have been able to tell.
After taking a seat the waiter approached and took their orders they were left alone. Despite how much Scarlett wanted to saviour this moment there was still a little voice in the back of her mind telling her that she had to make sure she knew what she was getting herself into. She sighed slightly, "Pogue…before we go any further, what about Kate?"
"What about Kate?" He answered slowly.
"The thing about women Pogue is that you can only have one at a time, you can't have a collection and switch between them! You have to choose. Me or Kate?" Scarlett felt like a bitch but she wasn't about to get played. So it surprised her when Pogue laughed and locked eyes with her. Reaching across the table Pogue gently took her hand.
"You know the day collapsed during class, I was about to carry out, and Kate stopped me and demanded that I chose between you and her." Pogue explained.
"Who did you choose?" Scarlett was almost afraid to ask.
"I chose, I choose, and will always, choose you." Pogue answered sincerely and smiled at her. Scarlett was searching his eyes for any sign of deceit when the waiter returned with their food. Even as the waiter placed their food in front of them Pogue held her gaze and Scarlett found herself getting lost his eyes.
Pogue smiled. "Now that that's cleared up, tell me about yourself."
Scarlett shrugged, "Like what?"
"Like…your favourite colour?" Pogue prompted.
"Hmmm…gold. Yours?" she asked.
For the next twenty minutes the conversation continued to be a game of twenty questions, and for one perfect moment Scarlett actually felt…normal. But then that moment ended.
"Pogue! What the hell are you doing here?! With her!" Scarlett groaned inwardly at the voice. Kate.
"You really don't know when to quit do you Kate? It's over between you and Pogue or didn't he make that clear enough for you?" Scarlett said annoyed at the interruption.
"Is that right? Well I don't remember Pogue telling me that! Pogue?" Kate turned to Pogue once more.
Scarlett followed her gaze only to see Pogue looking between the two of them, clearly shocked and speechless. Scarlett scoffed, "Always choose me huh?" she practically snarled as she got up and stormed out of the restaurant.
"Scarlett wait!" Pogue called after her following her out. Just as he was about to reach her a dark blue Mazda pulled up in front of Scarlett.
The tinted windows rolled down allowing Scarlett to see that the driver was Mr Beamster. "Scarlett, get in."
Scarlett looked over her shoulder at Pogue who now stood next to a smirking Kate. There was nothing that Scarlett wanted to do more than to burn that smirk right off her face but instead she chose to accept the offer of a ride home and climbed into the car.
Once they had taken off the teacher asked her, "What happed?"
Scarlett sighed; her anger had left her and had been replaced by sorrow and regret. "I thought I'd finally met someone I could be myself around. Someone I could dropped my shield with…I was wrong."
"Where can I take you?" he asked in a calm voice.
"Just back to the dorms." Scarlett dreaded the thought of having to tell Nova about the disaster of a date. Not to mention having to see Pogue the next morning.
The remainder of the drive was silent. In an attempt to rid herself off the ace in her chest Scarlett allowed her old training to take over her mentality. The first thing she did was prioritise her jumbled mind. First how did Kate know where they would be? Sarah. Pogue would have told Caleb who would have told Sarah. Second should she be worried about her car? No, Pogue wouldn't damage her car. If there was one thing she had learned about Pogue in the last week it was that he respected machinery more than he respected some people. Thirdly, she was now riding shot gun with a teacher who had just happened to turn up…to that she had no answer.
As they pulled up in front of the dorm building Scarlett forced herself to be the embodiment of calm as she said "Thanks sir, you sure were at the right place at the right time."
He smiled, "No worries just glad I could help. Oh and call me Demetri."
Once upstairs Scarlett saw the the key and duct tape were gone. "Damn it!" she groaned. For a moment she considered simply picking the lock but then she decided that she would rather not interrupt…whatever it was that Nova and Reid were up to.
Walking back down the stairs she stopped on the third level. Scarlett had nowhere to go. She was well and truly alone. She didn't want to ruin Nova's date but the friend she had been staying with prior to actually moving into the dorms was long gone. She could try to find a hotel…
Just then one of the doors opened and the youngest Son of Ipswich stepped out holding a black towel in his left hand. Tyler stopped when he saw Scarlett. "Scarlett? You're back early, how was the date?"
Scarlett cursed the tears that prickled her eyes as she answered bitterly, "Your 'brother' is a lying jerk!"
Tyler looked surprised for a moment before walking over and taking her hand gently. "Say no more. It seems that Reid's spending the night with Nova…do you have some where to stay tonight?" his words and actions were so sincere that Scarlett felt her resolve crumble as she shook her head, not trusting her voice not to crack if she spoke.
Gesturing towards the still open door and giving her hand a gentle squeeze Tyler offered her a sad smile, "Come on then," he said before leading her inside. "You can sleep in my bed; I just changed the sheets this morning. I'll take Reid's."
"Are you sure, I don't mind-" Scarlett tried to protest before she was cut off.
"No no I insist! Besides I think Reid stole my pillow anyway." Tyler smiled as he took a seat on one of the beds.
Sitting on the other bed Scarlett couldn't keep the disbelief out of her voice as she asked, "Why are you doing this? I could always find a hotel or something, why go out of your way just to help me?"
Tyler looked at her as if he couldn't believe she was actually asking. Once he realised she was being sincere he shrugged and replied, "Because that's what friends do. They look out for each other. And besides, I can't have you thinking that all Sons of Ipswich are jerks, just two out of four." He laughed at his own joke before standing and grabbing the towel once more. "I'm gonna grab a shower, there's pj's in the third draw, they'll probably be a bit big for you but…" he trailed off.
"Thank you. I never had a friend like you growing up." Scarlett confessed.
Tyler just shrugged again, "Well now you do, make yourself at home." And with a final smile he left, locking the door on his way out.
A/N I know this took forever to write and for that I'M SORRY
I hate it when people don't update and here I am not updating for ages! Anyway sorry if this chapter seemed a bit…what's the word…all over the place I guess? LOL
I hope that Tyler didn't seem too OOC but the film didn't really look into his character all that much and I really want him to be like the comforting/adorable little brother to Scarlett
Speaking of Scarlett, what are your thoughts?
P.S. Aiden Turners' sexy. That is all.
