Torn -By Yo-yo
Disclaimer: C chappie #1.
Torn XI:
She was warm.
Wrapped in some kind of something. It sent tingles down her spine and gently swept a breeze across her face, playing with tendrils of hair. It consumed her wholly, giving her a sense of completeness, safety ... assurance.
She gently nuzzled closer to the warmth; the sound of a rhythmic beating lulling her back into the depths of slumber. A smile tugged unconsciously at her lips and a glow radiated from her skin. Sinking deeper into the warmth, she was happy.
A few hours later, her eyes fluttered open. Her smile grew wider as she nuzzled into the warmth and whispered,
"Hi."
"Hey," he whispered back, adjusting her on his lap.
She stretched languorously, her body both begging to switch positions and remain in the comforting warmth. She caught a glimpse of the onboard screen and wondered what horrible movie they'd conjured to placate the minds of the restless travelers.
"So, what movie did they play?"
He shook his head and let out a soft yawn.
"I just woke up."
She grinned at that. She loved the way he looked when he had just awakened. His hair was mussed to one side, his bedroom eyes sparkled lazily and his lips always formed a crooked smile.
"You have the chair imprint on your cheek." She giggled, touching him softly.
He closed his eyes when her fingers fused with his skin. His breathing slowed dramatically and she knew why. She could feel it too. It happened every time they touched one another ... even saw one another. Something happened to their bodies. It was as if their bodies yearned for one another.
When she took her hand away, it took him a few moments to open his eyes, and when he did, she was surprised by the intensity of his gaze. It was as if he'd never seen her until that moment. His eyes were wide, almost astonished.
"What?" she asked suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"You're so beautiful."
She looked away from him. She could already feel the blush aflame in her face, dousing her features in red.
Slowly she pulled out of his embrace and settled into her own seat.
"You okay?"
"Fine," she whispered, looking back at him. Her eyes telling him it was so.
"Oh, I have to tell you something," he grinned, his entire being suddenly coming to life.
"What?"
"We've settled it with Adrien. We're moving into the loft. We'll be neighbors."
"Oh, that's great!" she grinned.
"We've got to go shopping for new furniture, but we plan to move in next weekend."
"Did you guys check out the place?"
"Yeah, Adrien let us look at it before the trip."
"I hope you guys get along. And Sophie is really nice."
"That's what he said."
"She really is."
"Hey, I'll be right back, ok?"
She nodded and gave a soft yawn before curling up in his empty seat and closing her eyes. After the realization set in that she wasn't tired anymore, she opened her eyes and looked over at her best friend.
Lane looked almost angelic. She practically glowed encased in Dave's arms as he sporadically pressed kisses to her sleeping head and pulled her body closer still. Her dark hair fell over her beautiful face and her head rested in the crook of Dave's neck. She was curled up in his lap, breathing quietly and clutching on to his shirt as if she expected him to disappear.
"Hey, you thirsty?" Tristan proffered a cup of cranberry juice as he sat down.
She took it wordlessly, never taking her eyes off the couple.
"What you lookin' at?" he asked, noticing her absence.
"I've never seen her this sick before," she sighed. "Sure, there's been the occasionally cold now and then. And there was that time that she was totally convinced she had mono when we were twelve. But usually she was faking it; duping her mom into letting her stay home from school so we could hang out together. Usually it was just teenage fun, ditching-"
"Wait, you ditched school?"
She rolled her eyes, looking at him.
"I'm not a saint."
He raised a brow.
"Once, because- damnit, twice. The first time in junior year to go see Jess in New York. I missed my Mom's graduation from college and everything. I spent three weeks trying to make that one up to her. And the second time was in senior year because Lane conned me into going to Boston to go see some underground band she was in lust with at the time. But that one was parent approved- at least for me."
"Why didn't you just go see Jess during the weekend?"
"Because it was spontaneous and stupid. I think the cast cut off the circulation to my brain because I think I was convinced that I was supposed to be with Jess instead of D-"
"Wait, cast?"
She rolled her eyes again.
"Jess and I got into a minor accident and we totaled the car Dean had built for me. Jess got sent back to New York and I got a fractured wrist. I never got to say goodbye," she shrugged.
"I wish I had gotten a chance to meet that Mary."
"What Mary?"
"The spontaneous, head-over-ass, stammering and babbling, crazy-in-like, Romeo and Juliet, the in-love Mary. I bet she was so cute with her stalker-like ways. I think I would have had fun with her."
She let out an unattractive snort.
"If you'd had it your way, you'd have had fun with every girl you'd ever met."
"The percentages are just getting higher and higher." He smirked.
"Anyway, back to the previous conversation. Lane has never been this sick before. I'm sort of scared."
"I think Lane will be fine. She's made of tougher stuff. You remember that time a brawl broke out in one of the clubs she was playing at. She broke up the fight before the bouncers could even push through the crowd. It's maybe the atmosphere in the states that got her sick."
"Yeah." She sighed, looking at her friend. "But she's beautiful though, isn't she?"
"Yes she is."
For the rest of the flight they conversed over trivial things, smiling as they thought of the trip, Lily and what it felt like to be among family.
"How was the holiday?" Yolande popped her head in during lunch break.
She, in fact, had just gotten back from her own holiday a week after Rory, and they had yet to catch up on the office gossip and details of their trips.
"Great," Rory grinned, practically glowing. "Guess who showed up?"
"If it was Johnny Depp, I swear I'm locking you in the storage room and assuming your identity." She frowned.
"No, Tristan and Janlen came with us."
"You had sex, didn't you?" Yolande's brown eyes sparkled.
"No," Rory's face rouged significantly.
"Don't you wish you had?" she raised a brow.
"Shut up."
"So how was it, meeting the parents? That's a big step in the relationship, huh?"
"We're not dating," she shook her head and frowned.
"Just checking," Yolande raised her shoulders. "So, did you tell him about me?"
"We were pretty busy actually. There was lots of babysitting with caffeinated kids-"
"Which means you didn't talk to him," she nodded. "Do you like him or something?"
"Who, Tristan?"
"Yeah? I mean, you guys spend a lot of time together. He went with you to visit your family ... is it that you like him?"
She shook her head, wondering why the question bothered her so much.
Because she knew she was lying.
She did care for Tristan. She had admitted it to him at the Gala. But why couldn't she admit it to other people. Was she really that ashamed ... that scared of being with someone so ... so not what she was used to? Was she so introverted that she couldn't try to move past her comfort zone and pursue the one person that understood her better than her mother? Why couldn't she admit to what her heart and body had been consumed in for months now? Why did she hide behind her fears ... why did she care so much about what others thought?
Pushing her hair away from her face she said,
"It's just he's told me he's interested in someone else, and I don't want him to overload himself. You know he's taking care of his Grandfather?"
"Yeah, I-"
"Hello ladies," M. Duval walked into the messy cubicle and smiled at Yolande and Rory, "I'd like you to meet Joseph Hewitt. Joseph, I'd like you to meet Lorelei Gilmore who will be working with you on the St. Nicholas Memorial Hospital and this is another colleague, Yolande Reynard."
From behind M. Duval stepped a young man who made both Yolande and Rory draw their breath. He was hardly a regular Joe, pun intended. He stood a respectable six feet, with dark, almost black curls that fell over his stunning, green eyes. His jaw was handsomely defined and his face was covered in manly stubble, making the thought of just running their fingers along the soft prickliness of him almost irresistible. He was gorgeous. He was- Working with Rory on the Hospital project!
"Pardon," she grinned standing from her seat and proffering her hand. "Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," he grinned pressing a kiss to her knuckles, his eyes twinkling beautifully.
"Well, I'll leave you to get back to work." Duval winked, knowing that both she and Yolande hadn't been talking about work.
"Lorelei, I'll be speaking to you later." Yolande grinned, stepping behind him to get back to her desk. Just before she left, she mouthed, "Je tu detest."
"So you are Lorelei Gilmore?" he said taking the seat she showed him to. "I've been reading your pieces since you'd first arrived on the scene. I personally asked for you, although M. Duval had a few qualms."
"He did?" she raised a brow, obviously not impressed.
"Because you're so young, he didn't know if you could handle the piece." He explained, seeing her grow pink with an expression he had yet to discover a name.
"Well I can." She pulled out a folder that began her research, "In fact ..."
"Bonsoir Janlen," she breezed into the loft with a dreamy grin on her face.
"Wow, look at you," Jan grinned, stirring the simmering concoction on the stove.
"You're making me dinner?"
"You, Lane, same person," he waved around the wooden spoon with a grin on his face.
"How's she been?"
"Hungry," he looked back down into the pot. "The fever has gone down, and she's done with the sneezing phase. She threw up only once this morning. I'm not a doctor, but I can say surely, she is on the road to recovery."
"If only she was a drug addict," Rory grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek and setting her bag on the other side of the counter.
"So what has you grinning like you're Charlie and just found a gold ticket in your Willy Wonka bar?"
"You remember that story I told you and Tristan about, the new one?"
"Yes, about the children's hospital right?" he nodded, pulling her over so that she could grasp the spoon and stir the soup.
"Well, I just met whom I'll be working with and-"
"He's really charming."
Her eyes lifted to meet his. His blue eyes looked strangely guarded as they regarded in the same way she watched him.
"How do you know it was a he?"
"Unless you're a lesbian now, no one could make you smile like that unless he was a very charming he."
"Jan," she frowned, "it isn't like that."
"Are you going to tell Tristan?"
"Why do I have to tell Tristan?"
"Well, he might get suspicious with you grinning all over the place like a whimsical teenager. He might even start to think that it's because of him your eyes twinkle like that."
"Janlen-"
"I need to go."
Her eyes were wide as he grabbed his robe from the sitting room couch, unraveled his apron and left it on the floor behind the close door.
"Merde," she groaned, knowing she'd upset him; just not understanding how.
"I'm hungry," a voice called through the closed bedroom door.
"In a minute," Rory groaned, taking a ladle to the soup and wondering why Janlen was angry and what she could do to fix it.
TBC ...
A/N: I hoped you guys like the chapter. I know that it's been awhile since I last updated, but don't worry, I'm still here and just thinking up new ways to begin these chapters. Review please; I want to know what you guys think of this chapter. I know the ending and the part with Joseph was a little unexpected considering she was sort of on the brink of realizing what she feels for Tristan, but maybe Joseph is a godsend, or maybe he's the bane of everyone's existence. Well whatever.
R&R...
W/ Luv, Yo-yo