Title: Carve Your Heart Out Yourself
Author: Ellie Jean
Rating: R--one NC17 chapter, posted at my fiction journal.
Warnings: Language, Het-Sex (posted at the journal).
Summary: {Miracle Fic} Takes place in 1980. O'C has quite a temper on him. When he leaves Emilia's heart in the wreckage, only one person can pick up the pieces. Robbie Mac/Original Female Character. FORMERLY 'Made of Glass'
Author's Note: Dashboard Confessional songfic. I know Dashboard Confessional weren't around in 1980, but does that make me care? As the Russians say, nyet. Don't smile, though. Russians get shot if they smile.
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except Emilia Ventura and Jenny Lewis.
Emilia saw him, standing across the room with an impudent, cocky grin on his face, and it took all she had inside her not to walk right over and slap it off. He'd given every other girl at the bar the eye, and it was really getting on her nerves. He was lucky he hadn't looked at her; she might be forced to take action. So, he was on team USA. Big whoop. So, he was sort of cute. Again, big whoop. That didn't give him the right to act like he was the king of the world. She shook her head and rolled her eyes, taking another drink of her rum and coke, and looking away from him. "I'm telling you, Jen, Mr. All-American hockey-boy better keep his eyes off of me, or else he'll get a nice red mark on the side of his face."
Sitting beside her, her friend, Jenny Lewis, shrugged and shook her head. "I don't think you've gotta worry about that, Emilia. He's not even looking this way. Although, as much as you're bitching about him, part of me thinks that you want him to look at you. Why don't you shut it and go talk to him?" Jenny asked, setting her drink down and standing up. "But, listen...I see another All-American hockey-boy, and he's looking right at me, so I'll just leave you to gripe about Jack O'Callahan alone, and go talk to Mike Eruzione, okay?" she smiled and headed across the room, locking eyes with Eruzione halfway there.
Emilia narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "What would I want with Jack O'Callahan? Sure, he's pretty cute, but I'm so not that shallow," she pushed some of her brown hair behind her ear and took another drink. "If I wanted to be with a hockey player, I'd at least make it one who didn't constantly have that stupid cocky-ass grin on his face..." she still griped. "It's too bad. If he wasn't such a prick, he'd be totally attractive."
The bartender gave Manda a shrewd glance. "If you want my opinion," he leaned against the bar and looked Manda in the eye. "You have all the classic symptoms of extreme attraction, to the point that you scrutinize him for things that may not even exist. For all you know, he could be just the guy you're looking for..."
Emilia, however, wouldn't be told what was and what wasn't about her feelings. "I never asked you for your opinion, now did I?" she rolled her eyes and stood up. Seemed the popular consensus that day was that she had some sort of thing for Jack O'Callahan. She shot Jenny a slight glance, watching her dance with Mike Eruzione. She certainly didn't waste any time. Mike was definitely her idea of a man. He wasn't 'in your face' or cocky. He was a quiet, coy, cutie with a killer smile. Not a cocky grin, like O'Callahan had. As soon as she thought that, though, that cocky grin was right in her face, beaming down at her from a few inches above. She casually passed by him and sat down on the other side of the bar, only for him to sit right beside from her. He wasn't allowed to follow her like this. It was 1980. There were laws against stalking. "Do you mind?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jack could already tell, just by looking at her, that she was one of those types of girls. Those nit-picky, stubborn, feminist-type women, who always looked at guys like him as a big annoyance. "What's your name?" he asked her. At that point, he was beyond the point of caring how much of a feminist she was.
She couldn't help but notice that his thick Boston accent was so sexy. "What makes you think I want you knowing my name?" she asked, crossing her arms in annoyance and meeting his eyes for the first time.
His eyes lit up and that grin came right back to his face. "Because I saw you, for the past twenty minutes, staring right at me. Didja think I'd miss it, or somethin'?" his grin contorted into a smirk. "So, why don't you do us both a favor and tell me your name? I'm Jack O'Callahan..."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I know who you are. The name's Emi Ventura. Emilia to you. Now that you know, will you leave me alone?" she asked, scoffing slightly as Jack shook his head no.
He got comfortable in his seat. "D'you always do that?" he asked.
She raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"
He took a huge gulp of his beer and answered her question. "Come to clubs and insult every guy that comes your way?" he gave off a curious shrug and looked eye to eye with Emilia. "Because at first, I sort of wondered why a good-looking girl like you was here alone, but if that's the case, my question is answered..."
She scoffed and glared at him. "My, O'Callahan, you really know how to charm them, don't you. Can you please just leave me alone?" she asked, her heart racing a mile a minute.
He shrugged and put his elbows on the table, reveling in the fact that he could see how hot and bothered she was getting. "If you really wanted me to leave you alone, Emi, you'd have already gotten up and left, right?"
She couldn't believe that he had the nerve to speak to her like that. "How rude could you be, Jack, seriously? Did you come over here just to harass me? Or was there a point? And it's Emilia," she narrowed her eyes again and got up. "If there was no point, I'm just going to go back to my life and let you go back to the brutality that is hockey, if you don't mind, that is..." she started to walk away.
He grabbed her arm and locked eyes with her, pulling her back down to her seat. "What did I do to you, Emilia? I can see that you have a problem with me, and I'd like to know why. I've never met you before today, so I don't know what the problem is..." he let the grin fade from his face for a split-second and let her arm go.
She narrowed her eyes even more and leaned forward, so her face was inches from Jack's. "You just answered your own question, O'Callahan," she stood up and, before he even got a chance to react, blended herself into the crowd, leaving Jack wondering what she was talking about.
He sat there for a second, casually taking another swill of his beer, making sure no one could tell that he had just been rejected. "What a bitch..." he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Now I'm not surprised that she's here alone..." he stood up and found himself searching over the tops of people's heads for her. As much as he tried not to, he found her attractive.
Across the room, Emilia found herself doing the same thing. "God, what am I doing? He's self absorbed! How could I be attracted to him? I...I have to get out of here. Jen--where's Jen?" she looked around for Jenny, to tell her that she was leaving. On her way to find her, she caught a glimpse of Jack, out of the corner of his eye, talking to three or four different girls at once. "See? I was totally right. He's such...he's so...shit, I can't even think of it!"
She finally got to Jen, crossed her arms, tapped her foot and waited for her to notice she was there. "Jen?" she finally decided to clear her throat and speak, after fifteen seconds of being unacknowledged by either Jen or Mike. "I'm outta here. I'll take a cab back to the apartment."
Jen turned her head and nodded. "See you at home, Emi."
Emilia scoffed and turned to walk away. "I'm so glad you're concerned, Jen. Catch you later..." she walked off in a huff, catching a glimpse of Jack once again. "Whatever...jerk," she walked out the door and quickly away from the stuffy club.
Jack watched her walk away, and a part of him wanted to follow her. He couldn't figure out why, but he did. So, he allowed that part of him to take the lead, and with a slight wave at the women he was talking to, he rushed out the door, after Emilia. However, he immediately figured out why that part had wanted to follow her. As soon as he exited the club, he saw someone following stealthily behind her, looking as though they planned to jump out at her, at any second. He suddenly felt the uncontrollable urge to protect her. Rushing past the sneaky-stealth-guy, he got to just behind Emilia and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Emilia..."
Her heart practically jumped up into her throat. "So, first you harass me, now you scare the living shit out of me?" she glowered angrily at him. "What's your deal, O'Callahan?"
Jack tilted his head casually backward, toward her semi-stalker. "Look over your shoulder at that guy. Thought you might like a little bit of company to keep him away from you..."
She casually looked over her shoulder, seeing the man dressed in black, staring at her and grinning madly. "Good call. Thank you, Jack..." she admitted defeat. His face was way too hard to refuse, anyway.
He nodded and grinned. "Not a problem. I'll walk you wherever you have to go. How far do you live from here?" he looked over his shoulder again, to see the guy still following.
She shook her head and pointed ahead. "Four blocks this way. Not that far. Thank you..." she blushed and sighed. Jack O'Callahan could actually be charming and chivalrous, and it sort of attracted her to him a little more.
He glanced casually over his shoulder once again to see that they were still being followed. "Emilia, I'm going to put my arm around you. Act like it's okay with you...maybe we can get rid of this guy..." he waited for a reaction from her, before just wrapping his arm around her.
She shook her head and reached down to grab his hand. "It's easier to walk and hold hands..." she replied. She'd have definitely been a little uncomfortable with his arm around her--not because of him, but because of her. "Good thinking, though..." she nodded. "And, I'm sorry for being so rude before..."
He nodded in agreement and shrugged, enveloping his hand around her smaller one. "I am, too. Guess I still have a little to learn about chivalry, huh?" he grinned again.
She shook her head and looked down at their intertwined hands. "Nah, you're more than making up for it right now..." she returned his grin and dug into her purse, pulling out a small mirror and using it to look covertly over her shoulder, to see if he was still there. "I think we're safe now, Jack..." she put the mirror back and let his hand go.
He hesitantly let go of her hand, slightly disappointed. He was kind of hoping for a kiss before the end of the act, but he knew that wouldn't happen. "You know, you're pretty when you're not being a super-feminist and ragging on people you don't even know..." he brought a slight glare from Emilia. "You have really nice eyes."
The glare faded from Emilia's eyes and she blushed. "Thanks, Jack. When you smile...not grin, smile...you look like a lot less of an asshole. It compliments your eyes..." she somehow found herself falling into the eyes she'd just complimented. As much as she protested with herself, she found a smile taking her face over.
He returned her smile. "So, anyway...Emilia..."
She looked up at him and smiled a little. "Emi..." she winked and looked straight ahead again.
He grinned and nodded. "Emi...we getting any closer to your place?" he looked around the area.
She nodded and pointed to an apartment building. "Want to come in for a second? In case that creep still followed us, and is being more discreet about it?"
Jack ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "Sure..." he couldn't turn her down. He had no idea how he was going to control himself around her, though. She was so gorgeous. He knew he would be inside for more than a second...