Disclaimer: Own nothing.
Thanks to those who reviewed! I'm sorry for the late update and I'll apologize right now for this chapter. BAH!
Chapter 11? 10? 12?
Title: Pavement and Snow.
Sparrow O'Connelly as she said she would, had come to Stoneybrook that weekend. It was the beginning of November and the first great snow had just fallen.
Sparrow looked over the mounds of snow that at one point, had been Charlie Thomas's driveway. She then looked at the small, plastic shovel in her hand and began to doubt how something this small was a threat to the white monster that ate the driveway.
"I think I'm regretting volunteering to help."
"Have you really never shoveled snow in your life?" Charlie asked in disbelief.
"Not once, but I'm getting the feeling I'll be making up for that. Quickly."
"I would suggest that you do a couple of stretches before hand, then."
"So," asked Charlie 15 minutes later, "what's your favorite color?"
"What?" asked Sparrow in mid-toss.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Green, what's yours?"
"Green," he answered promptly.
"Well wasn't that interesting."
"Very." Silence fell between the two. Ever since Sparrow had come out that weekend, neither had been able to have a conversation that wasn't awkward.
"Where's Mac anyway?"
"Gone to her friends house."
"Um." Silence reined. A half-hour later Sparrow had enough. Whether that was enough of the awkwardness or the shoveling, who knows? Packing some snow into her hands, Sparrow launched it right at Charlie's unsuspecting head. As luck would have it, he was just turning around. It smashed right into his face and exploded in white cold wetness. Charlie just stood there, as the snow melted on his face and dripped down the front of his coat. "Bingo!" cried Sparrow while doing a small jig in triumph. Charlie continued to stand there looking at the photographer. He did not show shock, nor annoyance. His face was just eerily blank. "Beep, beep," Sparrow said pinching his nose twice in hopes of getting a reaction from him. He continued to stand there. Blankly. It was quite unnerving. Sparrow finally snapped her fingers in front of his face, concerned. He still did nothing. Just as the girl was wondering what the heck she was going to do, he sprung, grabbed Sparrow, threw her into a snow bank and started shoveling snow onto her, all before she could even say "ahh." He had only got a few good shovels on Sparrow before she grabbed his leg, and with strength Charlie didn't think she had, toppled him onto the snow bank with her. The shovel went flying into the air and landed out of reach of the pair. What resulted was a snow fight worthy of any eight-year-old.
"TRUCE!" yelled Sparrow just as Charlie was about to dump a handful of snow down her coat.
"So, you officially proclaim yourself loser, defeated and chicken?" asked Charlie. His face looked much like Mac's did, when one of her Dad's dates told her she looked like a little angel, when the reality was Mac had just fixed it, so that the woman's 300 hundred dollar shoes stuck to the floor. Sparrow looked at the snow in Charlie's hand, poised to dump and wondered if it was worth it.
"NO!" Sparrow tried to make a fruitless run for it, but Charlie had too tight a grip on her. He unceremoniously dumped the snow down her jacket. "COLD! COLD! EVIL, EVIL MAN!" In her crazy dance to get the snow out of her jacket and onto the ground, were she could take much relish in stepping on it, she slipped and went nose first into the pavement. She didn't even try to stop her downward descend. There was a nasty sounding crunch! That made Charlie wince. There was only a muffled "ow," from Sparrow.
"Sparrow, are you all right?" asked Charlie as he helped her up.
"Ow," was her only reply. It was at this point that Charlie got a good look at Sparrow's nose.
"I think we may need to take a little trip to the emergency room."
"Ow."
Apparently a lot of people had been suffering injuries due to snow as well, even worse then a broken nose. As a result Sparrow and Charlie were forced to wait.
"Why the hell didn't you try to stop yourself?"
"I don't know, I just don't. Lark always use to tease me, saying I had the reflexes of a sloth. Wish I had, had the claws as well, then I could have slashed his arrogant little face into the ground! The little pompous--"
"Sparrow O'Connelly," called out a nurse, effectively stopping Sparrow's violent descriptive usage.
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"Here, have some tea." Sparrow accepted it gladly. Her bandaged nose was throbbing. After accepting it she continued looking around Charlie's living room. She saw a picture on one of the couches side tables.
"Is that Jen?" Sparrow, pointing to a photo that had a woman holding a baby in her arms in it.
"Yah, that's Jen," answered Charlie quietly. Jen, Charlie's first wife had died in a car crash a year after Mac was born.
"Mac looks like her."
"Only in appearance, I assure you," said Charlie smiling as he picked up the photo.
"Really?"
"I love my daughter, but even I have to admit she's manipulative, blunt and a little evil." Sparrow laughed at that. "Jen on the other hand was quiet, patient, timid--."
"Well she would have had to have been, if she was married to you, " said Sparrow taking a mint from her bag and dropping it into her tea.
"Thanks."
"So, how did you get Mac's temperament then?"
"No idea," Charlie put the picture back down.
"Blame it on your family, it's the one thing all families are good for." He smiled at that.
"What about you?" he asked while taking a seat beside her.
"What about me?"
"Do you blame your temperament on your family, much like everything else?"
"Yes, I suppose I do. I take after Mother, I should think. But, I delude myself into thinking I'm like my Father. He was a photographer as well. The rest of me, I blame on my Mother for driving me to it."
"She didn't seem that bad, just a little pushy."
"Yah, but that doesn't mean she's not insane and besides you're not family yet, something my Mother desperately wants remedied and that means so does everyone else in her little army she's created with the rest of my family, so just to warn you."
"I see," said Charlie a little uncomfortably. Sparrow couldn't believe she had said that out loud and regretted taking those painkillers. She looked up at Charlie; meaning to say something to assure him that she wasn't thinking marriage, but his face was mere inches away from her own and she forgot what she was going to say. It was then that she realized she had been leaning against him. He smiled down at her and looked about ready to kiss her, when the door opened.
"Hello! I'm home!" Mac walked into the living room. "What happened to your nose!?" Sparrow smiled at her.
"Well you see, there was this baby stroller--"
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Sparrow smiled to herself and sighed happily as she sat in her seat on the train headed back to New York. She didn't even notice the light throbbing in her heavily bandaged nose. Remembering the weekend she couldn't help but squeal a little. After getting over some awkwardness at the beginning (ironically that awkwardness had been broken with her nose) it had been great. As she was remembering the dinner from last night, her cell phone went off.
"It's a beautiful day isn't it?" greeted Sparrow. I suppose I should mention that the temperature was -13, with freezing rain.
"You went and talked to him, didn't you?" asked Kea.
"Yah."
"And?"
"That's none of your business."
"Fine. I'll just tell Mother--" began Kea smugly.
"Mean," said Sparrow cutting him off.
"Not really. You know there are no secrets in this family."
"A point," said Sparrow.
"Well?" Kea asked.
"I have to go Kea. See you soon." And with that Sparrow turned the phone off.
"I just wanted to tell you Sparrow that, BANG, BANG!"
"That's not what you're suppose to say."
Sparrow awoke from her dream with a start. Someone was pounding on her door. The clock on the bedside table glared 4:00am. "Mother," Sparrow muttered under her breath. Half-awake she went and opened the door. Unfortunately Mrs. O'Connelly had been in mid-knock and ended up pounding Sparrow's all ready broken nose.
"OH SWEET JESUS, MARY, GOD AND JOESPH! OW! OW! OW! OOWW!"
"SPARROW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR NOSE?" Sparrow was in too much pain to respond, but if her quick glare before her face twisted in pain said anything, it would have been very sarcastic and none too nice. "Let me see dear, let me see."
"Get away, you delusional old woman!" Sparrow managed to scream out.
"Don't talk to me like that young lady! It was an accident!"
"Mother, what do you want?" Sparrow managed to hiss.
"Well, I heard from Kea that you and Charlie made up." Sparrow narrowed her eyes and began to bottle all her pain and rage up inside to later use on her brother.
"Kea is going to DIE."
"Oh quit over dramatizing Sparrow," said Mrs. O'Connelly sitting herself down at one of Sparrow's kitchen chairs. Robin with Batman on his head trotted over to Sparrow's mother. "Hello boys." Mrs. O'Connelly patted Batman's head lightly, while at the same time rubbed Robin's belly.
"Traitors," hissed Sparrow.
"So, have you dear? And how did you break that nose?"
"What?" asked Sparrow distractedly, looking in the mirror, to see the extent of damage done.
"Made up with Charlie! Please keep up Sparrow!" If looks could kill, Mrs. O'Connelly would have been nothing but dust.
"Mother, it's none of your business!" and she walked over to the door and opened it. " Now get out, it's 4 in the morning! I wanna sleep."
"Is it dear?" Mrs. O'Connelly said looking at her watch. "So, it is! Oh well, you look wide awake!" Sparrow just closed the door and sat down in defeat. Her mother's nosiness was just no match for Sparrow's rage. "Now my dearest, where have you been this weekend?" asked Mrs. O'Connelly.
Her daughter slammed her head into the table, a habit she had developed young, when she was dealing with her Mother. Course, it's a bad idea to do that when ones nose is broken. Mrs. O'Connelly had to wait 10 more minutes before she could find out anything.
"CHARLIE THOMAS, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
"Hello to you too, Aunt Kristy. Let me get Dad." Mac smiling handed the phone over to her father. That smile grew a bit bigger and a bit more evil, when she heard her father drop the phone in surprise.
"Kristy calm down!"
"How did this happen?" cried Kristy.
"What happen?"
"YOU and SPARROW!"
"Oh that."
"Yes, that! Spill. I'm delighted of course, but I would have loved to have heard it from YOU. "
"Yah, sorry about that, but there is nothing much to say," replied Charlie flippantly.
"Charlie, Do. Not. Try. MY. Patience." Charlie knew this was one of those moments were annoying Kristy was not a good idea. As he was about to launch into the story, Elizabeth walked into the kitchen.
"Charlie, I just got a rather interesting phone call from Kristy. Is it true?" Charlie looked between the phone and his Mother. He sighed.
"Well it all really began when I threw her into a pond--"
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Thanks to those who reviewed! I'm sorry for the late update and I'll apologize right now for this chapter. BAH!
Chapter 11? 10? 12?
Title: Pavement and Snow.
Sparrow O'Connelly as she said she would, had come to Stoneybrook that weekend. It was the beginning of November and the first great snow had just fallen.
Sparrow looked over the mounds of snow that at one point, had been Charlie Thomas's driveway. She then looked at the small, plastic shovel in her hand and began to doubt how something this small was a threat to the white monster that ate the driveway.
"I think I'm regretting volunteering to help."
"Have you really never shoveled snow in your life?" Charlie asked in disbelief.
"Not once, but I'm getting the feeling I'll be making up for that. Quickly."
"I would suggest that you do a couple of stretches before hand, then."
"So," asked Charlie 15 minutes later, "what's your favorite color?"
"What?" asked Sparrow in mid-toss.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Green, what's yours?"
"Green," he answered promptly.
"Well wasn't that interesting."
"Very." Silence fell between the two. Ever since Sparrow had come out that weekend, neither had been able to have a conversation that wasn't awkward.
"Where's Mac anyway?"
"Gone to her friends house."
"Um." Silence reined. A half-hour later Sparrow had enough. Whether that was enough of the awkwardness or the shoveling, who knows? Packing some snow into her hands, Sparrow launched it right at Charlie's unsuspecting head. As luck would have it, he was just turning around. It smashed right into his face and exploded in white cold wetness. Charlie just stood there, as the snow melted on his face and dripped down the front of his coat. "Bingo!" cried Sparrow while doing a small jig in triumph. Charlie continued to stand there looking at the photographer. He did not show shock, nor annoyance. His face was just eerily blank. "Beep, beep," Sparrow said pinching his nose twice in hopes of getting a reaction from him. He continued to stand there. Blankly. It was quite unnerving. Sparrow finally snapped her fingers in front of his face, concerned. He still did nothing. Just as the girl was wondering what the heck she was going to do, he sprung, grabbed Sparrow, threw her into a snow bank and started shoveling snow onto her, all before she could even say "ahh." He had only got a few good shovels on Sparrow before she grabbed his leg, and with strength Charlie didn't think she had, toppled him onto the snow bank with her. The shovel went flying into the air and landed out of reach of the pair. What resulted was a snow fight worthy of any eight-year-old.
"TRUCE!" yelled Sparrow just as Charlie was about to dump a handful of snow down her coat.
"So, you officially proclaim yourself loser, defeated and chicken?" asked Charlie. His face looked much like Mac's did, when one of her Dad's dates told her she looked like a little angel, when the reality was Mac had just fixed it, so that the woman's 300 hundred dollar shoes stuck to the floor. Sparrow looked at the snow in Charlie's hand, poised to dump and wondered if it was worth it.
"NO!" Sparrow tried to make a fruitless run for it, but Charlie had too tight a grip on her. He unceremoniously dumped the snow down her jacket. "COLD! COLD! EVIL, EVIL MAN!" In her crazy dance to get the snow out of her jacket and onto the ground, were she could take much relish in stepping on it, she slipped and went nose first into the pavement. She didn't even try to stop her downward descend. There was a nasty sounding crunch! That made Charlie wince. There was only a muffled "ow," from Sparrow.
"Sparrow, are you all right?" asked Charlie as he helped her up.
"Ow," was her only reply. It was at this point that Charlie got a good look at Sparrow's nose.
"I think we may need to take a little trip to the emergency room."
"Ow."
Apparently a lot of people had been suffering injuries due to snow as well, even worse then a broken nose. As a result Sparrow and Charlie were forced to wait.
"Why the hell didn't you try to stop yourself?"
"I don't know, I just don't. Lark always use to tease me, saying I had the reflexes of a sloth. Wish I had, had the claws as well, then I could have slashed his arrogant little face into the ground! The little pompous--"
"Sparrow O'Connelly," called out a nurse, effectively stopping Sparrow's violent descriptive usage.
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"Here, have some tea." Sparrow accepted it gladly. Her bandaged nose was throbbing. After accepting it she continued looking around Charlie's living room. She saw a picture on one of the couches side tables.
"Is that Jen?" Sparrow, pointing to a photo that had a woman holding a baby in her arms in it.
"Yah, that's Jen," answered Charlie quietly. Jen, Charlie's first wife had died in a car crash a year after Mac was born.
"Mac looks like her."
"Only in appearance, I assure you," said Charlie smiling as he picked up the photo.
"Really?"
"I love my daughter, but even I have to admit she's manipulative, blunt and a little evil." Sparrow laughed at that. "Jen on the other hand was quiet, patient, timid--."
"Well she would have had to have been, if she was married to you, " said Sparrow taking a mint from her bag and dropping it into her tea.
"Thanks."
"So, how did you get Mac's temperament then?"
"No idea," Charlie put the picture back down.
"Blame it on your family, it's the one thing all families are good for." He smiled at that.
"What about you?" he asked while taking a seat beside her.
"What about me?"
"Do you blame your temperament on your family, much like everything else?"
"Yes, I suppose I do. I take after Mother, I should think. But, I delude myself into thinking I'm like my Father. He was a photographer as well. The rest of me, I blame on my Mother for driving me to it."
"She didn't seem that bad, just a little pushy."
"Yah, but that doesn't mean she's not insane and besides you're not family yet, something my Mother desperately wants remedied and that means so does everyone else in her little army she's created with the rest of my family, so just to warn you."
"I see," said Charlie a little uncomfortably. Sparrow couldn't believe she had said that out loud and regretted taking those painkillers. She looked up at Charlie; meaning to say something to assure him that she wasn't thinking marriage, but his face was mere inches away from her own and she forgot what she was going to say. It was then that she realized she had been leaning against him. He smiled down at her and looked about ready to kiss her, when the door opened.
"Hello! I'm home!" Mac walked into the living room. "What happened to your nose!?" Sparrow smiled at her.
"Well you see, there was this baby stroller--"
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Sparrow smiled to herself and sighed happily as she sat in her seat on the train headed back to New York. She didn't even notice the light throbbing in her heavily bandaged nose. Remembering the weekend she couldn't help but squeal a little. After getting over some awkwardness at the beginning (ironically that awkwardness had been broken with her nose) it had been great. As she was remembering the dinner from last night, her cell phone went off.
"It's a beautiful day isn't it?" greeted Sparrow. I suppose I should mention that the temperature was -13, with freezing rain.
"You went and talked to him, didn't you?" asked Kea.
"Yah."
"And?"
"That's none of your business."
"Fine. I'll just tell Mother--" began Kea smugly.
"Mean," said Sparrow cutting him off.
"Not really. You know there are no secrets in this family."
"A point," said Sparrow.
"Well?" Kea asked.
"I have to go Kea. See you soon." And with that Sparrow turned the phone off.
"I just wanted to tell you Sparrow that, BANG, BANG!"
"That's not what you're suppose to say."
Sparrow awoke from her dream with a start. Someone was pounding on her door. The clock on the bedside table glared 4:00am. "Mother," Sparrow muttered under her breath. Half-awake she went and opened the door. Unfortunately Mrs. O'Connelly had been in mid-knock and ended up pounding Sparrow's all ready broken nose.
"OH SWEET JESUS, MARY, GOD AND JOESPH! OW! OW! OW! OOWW!"
"SPARROW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR NOSE?" Sparrow was in too much pain to respond, but if her quick glare before her face twisted in pain said anything, it would have been very sarcastic and none too nice. "Let me see dear, let me see."
"Get away, you delusional old woman!" Sparrow managed to scream out.
"Don't talk to me like that young lady! It was an accident!"
"Mother, what do you want?" Sparrow managed to hiss.
"Well, I heard from Kea that you and Charlie made up." Sparrow narrowed her eyes and began to bottle all her pain and rage up inside to later use on her brother.
"Kea is going to DIE."
"Oh quit over dramatizing Sparrow," said Mrs. O'Connelly sitting herself down at one of Sparrow's kitchen chairs. Robin with Batman on his head trotted over to Sparrow's mother. "Hello boys." Mrs. O'Connelly patted Batman's head lightly, while at the same time rubbed Robin's belly.
"Traitors," hissed Sparrow.
"So, have you dear? And how did you break that nose?"
"What?" asked Sparrow distractedly, looking in the mirror, to see the extent of damage done.
"Made up with Charlie! Please keep up Sparrow!" If looks could kill, Mrs. O'Connelly would have been nothing but dust.
"Mother, it's none of your business!" and she walked over to the door and opened it. " Now get out, it's 4 in the morning! I wanna sleep."
"Is it dear?" Mrs. O'Connelly said looking at her watch. "So, it is! Oh well, you look wide awake!" Sparrow just closed the door and sat down in defeat. Her mother's nosiness was just no match for Sparrow's rage. "Now my dearest, where have you been this weekend?" asked Mrs. O'Connelly.
Her daughter slammed her head into the table, a habit she had developed young, when she was dealing with her Mother. Course, it's a bad idea to do that when ones nose is broken. Mrs. O'Connelly had to wait 10 more minutes before she could find out anything.
"CHARLIE THOMAS, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"
"Hello to you too, Aunt Kristy. Let me get Dad." Mac smiling handed the phone over to her father. That smile grew a bit bigger and a bit more evil, when she heard her father drop the phone in surprise.
"Kristy calm down!"
"How did this happen?" cried Kristy.
"What happen?"
"YOU and SPARROW!"
"Oh that."
"Yes, that! Spill. I'm delighted of course, but I would have loved to have heard it from YOU. "
"Yah, sorry about that, but there is nothing much to say," replied Charlie flippantly.
"Charlie, Do. Not. Try. MY. Patience." Charlie knew this was one of those moments were annoying Kristy was not a good idea. As he was about to launch into the story, Elizabeth walked into the kitchen.
"Charlie, I just got a rather interesting phone call from Kristy. Is it true?" Charlie looked between the phone and his Mother. He sighed.
"Well it all really began when I threw her into a pond--"
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