Disclaimer: Don't own 'em..blah to that! Well anyways here's chap 4... and oh man! We are reaching the point in a story when everything starts to get real good and crazy!! Trust me there will be some craziness in the chapters to come.. I'm so excited! Well anyways thanks for the reviews!
Dyrne-Faemne- OMG!!!! I so didn't even notice that!! Oh man I'm gunna check that out!! ;)
well heres the next installment...please r & r!!!
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"Alright! Alright! I'm up!! Shit!" Damn alarm clock! I roll over and slam my palm down on it. Aaahhhh....no more ringing. Rubbing my eyes, I look over at the clock. 6 AM?? Are you serious? Already? Oh well...I guess that's what I get for coming home at 3 in the morning on a work night.. I can call out...Nah...I gotta go to work...
As I try to get up out of my bed, Tori floats around in my mind. As usual, every morning...So what exactly does a ninja think about when he first wakes up in the morning? The girl he wants, and can't have..
And what does he do next? Realize what an emo loser he is, rolls out of bed and washes his face...brushes his teeth...looks at his sad reflection...well, you get the picture...
Damn, 6:30 already? How did that happen? Oh well, I go about my morning rituals. Shower, hair, breakfast, blah,blah....
By 7:20, I'm heading out the front door to my car, kissing my mom goodbye as I leave. The sun hurts my eyes like mad, and I throw my hand to my brow like a visor. I'm definitely gonna need a whole pot of coffee just to function even a little...This is gonna be a long day...
As for last night, it was pretty interesting.. I mean, everything leading up to me passing out on Vanessa's couch during the movie...As weird as I felt, It's always sweet when any girl showers you with attention. And not to mention, shes way cute..
Tori seemed a little quiet on the ride home, but, so did I, I guess. We were both exhausted. And tomorrow is a big day. And equally , painfully tiring....
The cool thing is our apartment is located so convenient for both of us. It's closer to the beach, it's at the center of everything. The only place that's not so close is Tori's new job. She scored a sweet deal at 'Pacific Sunwear' in downtown Blue Bay Harbor. But that's ok..Luckily the both of us drive. And have our own cars.
Being on my own is gonna be weird at first, but if I can handle saving the universe, this must be cake! Being able to handle my feelings for Tori- That's a different story. That's not exactly gonna get any easier now that we're moving in together.
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"Hey Dustin, I really gotta run to my sisters house to help her with something...would you mind closing up shop?" Kelly asks looking kinda sorta desperate. Anything for Kel.
"Not a problem, Kel." By now, Storm Chargers is pretty dead. It's the last 15 minutes before quitting time. I doubt any more customers will come tonight.
"Oh Dustin!" Kelly grabs her purse and runs at me with open arms, "Thank you so much! You truly are something special!"
I squeeze Kel as tightly as I can without crushing her air supply. She's so small..it's cute.. "Don't even mention it." I'm special...that's right..
Kelly, in a rush, sprints back and forth, grabbing her keys, her jacket, checking the register, "Ok, ok..so I already counted the drawer so unless we get any more customers, which..." She looks her watch over, "We probably won't...all you have to do is close it for the night...and uh...just straighten up as best as you can.." As Kel frantically speaks, I nod obediently. "Don't worry about anything really but locking up and make sure the backdoor is locked! And turn out the lights ok....and-"
I put my arm around Kelly and walk her to the door, laughing, "Don't worry Kel...I got this under control. I've closed up shop a million times, you know this... you need to go help your sister..and call me if I can help, too."
Kelly turns around and smiles at me, "Thanks D..I'll see ya-Wait!!!!! You're moving tomorrow!"
"Yeah, that'd be tomorrow." I scratch my head...Too much work!
"Good luck, congrats again..tell Tori I said hi and have fun!" Kelly heads out the door and I follow her standing at the doorway watching her to her car..just to make sure she gets to it ok.
"Thanks Kel! Goodnight!" I yell out to her, waving her off.
Wow...that was fast...5 more minutes left..it won't hurt to close a little earlier than schedule, will it? Nah! I lock the door and flip the 'open' sign to 'closed'..feels good to be done for the night...the sun had set a while ago and the moon is full....These double shifts are brutal...but anything to help Kel out..she's at work everyday.. I know she's exhausted...
I start to close down the register, when my pants start vibrating...Woah! That scared me a little..okay,okay...a lot..I look at the number... It's Shane!!!
"Dude!!!" I answer.
"Hey!!!! Boy, do I miss you bro!!" He says.
"Likewise!"
"I'm on the road right now man.." Shane says through the noisy background.
"Awesome, bro!! Hey where you headed this time?" Im so stoked ...I really miss this knucklehead..
"Dude I am so coming home!"
"Right now?!? Yeah?!?"
"Yeah, D!"
"Alright! Yo man, Tori is gonna be so stoked!" Shane's coming home! Dude he's like my brother. He's family and it feels good to know that he's not far..and he's coming home..
"Yeah... I heard you guys got a place!" Shane's voice calmed, "How's that gonna work?"
Confused, I squinch my eyes a bit, "Uh....what do you mean?"
"Dude..c'mon....do you really think I'm that dunb? I'm only your best, best friend!" I can hear a smirk in shane's voice.
"Um...I'm so lost right now bro" Yeah..I'm so lost...well at least the register is closed out...I'll straighten up while I talk to Shane.
"Dustin...It's so obvious that you've got the major hots for Tori!" Shane blurts.
"What?? No!!!" Oh my God!! He can't know that! I haven't told anyone! I mean- NO ONE knows! What the- ?!
Shane cackles, "Dude it's ok..I'm not gonna blow your spot.. I'm here for you.."Shane's cackling slows to a sigh," I know how hard it is to care for someone and not be able to tell them..it's a drag."
"Yeah...." Wait a minute...No!! I'm so not blowing my spot! "I mean, if I actually did like Tori like that, I would totally understand, but, dude...you are so wrong it's not even funny.."
"Well ..whatever, bro...you keep telling yourself that." Shane's smirking, I can feel it...Eh..the store looks good enough.. I'm beat!
"You at work, still???" Shane asks.
"Yeah, I'm leaving now.. Dude, so how close are you?" I say, totally getting off the Tori subject...grabbing my stuff and hitting the lights.
"Yeah..well..see that's what I wanted to ask you.."
"Um..ok" I push open the door, close it and lock it. With the phone in one hand, I use my free hand to pull the gate down. Ask me what?
"Well..see, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon...I'll kinda sorta need a place to crash..and I know you and Tori are just moving in, but-"
"Dude hell yeah you can crash! That's perfect too...You can help us move our shit!" Shane wants to crash? Hell yeah! Plus it's a good way to keep the tension clear for now..on my part anyways...the store is completely locked...I head for my car.
"Awe, do I have to?" Shane's voice is whiny.
"..Dude.." I say firmly.
"No doubt, man!" shane laughs. His laughter quickly fades to a serious, almost scared tone,"Dude..maybe we sould consult Tor first...I mean you know how she gets..and she likes to hit..hard!"
Dudes got a point...
"Nah! She'll be excited! Don't stress... The three of us, like old times!"
"Ahh man! I'm excited! Call you when I get there!" Shane exclaims.
"Sounds good..see ya tomorrow!"
"alright!" Shane laughs.
"Later bro"
"Peace"
-click-
I close my phone and plop it on the passengers seat as I start up the car...Aahh sleep awaits....As soon as I start to drive off, my phone rings again..I lazily reach for it, as it rings and dances around in the seat..It's Tori..butterflies...
"Hey Tor"
"I didn't think you were gonna pick up.." She sounds half asleep.
"You ok?" The first word that blurts from my mouth.
"Yeah.." Tori pauses..sighs..ok...now I'm worried...somethings wrong..
"Ok..where are you?" I say, driving, talking, and rolling my window down...I hope I don't get stopped by the police.
"Home.." She says. Whats with the forced one word answers?
"I'm coming by" I say.
"Will you, really?" She asks.
"I'm on my way now I'll ring your phone when I'm outside"
"I'll be outside waiting for you" She says. And for a second it almost seems like she means it in that way. You know, that way.
"Ok.. give me like 2 minutes" I say. Tori means more to me than anything else in my life..Even Motocross..
"Just don't rush..be careful" Concern in her voice..reassurance that she does care about me..even if it is just as a friend.
"Ok"
"Bye"
-click-
"Um ...ok.....dammit! I'm such a dousche!" I say out loud,slamming my phone closed. I throw it back onto the passenger seat.
The road is real dark, darker than usual..but, I'm just about there. Funny how quickly one forgets how tired he is when the female calls..
I'm on Tori's block now ..and..there she is...sitting on her front steps. She's wearing bed clothes and her hair is up in a messy bun. As I pull up and park in front of her, she quickly stands up and heads towards me. Her blue tank top and plaid blue and green pajamas look so amazing on her. Without saying a word, she opens the passenger side door and hops in.
"Ouch!" She jumps up, sitting on my phone, and hits her head on the roof of the car, "Ouch!!" She yells again.
"Awe, Tor...you okay?" I say, throwing off my seat belt to move my phone and gently rub her head.
"Ha! That was kinda funny.." She slightly giggles. Me, still rubbing her head. She looks at me, looking at her. We lock eyes and I feel like I'm wearing my heart all over my face and she's reading everything I feel for her. And for a second, she looks just as nervous as I am. She suddenly looks away. Dammit! If there was any moment to go for it, that would've been it!
"But you're ok?" I ask again.
"My butt kinda hurts!" Tori laughs. I can't help but smile. She's gorgeous..and she smells so good right now, I can't take it..
"I can rub it for you" Oh my God! Did I just say that out loud?? Oh no...I feel my face turning all shades of red.
Tori laughs, hard and loud,"Wow! Hey, could you really?" She says. Oh man, this is so a trick question!
I hurry to change the subject. Man, I am such a loser, I can't believe that made its way out of my mouth. I hope she doesn't realize how totally embarrassed I am..
"Dude, I'm worried about you, you sounded unhealthy over the phone just now. You ok? For real, for real?" I say. Here we are sitting in my car, in front of her house.
"I dunno.. I mean, I'm ok.. But, I just got stuff on my mind that's all..." Tori says looking at her hands, fiddling with her thumbs.
"Wanna talk about it?" I ask.
"There's nothing really to talk about.. I just..wanted to see you."
Really? Me?? Wait.. she can't mean anything by that..nah...she probably doesn't...
"Awe!! So sweet!" I smirk, trying to completely sound unphased.
Tori rolls her eyes and nudges me, "Whatever, don't get your head all gassed up!"
"Ha! Ha! Defensive are we?" I playfully taunt her.
"Yeah, yeah..You better be ready to move your ass off tomorrow!" Tori laughs.
"Um ..yeah..." remembering Shane's phone call, "Dude Shane so called me like right before you did!"
"Wow, really? Oh man, what'd he say?" Tori jumped, her eyes wide, as she stares at me, waiting for my response.
"He's coming home tomorrow!" I excitedly blurt.
"That's awesome! Yeah, he knows about our place, and us moving together."
"Um..yeah..He needs a place to crash , so I said he can stay with us." Waiting for Tori to hit me, I brace myself.
"Ok,," She says.. wow..she didn't hit me this time..wow..something really is wrong with her today..
"I just wish that you coulda let me know before you said ok..Not that I mind but, you know..it's only fair."
"I know, Tor..I'm sorry" I say squeezing her soulder gently.
"It's cool." She softly says. Our eyes lock again. I want to kiss her so badly right now..so badly..
"Hey, Dustin..." Tori breaks the moment..maybe it's only a moment to me..her voice still sounding a bit weird...
"Yeah?" I ask. My voice comes out low and shakey.
"Oh..nevermind.."
"No, what? What is it?" Please God let her confess her love for me....wishful thinking...
Tori sighs, "Well.." She pauses, struggling with her words.
"Tori.." I say, "You can tell me anything. You know that."
"Dustin.." Tori starts. Pausing, then sucking her teeth slightly. She turns to look at me, "Why don't you have a girlfriend?" .........Huh?......
"Huh?" I ask..unsure of the motive behind this random question..
"Ugh!" Tori growls, "I mean, so many girls are into you, and you just don't pay them any attention."
Girls? Into me?? Where? "Wow, really??" I say smiling, feeling a jolt of confidence.
"Yes!" Tori looks shocked,"You didn't notice Vanessa last night? Oh God, it was so sickeningly obvious!" She sticks her tongue out.
"Well she was real nice..and liked to touch me!" I laugh. Tori looks at me with a smug face."Well what does it honestly matter?" I ask.
"Hey Dustin...don't take this the wrong way but..." Well I guess she's so not gonna tell me she loves me..damn. "Are you..you know...."
"What?"
"Are you into guys?"
"Huh?? Well that was totally random.." I laugh. But Tori's not laughing.." What? Are you serious?"
"Wait...No..." Tori turns red and stutters I mean not that theres anything wrong with being gay..it's just if she thinks I am, then I have no chance...
"It's just that....it's been so long since you even showed any interest in anyone that, I dunno..."
"So then I must be gay if I'm not banging a different girl every night..I got ya.." I sarcastically say. Tori looks down. She looks upset. "Hey, I'm not mad at you." I reassure my hot blonde friend. I don't think she's buying it.."Hey I mean if I was gay, I'd so bang Hunter!" I say. Wow..yeah..so....Hunter is hot! Tori giggles.
"I'm sorry.." She says.
"I mean Vanessa is way hot but-"
"You think Vanessa is hot???" Tori's face wreaks of disgust. Ha, maybe she's jealous.. I think she is...
"Yeah she's hot." I say, smirking.
"Whatever....It's just that after Euyi and Marah , you just-"
"What?" I say annoyed , totally cutting her off. "Look I'm sorry if Euyi and Marah fucked me over...I'm sorry that I don't really want to start any type of trust building relationship with anyone else right now, ok!" I bark.
"I'm so sorry to bring up Euyi...She-" Tori tries to apologize for re-opening a wound, thats so deep.......you just don't know..
"She just left..left me...like she didn't even care..like our whole deal was nothing...but you totally knew that already so whatever....lets just get off of this now please!" Ok now I'm pissed.
"Dustin..." Tori tries to speak.
"No, it's ok....that's a good idea , I'll just totally turn gay....'cuz chicks are nothing but problems.."
"Dustin, I was just concerned..i'm sorry" Tori feels horrible. I can see it all over her face and hear it in her voice. She won't even look at me.
"Tori...you just don't know...you just don't know.." I say shaking my head.. I could spill my love for her right now...
"So tell me then! I want to help you! I want to be there for you!" She pleads.
"Look you won't be able to help ok... I feel way stupid." I shake my head.. I just wanna go to sleep now...
"No way! You're not-"
"Tori, are you ok? I mean enough about me....are you ok??" I change the subject.
"I'm fine..i'm just worried about you-"
"Look I'm fine...so then, I'll see you tomorrow, ok"
Tori's head swings around. She stares at me with glassy eyes..holding back tears. Her face reads of hurt and shock...more hurt. I don't mean to hurt her..but I'm hurting so bad right now..for so many reasons.... I need to go...
Tori Stutters, "I-I-"
"And make sure you're ready Ms. Strong One, 'cuz you're so helping me lift those boxes!" I laugh, breaking the tension.
"Of course" Tori cracks a teary eyed smile. She opens the door, and at this moment I realize how much I don't want her to leave.. Tori goes to get out of the car, but stops and sits back down. She looks at me like a puppy dog in the rain. She's beautiful.. and she's really, really sorry...Tori leans over to me- Oh my God!!! Is she gonna kiss me????????????? My heart starts to pound and I feel myself starting to sweat, losing my breath....
Then----She kisses my cheek.. Oh, dammit!
"You're my best friend...I never meant to hurt you..I'm sorry." She says choking back tears. Oh Tor...please don't cry...
"Awe..Tor.." I grab her and squeeze her in a huge hug. She laughs with relief and squeezes me back, "You're my girl, Tor....Nothing will ever change that...now go get rest.."
"Ok.." She climbs out of the car. As she closes the door, she leans in the window. We look at each other and smile for a minute..and I know she can feel my love..even if she doesn't know it, she can feel it...She waves as she turns to walk away.
"Hey Tor!" I yell out to her. She spins around to face me."For the record," I laugh, "I'm not gay"
"I know , Dustin, I know" Tori says. Shaking her head , she turns to walk to her house. She opens her door and then she's gone. I start the car and finally go home..Too bad I now have all this baggage floating around in my head...and my heart hurts...again...