Disclaimer: Me? Own this...splendiforous thing? Or the songs that I randomly stuck in? –bursts out in hysterical laughter-
"Where are we going?" Raoul asked as he maneuvered his car through traffic. Meg glanced at Christine, surprised.
"We're going somewhere?"
"To this address," Christine answered coolly. "28267 Yale. We need to pick someone up."
Meg frowned slightly. "Another someone? I thought this was the full party."
Christine said nothing in response to this. Her stomach had tied itself into knots again and she was a bit preoccupied with trying to untie said knots. Would Erik be ready? Or would he have found somewhere to hide, away from her?
She tapped her fingers against the door handle. Raoul glanced at her out of the corner of his eye; she looked away. Dealing was Raoul was not something she wanted to handle, not when she was so extremely stressed out. He had said that her outburst hadn't bothered him in the slightest, but somehow she doubted the truth behind this statement.
"Stop here," she commanded, smoothing her skirt nervously and peeking out of the car window. The house was not nearly as exciting as the young man who was inside (hopefully inside…): it was built of standard red bricks and only had one level to it. There was a large, tangled bush set on either side of the concrete porch. There was nothing distinguishing about it.
Christine's throat dried instantly at the sight of it.
Gathering her courage, she got out of the Jeep and strode purposefully up the walkway to the front door and knocked. No hesitation, she told herself, just action. It'll be harder for him to fight action.
There was a short wait during which Christine seriously debated leaving out of sheer anxiety. Then the door opened a crack and a familiar voice asked, "Christine?"
She grinned stupidly, relieved. "Who else?"
Erik opened the door the rest of the way and she saw his lips move upward in a phantom smile. "Well, the neighborhood kids have this nasty habit involving rocks and a doorbell…but never mind."
"Are you ready?" she asked, trying to disregard the off-hand tone to his pained words.
"Of course." He stepped out of the doorway at last, revealing to her an outfit unchanged from the day. This didn't bother her in the slightest; Hey, at least he came out.
The rest of their party didn't quite share her feelings on the subject.
"Are you kidding me?" Meg hissed from her shotgun position as Christine clambered back into the backseat. "You invited…"
"Shadow-man?" Raoul finished, whirling around and staring at Christine with intense eyes. "Christine, did he force you to let him come along or something?"
"No!" she cried. "Shut up, guys, he's nervous enough about this already."
"Oh, is he?" Raoul sneered. "I wonder why. It isn't like anyone really wants him here—"
"I do," Christine whispered harshly. "Raoul, if you have a problem, then we'll walk."
The football player gritted his teeth, but fell silent. Christine turned to Erik, who was hovering about two feet away from the Jeep. "You can come in, you know," she told him kindly, grinning. Nodding, he climbed in beside her and buckled his seatbelt with shaking fingers, making sure to keep a safe distance from her so nothing inconvenient could happen, like bodily contact.
Yeah, her mind muttered grumpily, inconvenient…
The rest of the ride took place in utter silence. Christine shot glances at all three of her friends, but not one of them looked back. Erik's fingers moved restlessly against the leg of his jeans, as if he were playing a mad tune on the piano. Amused, Christine watched him. He didn't even seem to realize what he was doing, as if it were some kind of nervous habit. It was cute, she thought absently.
"We're here," Raoul grunted, stating the obvious as only he could. He turned off the engine and waited, as if he were afraid that once he left the car, Erik would grab Christine, hotwire the Jeep, and speed off. Christine snorted at the very idea.
"What's so funny?" Erik asked curiously. She shook her head, banishing her amusement.
"Nothing. Are we going to join the party or should I go steal some chips and bring them back here?"
Meg opened her door. "Well, I don't know about you, but I need some music…and maybe a drink."
At this comment, Erik twitched slightly. "I hope you don't mean beer," he began hesitantly. Christine smiled reassuringly.
"I don't drink," she told him.
"Oh." He sighed, obviously relieved. "Neither do I."
"Could've fooled me…," Raoul muttered. Meg elbowed him.
"Jealousy does nothing for your complexion, hon," she told him with a smirk. Christine laughed, but stopped very quickly when her friend glared at her. "You aren't off the hook yet, Chrissy," she continued darkly before turning on her heel and stomping away in search of liquid and rap music.
Muttering something about seeing his teammates, Raoul disappeared as well, leaving Christine with a very nervous-looking Erik. If she could have seen his eyes, she guessed they would be darting around, trying to take in the crowds of laughing, dancing people. As it was, his mouth was set in its usual taut line and he was rocking back on his heels. She decided it was time to act.
"Come on," Christine urged him, impulsively reaching for one of his swinging hands. He flinched as if she'd burned him; she ignored this and dragged him into the swarm of teenagers.
When no one seemed to register their presence and not one insult was thrown, he visibly relaxed. She grinned up at him, gently squeezing his hand. He squeezed back and she nearly fainted out of pleasant surprise.
Oh, God…I've done it. I got him out. I'm a genius!
Won't last, her mind retorted.
Shut up. Let me revel.
The party was set up mostly in the spacious backyard of some random quarterback. A stereo system blared loud music and couples everywhere were taking advantage of the comfortable surroundings to dance or make out. Noting this, Erik seemed to tense up once again.
Christine stopped walking. "Are you going to be like this all night?"
"Like what?" he asked sharply. His eyes seemed to be fixed on a point just over her left shoulder; she grabbed his chin and pointed his face toward her, making the assumption that he could no longer look away.
"Like a trapped rabbit in a field of starving wolves."
"I'm not being…rabbit-like," he protested.
"Oh, you are so being rabbit-like. Bunny man." Now she was just taunting him. An unfair tactic, perhaps, but one that usually worked on men.
Sure enough, Erik blanched. "I…how…no."
"No what?"
"No I won't act like this all night." His shoulders slumped as he admitted defeat. "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing too taxing. A dance, maybe?" Without waiting for an answer, Christine looped her arms around his neck and pulled herself closer to his bundled-up form. He shivered.
"Dancing? Are you sure you don't want to…I don't know, play chess?"
"What's the matter? Don't know how to boogie?" She smirked; shameless baiting really did work quite nicely.
"Of course I know how to…" He paused. "Did you actually say the word 'boogie'?"
"Retro is in," she commented lightly. "Come on, Erik, one dance. If you hate it with every fiber of your being, I won't make you do it again."
"And if I don't hate it?"
"Then be prepared to sweat." She laughed, inciting a small chuckle out of him.
"All right, one dance. But if I hate it…"
"On my honor, I'll let you sit in the corner and talk to the nearest tree, if so desire."
He laughed a bit more freely. "Or I could chat with you."
"Or you could do that." Her eyes twinkled. "But do me a favor and try to open yourself to new experiences, will you?"
He nodded, allowing himself to relax once again. "What is this?"
"It's called movement."
"Not the dancing! The song."
Christine listened. "Um…Blink 182?"
"Oh." He seemed to be listening to the lyrics rather intently. "I've never…I don't listen to the radio as much as I probably should."
"You want to know the truth?" When he nodded, Christine confided, "Neither do I. I usually just steal Meg's CDs."
He chuckled and she smiled against his shoulder, feeling the vibrations course through her own body.
The music seemed to dance and swirl around them. Despite the warmth of the night, Christine couldn't help but shiver at the haunting words.
I miss you miss you
Hello there the angel from my nightmare
The shadow in background of the morgue
The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
Where you can always find me
And we'll have Halloween on Christmas
And in the night we'll wish this never ends
We'll wish this never end
Where are you and I'm so sorry
I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight
I need somebody and always
This sick strange darkness comes creeping on so haunting every time
And as I stared I counted the webs from all the spiders
catching things and eating their insides
Like indecision to call you
And hear your voice of treason
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight
stop this pain tonight
Don't waste your time on me your already the voice inside my head…
By the time the song was complete, Christine's fingers were digging gently into the back of Erik's neck. He didn't mind; dancing was actually quite the agreeable act, when one was with the proper person.
Quite the agreeable act? What the hell, have you fallen into some classic novel again?
He smiled and pulled Christine a bit closer to himself. She sighed contentedly, nuzzling against his shoulder.
"Did you hate it?" she asked quietly. He shook his head. "Good. I didn't think you would."
They swayed together through another song before the beat picked up. Erik stepped back, expecting her go inside for some water or something…but no, she was grabbing his hands and laughing.
"Aw, don't turn into a pumpkin on me now!" she cried cheerfully, twirling herself around. "I love this song!"
"What is it?"
"Dashboard Confessional!" she exclaimed.
He decided to take her word for it and supposed that he should probably listen to the radio more than once every four months or so.
Hey girl, you've got a smart way about you
That makes me
Wish that I was smart enough for you
Hey girl, you've got a fine laugh
And I think that I
Could get used to that
And you're already used to laughing at
Me
So what if your friends think I'm crazy?
Well, I wasn't trying to impress those girls anyway
They're all theory, no action
And where I'm from
We live like it's the latest attraction
Hey girl, you've got a short fuse
And I've got designs on lighting you up
And setting you off
And watching you burn for me
The world lives for the weekend
Well, I'll watch as my weeks bleed right into them
Without a line
To divide
What is theirs
And what is
Mine
So what if your friends think I'm crazy?
Well, I wasn't trying to impress those girls anyway
They're all theory, no action
And where I'm from
We live like it's the latest attraction
Go on, go on
Your cruel intentions won't
Solve your problems
Everyone's gotta get
Bottom
Bottomed out in the long run
And those are the times you need love
He was laughing loudly by the end of the song. Never had he danced with a girl, especially not with such open cheerfulness. It seemed that he had never been in public without fear before.
"Thank you," he whispered. Christine looked up at him with flushed cheeks and a radiant smile; a wayward curl fell across her eyes.
"For what?" she asked, giggling a little when he gently pushed the lock of hair back into place.
"For dragging me out here." He was perfectly serious. "You…you've kind of achieved the impossible and for that I thank you. You've managed to give me a moment of normalcy."
Way to go, Erik, just keep laying on the corn. You're really going to get yourself asked out again this way…
A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Heh, don't worry, I'll probably update again soon. With angst. –cheerful expression- Hey, you all knew it was coming.
Review Replies (whoo, this may take a while…):
Christie- lol, glad you like it
AFireInside-xx- lol, sorry, I didn't mean to give you seizures…
IndnAngel- Woah, you stopped in the middle of a sentence. Did you faint and collapse on the "submit review" button or what?
PotOFan- I hate them too. –glances up at chapter- Whoops…
Spirit of Halo- Is this quicklike enough for you?
Eek- lol, random is right. Gotta love that coffee. –grins-
Chibi Hime- Erik's really fun to write for…all angsty and spiffy.
SmileVampy- Wow, scrumtrelescent, huh? I may have to use this word in my everyday language now…oh, sorry for getting that crazy French song stuck in your head. –looks sheepish-
Woah, that didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would…did I miss a whole bunch of people? I think I did…sorry to all of you. I offer cookies and milk! And to whomever commented about PotO in 15 Min, that is the most hilarious thing ever. I strongly suggest you go read it if you haven't already, all of you.
Anyway…I guess I'm done for now…see y'all later!