Vampire Kisses fanfiction
PLASTIC PROMISES
Claude Sterling/OC: Madeline Torrent
Chapter 43.
A couple of days after Maddie had confessed to Travis about her nightmares, she decided to make another visit to the dance studio. She'd finished her homework quickly (Travis's tutoring was quite effective and she was learning a lot from him in all her subjects) and had loads of time to spare. Besides, she didn't like having the house to herself; her mother was still working and Melinda's school was still in session.
She dressed out of her school clothes and pulled out a pair of black dance shorts and a loose v-neck blouse of an ivory color. When she'd tugged on her dancing attire, she smoothed out her shirt and fluffed her long black hair in the mirror. She slipped into her pair of ballet flats, grabbed her tote bag, and walked into the kitchen and took a water bottle from the small refrigerator.
Maddie was cheery that day. Though thoughts of Claude and his actions still wandered her mind, they weren't as bad as they were in the spring a couple of months ago. Her dreams had settled down ever since telling Travis about them, and Claude rarely turned out in them.
Grabbing her set of house keys, she walked out of her apartment and quickly down the iron staircase.
When she arrived at the dance studio, she placed her hand on the glass door and sighed. To think her sacred place now held dark memories.
No, she immediately thought. No negative thoughts.
She sighed again and pushed open a door. She wouldn't have the entire building to herself today. Kara, Maddie's mother's friend's daughter, had classes today, so she'd be seeing mothers and their ballerina daughters in a couple of rooms. She wandered down the halls until she reached one of the last rooms of the studio to keep as far away from the music so she could focus on her own. She plugged her iPod into the adapter on the radio and scrolled through the music until she reached her dancing playlist.
A smile was brought to her lips when the soft serenades of Onerepublic wafted through her ears, filling her room and echoing off of the mirrors. She placed her bag down and shut her eyes before twirling to the middle of the room where she then began her private performance.
She was lost in her dancing as the minutes ticked by and new songs played, but she continued through them as if her performance was all one dance. Her thoughts were clouded by the peace her moving body and music brought her.
"A Beautiful Mess" by Jason Mraz began to play and Maddie's smile grew wider. It was one of her favorite songs with one of the most heartfelt meanings.
She lifted her arms in the air and let them float above her as she moved to the soft music, letting it carry her across the room, the serene smile never leaving her face.
At one moment, she opened her eyes, and when she peered into the mirror, she dropped her arms and froze, her eyes wide.
She caught Travis Mitchell's gaze from the doorway, his lean figure against the frame with his arms crossed. His eyebrows were arched, but there was a small smile dancing on his lips. How long had he been watching her? How had he known she'd be here?
Her eyebrows knitted together curiously, but she widened her eyes again when he began walking towards her, the music still playing soothingly in the background.
His blonde hair was tousled, as if somebody were running their fingers through it over and over again, thin bangs crossing his forehead. His baby blue eyes twinkled under the luminescent lights from above. His body was compressed in a pair of straight leg denim jeans, his baseball jersey draped over a tucked in white shirt, the long sleeves rolled to his elbows.
He extended his arm and grazed her jaw when he was in close distance, the bud of his thumb rubbing her cheek. Maddie's heart raced at his touch, and she tried to maintain control of her breathing, trying not to make it so obvious that his touch was actually making her insides contort erratically.
"Oh, Maddie," he said in a low murmur, his face closing in on hers, their noses almost touching. She could feel his warm breath on her face when he spoke, and her eyes just kept growing wider. And then he chuckled softly, "You are a beautiful mess."
And then his lips crashed onto hers, those soft full lips eagerly colliding with her own, moving to their own dance to the rhythm of the song. Maddie's eyes widened so large that they hurt, but a few more seconds into Travis's kiss and her eyelids closed shut as she became entranced by the magical feel her former arch-nemesis was providing for her.
She locked her arms around Travis's sturdy neck, entangling her fingers into his already cute messy hair, and she felt his own athletic arms wrap around her waist, lifting her up off of the ground. Automatically, Maddie locked her legs around his middle, and Travis carried her, standing in the middle of the dance floor, Jason Mraz singing to them through the speakers, their mouths moving at a moderate rate, not too slow, but not fast and steamy. It was a perfect kiss, Maddie realized.
This was what it would have felt like if I were to have let him kiss me all those months ago, she thought, remembering the day she'd invited Travis over and he'd almost kissed her. He'd wanted to kiss her, but she didn't want to cheat on Claude. Now she didn't care. She wasn't attached to Claude any longer. She had to power to do what she wanted—with whoever she wanted.
The song was ending, and, coincidentally, so was their kiss. Travis pulled away from her, but let their foreheads still press against each other.
"The wait was so worth it," he whispered, mimicking the last few words of the song, but meaning them.
Maddie bit her bottom lip and smiled, tightened her arms around his neck.
Who would have thought, Maddie thought to herself, that I'd end up kissing Travis Mitchell … and liking it? Hell, I surely didn't think so. She mentally laughed to herself, happy that through all of her hard troubles, goodness finally found its way to her.
No, she argued. It's been in front of me the entire time. I just didn't know it.
Maddie looked at herself in the mirror, smoothing out the skirt of her pastel yellow dress. It was a really cute dress, Maddie thought, and it looked excellent on her. It was also over one hundred dollars. Maddie still couldn't believe she'd let Travis talk her into letting him buy it for her. It was a ridiculous amount of money for just a short yellow dress. Sure a chiffon skirt with a satin strapless torso, and yeah, there were jewels embedded along the waistline, but it was still overly priced. However, while shopping with Travis Mitchell, nothing was overpriced.
She pressed her legs together and stood up straight, her height taller than usual. This was because of the beautiful, silver, strappy, stiletto Jimmy Choos Travis had insisted getting her, in addition to her dress. These she strongly protested on, as they were way more expensive than shoes should really be—after all, they cost more than her dress did! He told her not to worry about any expenses—his father and his uncle owned excessive amounts of land all around the city, therefore price wasn't an issue, but it was to Maddie. She wasn't used to these expensive clothes and shoes. She wasn't used to shopping at designer stores. Maddie came from a terribly poor family. Her uncle was mixing with slightly above average society, only because he was getting good money at the clubs he was performing at.
"Travis, what if we don't even want to be with each other anymore and you're spending around five hundred dollars on a dress and shoes alone?" Maddie asked when she came out of the dressing room wearing the yellow dress. Travis shook his head and sighed, placing his hands on her hips.
"Then it'll be a nice gift from when we were happy together. Seriously, Maddie, it's not that big of a deal. If you were shopping with my mom, you'd be spending way more than five hundred dollars, trust me," he chuckled. Maddie pressed her lips together, forcing a smile. The expenses still made her edgy, but she told herself to not worry about it, like he said. If she worried about it too much, then she wouldn't have fun with Travis.
"Okay, fine," she sighed in defeat. "But you don't need to buy any jewelry or any of that. The rest I can do on my own. I can do my own hair and give myself my own mani-pedi, okay?" Travis's eyebrows narrowed. Obviously he'd intended on taking her to get both her hair and nails done.
"It's a special night, though," he pressed. "Don't you want to feel really nice and elegant and dressed up?"
"Travis, I'm wearing Jimmy Choos and a Jovani dress. I'm considering myself nice, elegant, and dressed up as we speak," she chuckled. "And besides, I want to be myself that night. Jimmy Choo stilettos? Those aren't me. They're beautiful, but they aren't me.
"However," she continued before Travis could say any more, "I'm going to wear them. I mean, I can't let those shoes go to waste." The two smiled and laughed.
"Okay then," he finally agreed before pressing his lips to her forehead. "You win. No hair or nails. You'll look beautiful no matter what you do."
"I still can't believe that's Travis Mitchell in their saying that. I mean, you could be an alien who's fallen in love with me, taking the form of the baseball boob Travis Mitchell, and saying all those nice things."
Travis rolled his eyes. "Okay. Way too active imagination in there," he said, gently rubbing the top of her head with his knuckles. "Besides, haven't we already gone over this a million times already? I've changed—well, I've finally come out with my feelings, I guess is the way to put it."
"No, you've changed too. I mean, you're not overly egotistic anymore, nor do you think you're the hottest guy to ever walk the planet," Maddie said. Travis playfully arched an eyebrow and smirked.
"Well, I am kind of considered a god around these parts of town," he joked, popping the collar of his short-sleeved button-down shirt. Maddie gave him a deadpan expression.
"The minute you buy this dress, I'm burning it," she said.
"Relax, monster. I'm kidding." He pressed her body against his, placing his hands on the small of her back. "Besides, you'll have nothing to wear at the dance. Like you said, it's supposed to be a special night."
Maddie smiled and placed her head on his chest, hugging his middle tightly. "I already know it will be special," she murmured, "because I'll be spending it with you."
The sound of the doorbell buzzing broke her free from her thoughts.
"Maddie! It's for you!" cried Melinda. She heard a mixture of exchanged words faintly through the thin walls of the apartment complex.
Maddie turned back to the mirror and fixed her make-up, outlining her eyes in thin eyeliner and light eye shadow. Her eyelashes were long and brushed against her cheeks, which were gently pounded with pink blush that illuminated her sun-kissed skin. Her long black hair was curled and pinned into an up-do, courtesy of her mother. She'd placed a small white daisy in her hair to match the dress.
She turned and grabbed her tote bag, despite its worn and faded appeal. It was definitely not elegant and didn't match her at all, but it was all she had.
Travis was waiting for her in the family room, as were her mother and sister. Her mother beamed at her, claiming she would be the most beautiful girl at the dance. Maddie chuckled and softly disagreed with her, shaking her head. Travis then walked up to her, his hands behind his back. He was dressed in a sleek black suit that molded around his body handsomely, a matching pastel yellow tie draped around his neck. His hair was combed, but his bangs were still in place.
"You're stunning," he whispered to her, bringing his hands around from behind. He'd been holding a plastic box, and inside was a beautiful yellow and white corsage. Her mother beamed yet again.
"You and your expensive stuff are going to give my mother a heart attack," Maddie said softly so her mother wouldn't hear. Travis laughed and took the corsage out of the box, slipping it onto her wrist. Maddie outstretched her arm and stared at it, mesmerized. It was an abundance of small yellow and white orchids, lace and satin ribbons strewn into the mixture.
"Wow, Travis … it's beautiful," she said, breathlessly. He smirked.
"But it's not as beautiful as you." He pulled out the matching boutonniere from the same box and handed it to her. "Now it's your turn."
Maddie took the boutonniere—one yellow and one white orchid with entwined stems—and pinned it to the flap of his blazer.
"Now hold on!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly. "I need to take pictures."
"Mom, it's not even senior prom," Maddie said, exasperatedly.
"I don't care. It's still a special night."
"It's alright, Ms. Torrent. Pictures would be great," Travis said. She flashed him a smile before shooting Maddie an I told you so look. Maddie rolled her eyes.
"You shouldn't have agreed," she muttered. "Now we'll never get to the dance."
Her mother arrived with her camera before Travis could reply.
"Okay, get together," she instructed. Travis and Maddie did as instructed, wrapping their arms around each other from behind. "Good, good," Lucy mused. "Okay, now. Get ready. One … two … three!"
She took a couple of pictures in that pose before making them change. At about their fourth pose, Maddie had had enough.
"Okay, Mom," she sighed. "We really need to go."
"Oh alright," her mother said. She smiled at her daughter, really looking her over. "You do look wonderful, though. You both do. Thank you so much for her dress and shoes, Travis."
"It was really not a problem at all," he said modestly.
"Really, though," her mother pressed. "Thank you for everything."
Maddie knew what she really meant. Her mother knew about Claude's behavior and how Maddie felt afterwards, how afraid and scarred she'd been. Lucy saw how Travis had brought her back to happiness, though she also knew how much they used to despise each other.
Travis smiled widely at her and nodded. Maddie kissed her mother goodbye and the two left the building. He walked her out to the side of the street where a nice shiny black stretch limo sat waiting for them.
"You rented a limo?" Maddie asked in disbelief.
"It wasn't just for you; I wanted to have fun too," Travis laughed. Maddie shot him a deadpan expression.
"Oh, okay!" she exclaimed sarcastically. Travis tilted his head back and laughed full heartedly.
"Come on, baby. Let's go dancing," he said, escorting her to the limo. She shook her head.
"You know, you look like a bumblebee," she said suddenly, eyeing his yellow tie against the black suit. Travis's eyebrows knitted together in puzzlement before he understood what she was talking about.
"That's because you're my honey," he replied coyly. Maddie widened her eyes in horror.
"Oh God! You are making me regret wearing yellow!" Again, Travis bellowed in laughter, but, soon Maddie smiled and joined him as they climbed into the limo. They were going to have the time of their lives, and she knew it. No Claude. Just Travis, the baseball boob.
