Mismatch 17
A/N: Sorries. I just felt really wrong for not putting my usual thank yous. So... I've decided to put them back. I know. It's been a while since I updated. I have excuses... uni is crazy! Midterms, assignments, lab reports... the whole she-bang! But I squeezed some time outta my schedule to throw this short chapter together.
Thanks to:
Anyanka: Are you okey? Hope you didn't fall out of your chair too hard.. :)
Fab: sorrie to keep you waiting... and I do apologize that it isn't as long as my usual chappies..
Galxychld: well... the phone call didn't turn out how I originally planned to write it. But I guess I just have to trust my muse and follow.. this IS leading somewhere... I promise. :)
Steffi: Thank you so much for all of your support!!! I'm still reeling from the chat!!! ;) whoooo!!! Need to take deep breaths...
Pam: You're writing is so amazing! And I'm so honoured that you enjoy my fic. Really, I am! Can't wait to read more stuff from you too!
Sec: Thank you. I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment... I would've added more... but due to lack of time... I'll be sure to add more as soon as I can.
Rolly: Wow. I'm glad you find this fic humourous! Yay! I'm actually funny!!! ;) Go me! Seriously tho, I'm so glad you liked it!
A. Windsor: Thanx for the review!!! :)
EIE: You're enthusiasm always leaves me feeling more confident about my writing! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I always look forward to hearing from you!!!
Alanna: eek. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! Nail-biting? I like that! :D Well... it prolly will be like that till the very end.. which I must sadly admit is coming very soon. (well... if I find the time to write.)
Two mysterious reviewers: Thank yous whoever you are!!! :D
Cannot end this lengthy thank you note without mentioning... SSO: What can I say? You're amazing! :D I can't wait for the Ont TLW gathering!!! *jumps up and down wildly in excitement* Keep on writing yourself, eh?
Finally... the next chapter... There. I feel so much better. I do apologize to those who would rather me not do those thank yous... but you must understand how important I feel it is to say these thank yous!! The support for this fic has completely been so unexpected but welcome!!
*****************************
... "John Roxton speaking."
silence
"Hello?"
silence
"Is anyone there?"
click
Roxton looked at the phone and stared at it in confusion. *How odd? A prank phone call in the middle of the day?* He returned to the newspaper and reached for his cup of coffee.
ring
Sighing at being interrupted once again, he debated on whether to attempt to answer the phone or let it continue to ring. After the third ring, he decided against ignoring the annoyingly incessant ringing.
"Hello. This is John Roxton speaking."
silence
*Not again.* He thought.
"John. How are you doing?" Startled by the sound of a voice on the other line, it took Roxton a moment to recognize the caller.
"Ned! Great to hear from you! You didn't call me before as some kind of prank, did you?"
"Nope. Sorry to disappoint you."
"No problem."
"Hey. I know that it's your last day in town. Why don't we get together for dinner, coffee or drinks later tonight?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Roxton smiled.
"Will you be in around 6pm? I'll just call to make sure Veronica is fine with it and give you a call back after work."
"Sure thing. I have no plans for tonight. So I should be here when you call."
"Great! I'll talk to you later then."
Roxton hung up the phone and chuckled. Leave it up to Neddy-boy to make a big deal about him heading back home. It did make him feel a little better that someone actually cared. Too bad it wasn't the person he had hoped it would be...
As he finished his train of thought, the phone rang again. *That Ned. Always forgetting to mention something...*
He picked up the phone swiftly. "Ned. What did you forget to say?" He chuckled.
"John?"
Roxton stopped dead in his tracks. His mind HAD to be playing tricks on him. There was absolutely no way...
"Marguerite?!"
Marguerite smiled into the phone. "I'm quite impressed you recognize my voice. It HAS been a while since we've talked on the phone."
*You have NO idea.* Roxton thought. However, he decided against voicing his opinion in fear that he would scare her off. She was calling him. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Obviously, she had something to say to him. Hopefully it wouldn't be another tongue lashing. His poor heart could only handle so much rejection.
There was a long pause of silence. Marguerite was losing her nerve. He probably thought she was a complete idiot. She started to mentally berate herself over being so foolish as to calling him and asking him to... What had she been thinking? After the way she had treated him the day of the reunion? After all she had put him through even when he was trying to make amends...
"Marguerite. You called me, remember?"
"Oh. Yes. I guess I did."
"Can I help you?"
"Huh?" Marguerite was still too busy scolding herself that none of his words were processing correctly.
"I assume you had a reason to have tracked my number down."
"Right." Another pause.
"Are you okay?" He asked with concern. What would have caused her to track his number down and call him? Could she have finally decided to forgive him and give him another chance? He shook his head. How could he even imagine that he was forgiven?
"I'm fine." *Why is it so hard to apologize? Just say those three words. I. Am. Sorry. Common Marguerite. People say that all the time. How come you can't do such a simple thing as that?*
"Marguerite, do you have something..."
"Look, it was silly of me to call. It's nothing really. I'm sorry I wasted your..." She blurted out as she attempted to make her quick escape. Her shaky hand moved to hang up the phone when his voice stopped her.
"Wait! Please don't hang up!" The urgency in his voice almost sounded desperate.
She stared at the phone. Why was it so hard to walk away from this man? What strange pulling force was keeping her on from hanging up?
"Marguerite? Are you still there?"
With as steady a voice she could manage she croaked out, "Yes. I'm still here."
He breathed a sigh of relief. There was still hope. She hadn't slammed this door in his face... yet.
"Look. I'd really like to talk to you before I leave for L.A. But not on the phone. There's something you have to hear. And I'd like to tell you in person."
Her heart skipped a beat. What was it about this man that made her heart turn into a puddle of mush at the sound of his voice? *Confound these girly emotions!* She scoffed at herself.
"Would you be free to meet sometime later today?" He asked with sudden optimism.
"I..."
click
"Excuse me Mr. Roxton, but I have an important call waiting for you on another line."
"Can you take a message please, miss?"
"I was told that it was rather important that you receive this call." He sighed. Interrupted yet again.
"Marguerite. I have to take this call. Will you hold on for a moment?" He switched to the second line. "Hello?"
"Johnny. I didn't know that Veronica planned to go to a party. But she said that I could bring a friend. No one would mind. There would be so many people that no one would notice the extra body. Are you up for that instead of our original plan?"
"Ned, you're a good friend and all... but your timing sucks."
Ned narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Huh?"
"Can I call you back? I'm actually in the middle of an important call."
"Oh. I'm sorry. Sure thing, Roxton."
~~~~~
Suddenly she heard complete silence. This gave her some time to reflect on just what she had been planning to do. *What on earth was I thinking? Was I REALLY going to ask Roxton to pretend to be my fiancé just to trick mother? How could I even THINK of doing such a thing? Sooner or later she would find out the truth and I would be forced to fess up to the truth. And the later it is, the more complicated things will become. I can't go through with this! This is so completely and utterly pathetic.*
~~~~~
"Sorry about that Marguerite. So, when did you want to meet?"
silence
"Marguerite?"
dial tone
~~~~~
Marguerite stared at the pay phone. She had made her decision. It was time that her mother heard the truth. And tonight at the so-called dinner for her and Roxton, she would show up by herself and explain everything. She walked out of the hotel doors and took one last glance back as she thought about what she almost did.
~~~~~
Roxton sighed as he hung up the phone. Blast it all! He had been SO close. Ned. He shook his head. Why was it that Ned had THE WORSE TIMING EVER?! It was as if he had some psychic ability to pick up when it was the worse time to call him. *Alert. Roxton needs to finish this conversation! MUST intervene and make his life miserable!!!!* Roxton shook those thoughts out of his mind. It wasn't fair to put the blame on Ned. He had done nothing wrong. Well, not intentionally.
He picked up the phone again and dialled. "Ned? About that dinner you mentioned earlier..."
TBC...
*******************************
Wow. That was kinda short. Sorry. But yes. With the little bit of time that I'm slacking from my studies... I decided, what the hey... I should try to post another chapter asap before ppl forget that this fic even existed in the first place...
But alas. I regret to inform you that this fic IS coming to an end soon. Well.. as soon as I have the time to write the chapters. I've had quite a few other ideas popping up and I don't want to start anything new until I finish this... (who knows... "Hidden World" might call to me for an ending.)
And yes. I'm STILL reeling from my b-day present... even tho Rach didn't answer my question it was sucha cool experience!!! Next up... Snowy!!! :D hee hee... Alright. I'll shuddup and get back to work.
A/N: Sorries. I just felt really wrong for not putting my usual thank yous. So... I've decided to put them back. I know. It's been a while since I updated. I have excuses... uni is crazy! Midterms, assignments, lab reports... the whole she-bang! But I squeezed some time outta my schedule to throw this short chapter together.
Thanks to:
Anyanka: Are you okey? Hope you didn't fall out of your chair too hard.. :)
Fab: sorrie to keep you waiting... and I do apologize that it isn't as long as my usual chappies..
Galxychld: well... the phone call didn't turn out how I originally planned to write it. But I guess I just have to trust my muse and follow.. this IS leading somewhere... I promise. :)
Steffi: Thank you so much for all of your support!!! I'm still reeling from the chat!!! ;) whoooo!!! Need to take deep breaths...
Pam: You're writing is so amazing! And I'm so honoured that you enjoy my fic. Really, I am! Can't wait to read more stuff from you too!
Sec: Thank you. I hope this chapter isn't a disappointment... I would've added more... but due to lack of time... I'll be sure to add more as soon as I can.
Rolly: Wow. I'm glad you find this fic humourous! Yay! I'm actually funny!!! ;) Go me! Seriously tho, I'm so glad you liked it!
A. Windsor: Thanx for the review!!! :)
EIE: You're enthusiasm always leaves me feeling more confident about my writing! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I always look forward to hearing from you!!!
Alanna: eek. Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long! Nail-biting? I like that! :D Well... it prolly will be like that till the very end.. which I must sadly admit is coming very soon. (well... if I find the time to write.)
Two mysterious reviewers: Thank yous whoever you are!!! :D
Cannot end this lengthy thank you note without mentioning... SSO: What can I say? You're amazing! :D I can't wait for the Ont TLW gathering!!! *jumps up and down wildly in excitement* Keep on writing yourself, eh?
Finally... the next chapter... There. I feel so much better. I do apologize to those who would rather me not do those thank yous... but you must understand how important I feel it is to say these thank yous!! The support for this fic has completely been so unexpected but welcome!!
*****************************
... "John Roxton speaking."
silence
"Hello?"
silence
"Is anyone there?"
click
Roxton looked at the phone and stared at it in confusion. *How odd? A prank phone call in the middle of the day?* He returned to the newspaper and reached for his cup of coffee.
ring
Sighing at being interrupted once again, he debated on whether to attempt to answer the phone or let it continue to ring. After the third ring, he decided against ignoring the annoyingly incessant ringing.
"Hello. This is John Roxton speaking."
silence
*Not again.* He thought.
"John. How are you doing?" Startled by the sound of a voice on the other line, it took Roxton a moment to recognize the caller.
"Ned! Great to hear from you! You didn't call me before as some kind of prank, did you?"
"Nope. Sorry to disappoint you."
"No problem."
"Hey. I know that it's your last day in town. Why don't we get together for dinner, coffee or drinks later tonight?"
"Sounds like a plan to me." Roxton smiled.
"Will you be in around 6pm? I'll just call to make sure Veronica is fine with it and give you a call back after work."
"Sure thing. I have no plans for tonight. So I should be here when you call."
"Great! I'll talk to you later then."
Roxton hung up the phone and chuckled. Leave it up to Neddy-boy to make a big deal about him heading back home. It did make him feel a little better that someone actually cared. Too bad it wasn't the person he had hoped it would be...
As he finished his train of thought, the phone rang again. *That Ned. Always forgetting to mention something...*
He picked up the phone swiftly. "Ned. What did you forget to say?" He chuckled.
"John?"
Roxton stopped dead in his tracks. His mind HAD to be playing tricks on him. There was absolutely no way...
"Marguerite?!"
Marguerite smiled into the phone. "I'm quite impressed you recognize my voice. It HAS been a while since we've talked on the phone."
*You have NO idea.* Roxton thought. However, he decided against voicing his opinion in fear that he would scare her off. She was calling him. That was a good sign, wasn't it? Obviously, she had something to say to him. Hopefully it wouldn't be another tongue lashing. His poor heart could only handle so much rejection.
There was a long pause of silence. Marguerite was losing her nerve. He probably thought she was a complete idiot. She started to mentally berate herself over being so foolish as to calling him and asking him to... What had she been thinking? After the way she had treated him the day of the reunion? After all she had put him through even when he was trying to make amends...
"Marguerite. You called me, remember?"
"Oh. Yes. I guess I did."
"Can I help you?"
"Huh?" Marguerite was still too busy scolding herself that none of his words were processing correctly.
"I assume you had a reason to have tracked my number down."
"Right." Another pause.
"Are you okay?" He asked with concern. What would have caused her to track his number down and call him? Could she have finally decided to forgive him and give him another chance? He shook his head. How could he even imagine that he was forgiven?
"I'm fine." *Why is it so hard to apologize? Just say those three words. I. Am. Sorry. Common Marguerite. People say that all the time. How come you can't do such a simple thing as that?*
"Marguerite, do you have something..."
"Look, it was silly of me to call. It's nothing really. I'm sorry I wasted your..." She blurted out as she attempted to make her quick escape. Her shaky hand moved to hang up the phone when his voice stopped her.
"Wait! Please don't hang up!" The urgency in his voice almost sounded desperate.
She stared at the phone. Why was it so hard to walk away from this man? What strange pulling force was keeping her on from hanging up?
"Marguerite? Are you still there?"
With as steady a voice she could manage she croaked out, "Yes. I'm still here."
He breathed a sigh of relief. There was still hope. She hadn't slammed this door in his face... yet.
"Look. I'd really like to talk to you before I leave for L.A. But not on the phone. There's something you have to hear. And I'd like to tell you in person."
Her heart skipped a beat. What was it about this man that made her heart turn into a puddle of mush at the sound of his voice? *Confound these girly emotions!* She scoffed at herself.
"Would you be free to meet sometime later today?" He asked with sudden optimism.
"I..."
click
"Excuse me Mr. Roxton, but I have an important call waiting for you on another line."
"Can you take a message please, miss?"
"I was told that it was rather important that you receive this call." He sighed. Interrupted yet again.
"Marguerite. I have to take this call. Will you hold on for a moment?" He switched to the second line. "Hello?"
"Johnny. I didn't know that Veronica planned to go to a party. But she said that I could bring a friend. No one would mind. There would be so many people that no one would notice the extra body. Are you up for that instead of our original plan?"
"Ned, you're a good friend and all... but your timing sucks."
Ned narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Huh?"
"Can I call you back? I'm actually in the middle of an important call."
"Oh. I'm sorry. Sure thing, Roxton."
~~~~~
Suddenly she heard complete silence. This gave her some time to reflect on just what she had been planning to do. *What on earth was I thinking? Was I REALLY going to ask Roxton to pretend to be my fiancé just to trick mother? How could I even THINK of doing such a thing? Sooner or later she would find out the truth and I would be forced to fess up to the truth. And the later it is, the more complicated things will become. I can't go through with this! This is so completely and utterly pathetic.*
~~~~~
"Sorry about that Marguerite. So, when did you want to meet?"
silence
"Marguerite?"
dial tone
~~~~~
Marguerite stared at the pay phone. She had made her decision. It was time that her mother heard the truth. And tonight at the so-called dinner for her and Roxton, she would show up by herself and explain everything. She walked out of the hotel doors and took one last glance back as she thought about what she almost did.
~~~~~
Roxton sighed as he hung up the phone. Blast it all! He had been SO close. Ned. He shook his head. Why was it that Ned had THE WORSE TIMING EVER?! It was as if he had some psychic ability to pick up when it was the worse time to call him. *Alert. Roxton needs to finish this conversation! MUST intervene and make his life miserable!!!!* Roxton shook those thoughts out of his mind. It wasn't fair to put the blame on Ned. He had done nothing wrong. Well, not intentionally.
He picked up the phone again and dialled. "Ned? About that dinner you mentioned earlier..."
TBC...
*******************************
Wow. That was kinda short. Sorry. But yes. With the little bit of time that I'm slacking from my studies... I decided, what the hey... I should try to post another chapter asap before ppl forget that this fic even existed in the first place...
But alas. I regret to inform you that this fic IS coming to an end soon. Well.. as soon as I have the time to write the chapters. I've had quite a few other ideas popping up and I don't want to start anything new until I finish this... (who knows... "Hidden World" might call to me for an ending.)
And yes. I'm STILL reeling from my b-day present... even tho Rach didn't answer my question it was sucha cool experience!!! Next up... Snowy!!! :D hee hee... Alright. I'll shuddup and get back to work.