I hope you all had a pleasant Christmas, and I am pleased to say that we are indeed all still alive! Happy New Year in advance to everyone! Sorry I know it has been a relatively long tome since my last update but what can I say, I have been busy! Hopefully this has been worth it. I am going to do my absolute best to try and post regularly from now on but I have exams coming in January so please don't hold me to that.
So without further ado here's chapter 21…
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN SMASH
Chapter 21
Karen's POV
That was certainly unexpected! I suppose you really do have to expect the unexpected. Those three showing up in their Halloween costumes was definitely the highlight of the night, (other than not burning the stir fry of course), and the amount of effort put into it was nothing short of greatness.
I decided to set the table for dinner and came to the decision to do the works. That meant a candle lit dinner, music playing in the background and - why not - get all formally dressed for the evening. Now, what song to play? I know, a little bit of Marvin Gaye should do nicely! So let's start with Let's Get it On, that should create an atmosphere!
Maybe...
Or perhaps I should just put on a bit Michael Bublé; everyone loves the Bublé! I know! I'll start with Marvin Gaye then change to Bublé halfway through the night.
Deciding what to wear - now that is the difficult part! Do I wear a nice emerald green wrap around? Or perhaps a classic black cocktail dress? Maybe an off-the-shoulder full length red dress? Or metallic black leggings with a loose, off-the-shoulder top and a pair of black heels? Okay, let's go with that!
So now that I look nothing short of stunning; I shall go and set the table.
Ten minutes later and the table is set, dinner is waiting, the candles are lit and the music is playing. No later does the door open while I'm getting the drinks ready in the kitchen. "Honey, I'm back!" I hear Derek call.
"I'll be out in a second!" What perfect timing and just when Mr Marvin Gaye is about to hit that all important line. "Champagne or red wine?" I ask coming out the kitchen just as Gaye repeats the line. That is before I come to a standstill as I realise that Derek wasn't in fact alone.
A silence followed; a silence that seem to last a good couple of hours but in reality only lasted a couple of seconds.
Well, this is embarrassing!
During this period, Derek was standing by the table with a smirk on his face and a small chuckle playing at the back of his throat. In short he looked as if he was trying really really hard to stifle a laugh! Tom, on the other hand, looked upset but that seemed to wash away quickly and was replaced with a look of sheer embarrassment. He had turned beet red and coughed awkwardly until Derek said, "Tom was having Ivy issues," while sticking his thumb in the direction of the now embarrassed composer.
"I see," I reply placing both bottles on the table and cracking a smile. Oh dear, this seems like the sort of situation that was bound to happen; I should have known after those three turned up! It also seems like those sorts of situations you see in a good comedy; I think - if i remember correctly - one occurred in Love Actually with Hugh Grant!
"Sorry to be an imposition, I can go if you want," Tom stated, his words coming out in a fumble.
"And send you back in no better shape then you were when you arrived? Don't be silly! Take a seat, I'll change the music and get another plate out," I replied smiling and chuckling slightly. Tom looked to Derek for confirmation, and after being received the nod sat down and waited. Derek pulled out a twenty-one year old Glenfiddich bottle, (posh whiskey basically), and poured Tom a shot before - wisely - moving the bottle out of his reach.
After making sure that Tom wasn't about to burst into tears, I headed to the kitchen to get another plate out. Just I was putting some food on the plate I felt two arms encircle my waist and I put the plate down in order to turn around.
"I'm sorry Love, I couldn't leave him out there," Derek said putting on a little puppy dog face.
"Don't worry about it," I start, "but just to make sure you're doing the preparations next time!" I exclaim playfully and give him a chaste kiss before turning back around to attend to Tom's food. It was then that I felt Derek lean down next to my ear and whisper, "deal," before kissing my cheek. I smirk and start walking out of the kitchen when I heard, "You look gorgeous by the way!"
About an hour passed of pleasant conversation while we ate our food, no one, however, took the opportunity to address the massive elephant in the room. What happened between Tom and Ivy tonight? I'm sensing some sort of argument but about what is the next question.
As time passed by, we respectively finished our food, tidied up the table and had now situated on the couch. We all had an alcoholic beverage in hand, (as up do!); Tom another shot of whiskey, Derek the same and myself? A decent sized glass of red wine.
"So Tom, what happened?" I asked.
"Do you want the long version or the short version?" he replied giving a short snort.
"Well it's late, so let's go with the short one," Derek replied and I nodded in agreement.
"Okay," Tom responded, "In short, Ellis showed up, Ivy wanted to talk to him and then we fought. Sam is back at home making sure the place is still standing, he promised to ring me if anything happened."
"Okay?" Derek said sounding slightly patronising, before I gave him a sharp nudge and he groaned in pain. "I mean, 'okay?' is there more to it?" he continued.
"She wouldn't answer my only question; why, in all that is good, would she want to speak to that slimy, no good parasite?!"
"I suppose I kind of understand," Derek responds with a confused look on his face. Oh Derek, he would never understand this even if he wasn't tired and wasn't slightly tipsy anyway! His safest bet is to just nod and stay silent but then again it's Derek so that's not going to happen!
"Look, Tom why don't you just stay here tonight and we'll talk through the long version in the morning, yeah?" I ask.
"Sounds fair to me," he replies and I tell Derek to make sure the guest bedroom is set while Tom and I talk for a bit more.
No more than fifteen minutes later is Derek back downstairs saying that all is set. We say our goodnights and Tom heads up for some well deserved rest.
"You know you're still amazing Love," Derek states, taking my hand and leading me up to our room.
"What can I say?" I reply lovingly slowly collapsing on to the bed.
"You don't need to say anything," he replies sleepily and pulls me into him before falling asleep.
This has certainly been a Halloween to remember! Can you even imagine how Christmas is going to go?!
Tell me what you think guys, I love reading your reviews! What did you think of her outfit? Was Tom overreacting? Was that really an awkward moment? Any other comments would be incredible as well! Thank you again and hope you enjoyed it!