Sod it! I got bored of the non stop revision and thought I may as well post this. The next chapter is very different and goes back to being a wee bit darker so this is light in comparison. A huge thanks for the reviews, hopefully this chapter doesn't completely suck :D Its my way of rebelling against the exam board. Not particularly wise, but I needed to do something before my brain liquified. Enjoy! x
"You look really good, Steve,"
Glancing up at his wife as she sat at the kitchen counter with Ben on her lap, Steve shook his head slightly; she walks out on him with his son and then strolls back in two months later to start dishing out the compliments? What the hell was wrong with her? Looking at her seriously, he saw that she wasn't the same woman he had met seven years ago, she was a stranger, one who was capable of ripping out his heart and stamping on it.
"Why didn't you call me?" he asked her, his voice hoarse.
"This wasn't really a planned thing," she shrugged. "I just…I missed you, I missed this and I…" she sighed. "I just needed time to work out what was going on in my head, but Steve, I still love you and I want to come back," she looked down and Ben who was gurgling as he chewed on one of this teething rings. "We both do."
Before he could answer, the sound of someone's footsteps on the stairs echoed through the house and Steve's heart dropped down to his stomach. He'd completely forgotten about Gemma and now she was going to walk in on…
"Morning," the blonde appeared at the kitchen door with her work bag slung over one shoulder, her hair pulled up into a neat ponytail.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Shannon frowned, glancing back and forth between her husband and the mystery blonde.
"Oh, sorry, where are my manners?" Gemma laughed, sticking out her hand. "I'm Gemma, Pete's physiotherapist. I just popped round to pick up some equipment which was left here. When Allie was in hospital we decided it would be better for Pete to have his sessions here where Big Brother could keep an eye on him," she smiled, gesturing to Steve.
"Oh, right," Shannon nodded, apparently having bought that. "Wait, Allie was in hospital?" she looked at Steve in shock. He hadn't mentioned anything on the phone.
"So I'll just be going now," Gemma nodded and then looked at Steve, swallowing the huge lump in her throat. "So I um, I probably won't see Pete again," she took a deep breath and Steve knew she wasn't talking about Pete anymore. "So just tell him that it was really great getting to know him and I really hope everything works out," she smiled sadly, tears stinging her eyes. "He deserves it,"
Turning on her heel, she walked down the hallway and through the front door, leaving Steve staring after her, wanting nothing more than to run out there and beg her to come back in. His throat tightened when he realised the decision he'd just made: he had Shannon in front of him and Gemma walking away and he wanted to chase after Gemma. Shaking his head, he sighed and braced himself against the counter.
"Steve, we really need to talk about what happened," Shannon told him. "Please?"
"I'm not doing this," he shook his head.
"Doing what?"
"This," he shouted, gesturing between the two of them. "Everything has to be your way and I can't fucking deal with that. You wanted out so you ran, you want to talk things through so you show up on my doorstep without calling,"
"Your doorstep?" she snorted. "I left Steve, I didn't die. This is still my house,"
"Actually, I think you forfeited that right when you walked out of it two months ago," Steve told her. "You left your lawyer's number, that pretty much says it all, doesn't it?"
"I was wrong," Shannon cried. "I was scared and I didn't know what to do, I couldn't stand here and watch you kill yourself,"
"I wasn't fucking asking you to," Steve snapped. "You're my wife, you're supposed to be there even when things are shit. You know what makes me laugh?" he shook his head. "You used to rip the absolute piss out of Pete and Allie, you'd go on and on about how it would never last, about how she could do better, about how it was nothing more than some pathetic little fling," he laughed.
"And look at 'em now. They're stronger than we are; Allie didn't leave when Pete was hurt even though she had more reason to than you did. She stuck by 'im, because that what you do when you really love someone, Shan, you put up with the shit because in the back of your mind you think of the good stuff and it all becomes worth it."
"But I do love you," Shannon told him pleadingly. "Steve, please…"
Walking over to the cork pin board next to the fridge, he pulled off the small card which had her lawyer's number on it and dropped it onto the counter watching as Shannon's arctic blue eyes followed it down as it fluttered in front of her.
"Good thing I kept this isn't it?" he told her sadly. "Because I reckon we're gonna need it."
Pete stared out of the window as Matt pulled into the back entrance of St. Marks school and cut the engine.
"We're at your school?" Matt frowned. "You think Bovver's here?"
"Nah mate," Pete shook his head, gathering his crutch and shoving his arm through it. "I know he is," shoving the door open, he turned to the Yank and smiled tightly. "I'll be back as soon as alright?"
"You don't want me to come with you?" Matt shook his head and then remembered that this was Bov they were talking about. "Right, got it." he nodded. "I'll be here,"
Clapping his shoulder in thanks, Pete scooted out of the car and found his footing on the muddy field, limping across behind the trees where the opening was. Back when he and Bovver had actually attended this school themselves, this had been where they would hold their secret 'boys only' meetings the topic of which was usually a girl, football or concocting a new plan to make Steve think they were cool enough to let them run with the GSE for a night.
Smiling to himself at the memory, Pete forgot what he was doing and almost lost his balance as he placed his crutch on a pile of wet leaves.
"Fuck!" he muttered, catching himself on a tree and regaining some control of his body.
"Watch it, Miss Murray would 'ave 'ad you for that,"
Pete's head snapped to the side and he looked at Bovver with a slight grin on his face as he sat under the same tree Pete had fallen out of in year 4 and broken his wrist.
"Would she fuck," he laughed. "She had a right ol' thing for me,"
"Pete, we would 'ave been 8," Bov snorted. "I doubt she wanted a piece of you,"
"I dunno," the blonde cocked his head, crossing over to the tree and carefully lowering himself onto one of the tree stumps. "She did give me an awful lot of detentions,"
They chuckled for a second and then fell back into silence as the wind kicked up around them. Pete looked down at Bovver's large duffel bag, almost saddened that his mate could fit his entire life into one bag. But that had always been Bov's motto: if you didn't hold onto anything, it wouldn't hurt when you had to let it go. It was how he'd lived his life since he was a kid.
"So what was the plan, Bov?" he asked quietly. "To piss off without so much as a goodbye, maybe send us a postcard from wherever you end up?"
"I just needed to get out, Pete," he shrugged. "I'm not like you, bruv. I've got jack shit to keep me 'ere. My mum's left, my dad don't give a fuck, I've got no job, no bird, the GSE is done and now…I've just escaped bein' done for fucking murder," he laughed. "I'm a mess, Pete."
"Bov, we're all fucked at the moment," he shook his head. "The past four months 'ave been a joke. And don't get me wrong, son, we've all wanted to leg it off at some point but none of us actually would…"
"That's easy for you to say," Bovver snorted. "You've got everything you ever wanted,"
"Yeah," Pete nodded. "And a few weeks ago I almost lost all of it. But that don't mean I'm about to run off with my tail between my legs 'cos I can't handle it."
Bovver took a deep breath and stared out across the large field for a moment, the playground in the distance erupting with noise alerting both men that it was obviously lunch time.
"The GSE is all I ever knew how to do," he shrugged. "You were always different, you 'ad brains for a start. I remember I used to copy your homework every night," he laughed. "My old man always did wonder why I only ever got good grades in history,"
Pete laughed and leant his elbows on his knees, careful not to put too much pressure on his right one.
"When Steve handed the firm over to you," he shook his head. "It was like we finally 'ad something worth while, y'know? It meant something and it was enough to make me forget that every other part of my life was falling to shit. You were always gonna leave me, Pete. I knew it from day one. You had more going for you than I did,"
"Bovver," Pete shook his head. "Mate, you're talking shit,"
"Nah," he shot back. "I'm not and you know it. You held yourself back for me, to help me. You put your life on hold because mine was a fucking mess and that's not fair. You were at Uni and yet you'd still end up bailing me out when I got behind on my rent or when my old man beat the shit out of me and you'd 'ave to skip classes to take me to A&E." he laughed. "I almost broke you and Allie up before it even fucking began, I put your brother in hospital, I betrayed you," he clenched his fists in front of him and looked at the man next to him. "Why the hell are you even here, Pete?"
"Because you're my brother," he told him simply. "You reckon I helped you get through all that shit?" he laughed. "Mate, d'you honestly think I would 'ave gotten through all the shit with my dad if it weren't for you? Do you think the GSE would have gotten this far if you 'adn't been there to run it with me?"
Bovver stared at him in shock, not wanting to admit that his eyes were stinging for reasons other than the chilled wind swirling around them.
"Steve is my brother 'cos he 'as to be," Pete shrugged. "You're my brother 'cos you chose to be. And that's why I'm not willing to let you run off like some fucking school boy." He laughed. "I'm getting married in a month for fuck sake and I can't do it without you and the boys there to get me pissed out of my tree the night before, can I? And if you're not there to be my best man, who the fuck does that leave me with?
"I've got Keith who'll be pissed before we get to the church, Matt who's a bloody yank and that's reason enough, Dave who Allie's still trying to persuade to be 'er fucking bridesmaid, Ike with 'is dodgy haircut, Ned who'll probably end up swallowing the ring and fucking 'ell I don't even want to think about what'd 'appen if I had Swill up there with me,"
Bovver laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, knowing it was true.
"He'll probably end up doin' shots of holy wine," he laughed.
"Or getting too excited when the priest does 'is 'you may now kiss the bride' bit and planting one on Allie," Pete shook his head. "See mate, I really do need you there."
They stared out at the field for a moment, seeing the boys running out and kicking a football into the air, all shouting and laughing as they fought over it.
"That was us once," Bovver shook his head in disbelief.
"It was a long time ago now, son," Pete laughed. "Who'd 'ave thought we'd end up 'ere, eh?"
"I'm supposed to be playing for Hammers right now," he sighed wistfully. "With a six figure pay packet and a fit bird,"
"So was I," Pete raised his eyebrows. "I got the girl though, so I can't complain too much, can I?"
"The uh," Bovver looked slightly embarrassed. "The ol' bill told me it was pretty much Allie who I've gotta thank for not ending up in a cell with someone called Otis who likes to brush my hair when I sleep,"
Pete threw his head back and laughed, wiping the fatigue from his eyes as he turned back to look at his mate.
"Yeah," he nodded. "Y'know what she's like when she gets an idea in her 'ead,"
"She didn't 'ave to do it," Bovver shrugged. "I've 'ardly been her best mate, 'ave I? I never meant to be such a prick to 'er at the beginning," he shook his head. "I just…I knew how much you liked her and the thought of losing the GSE…"
"It's not all you've got, Bov," Pete told him firmly. "We're not mates because of the firm. And just 'cos the GSE is over don't mean that anything with us, with any of the boys is gonna change,"
"I killed a bloke, Pete," Bovver whispered. "Believe me, I've changed,"
Pete watched him for a moment, seeing how hard he was trying not to lose it completely, his breath coming out in harsh pants as he twisted his fingers in front of him.
"When I walked into that flat, I just…snapped." He gulped. "I saw Allie lying there and she looked so fucking scared,"
Pete felt his body go cold as the taste of bile made itself known in his mouth; he wasn't sure he wanted to hear this but if Bovver needed to talk then Pete wasn't about to stop him.
"There was so much blood around her and I thought…I actually thought for a second that she was dead." He shook his head. "And then Tommy was there and it's like I just…"
"Blacked out?" Pete asked him quietly.
"Nah," Bovver laughed sadly. "That's the scariest part is that I knew what I was doing the whole time, I can remember what it felt like when his bones broke under my fists, I remember almost feeling sick when some of his blood sprayed up and hit me in the face but I didn't stop…I kept going, because I wanted him to die. He'd done so much to the people I cared about and I just wanted him to pay for it," he looked up at Pete and a single tear leaked out of his eye. "What the fuck does that say about me? I knew I was killing him and I still kept going,"
"You saved Allie," Pete told him. "You saved our baby, mate. And I will never, ever forget that,"
Bovver nodded and then sniffed, suddenly embarrassed when he realised just how much he'd said and reached for his bag.
"I should get off," he muttered. "There's a train at in half an hour I wanna try and get it,"
"Bov," Pete stood up carefully, shaking his head. "Come on, mate," he begged. "Don't leave it like this. You see them out there?" he pointed to the boys playing football. "How many of them d'you reckon are gonna end up as close as us?" he shook his head. "Don't just piss off because things get a little bit shit, Bov. You're better than that,"
Bovver stared at him for a while, unsure of what to say next. He didn't want to go, he didn't want to leave behind the only real friends, the only family he'd ever known but what other choice did he have?Staring out onto the field, he was struck by the memory of meeting Pete there all those years ago, his sandy hair falling into his eyes as he stepped in to break up the fight between his mate and Bovver's mate, shoving him backward and then shouting a word that most eight year olds probably couldn't spell when Bovver's friend smacked him in the eye.
"Allie's gonna 'ave this kid dressed up to the fucking nines in poncy designer shit so I need someone to 'elp me teach the little sod how to at least kick a ball in a straight line," Pete smirked and held out his hand. "Come on, Bov. You know that running away like this ain't the right thing to do,"
"I've got nowhere to stay," Bovver told him, nudging his duffel back with his foot.
"Crash with the yank for a while," Pete suggested, laughing at the look on his face. "He's not all bad, mate,"
"Time will tell on that one, eh," Bov rolled his eyes and stared at Pete's outstretched hand as he shook it impatiently.
"Come on you bastard," he quipped. "I'm bored of the dramatics now, I'm got a spastic leg, a pregnant girlfriend who's gonna kill me when she finds out I'm 'ere and more than anything I am in dire fucking need of a pint. I'll even pay for it,"
Bovver smirked and picked up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder.
"So I really 'ave to live with the yank then?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'd rather take the cell with Otis,"
"It's not that bad," Pete grinned, happy that his words had obviously sunken in. "He's a yank, right? So he knows how to make fucking nice pancakes if nothing else. And I tell you something bruv, after a night on the piss, they taste fucking golden," he paused and looked back at his friend. "If you're that fussed, I suppose you could always live with Swill, he's got a spare room going,"
"So the yank can cook?" Bovver nodded, walking ahead and waiting for Pete to catch up with him.
Laughing, Pete followed him back to the car, casting one last glance back at his school, back at their past before stepping forward and happily leaving it all behind.
"Fuck me," Swill stared at the birthing book in horror, then glancing at the blonde next to him who was wedged on the sofa between the other members of the GSE. "You've actually gotta shove one 'a them," he pointed to the new born baby. "Outta that?" he pointed to one of the more detailed diagrams and Allie felt her chest tighten.
"That's not humanly possible," she shook her head, looking at Dave and then back to Swill. "I'm not…I can't…there is no fucking way that…"
"S'alright, darlin'," Dave squeezed her arm. "Women do it all the time,"
"How?" she cried. "Look at the size of that thing! I'd be the equivalent of you trying to piss out a Christmas turkey!"
"Ow, Jesus I did not need that image!" Ned winced, crossing his legs.
"Shame you ain't an elephant," Ike told her dead pan. "They stay pregnant for over a year,"
"She'll probably look like one by the time she's ready to pop this thing out though," Swill laughed pointing to the picture of a woman who was nine months gone. "Look at the size of that thing! Paint her black and white and we could make a nice profit selling her off to SeaWorld,"
Allie frowned and smacked his arm hard.
"Ow, shit!" he winced. "Don't lash out at me; Dunham's the one who knocked you up!"
Laughing despite herself, Allie closed the book and chucked it into the coffee table, ignoring Swill's look.
"I've got nine months to live in ignorant bliss of the fact that I actually have to go through all that, and I'm making the best of them," she picked up her bottle of grape juice and clinked it against his beer before taking a long sip and resting her head on Dave's shoulder. Sometimes having an army of honorary brothers came in handy…
"Ay, Ay," Ike nodded. "I see a car,"
They all struggled to sit up, Ike and Keith making it over to the window first while Dave reached down and tugged Allie up with him.
"Come on, Nelly," he winked at her.
"Bastard," she muttered back, playfully hitting him and then taking his hand as they all walked out into the hall, waiting with baited breath as the front door opened.
Matt walked in first, holding the door open for Pete as he limped through followed by a sheepish looking Bovver, bag slung over his shoulder as he pretended to look anywhere except at the row of people gawking at him.
"Oi, oi," Swill laughed, breaking the silence. "Look what the yank dragged in," he gestured to Pete and Bovver. "'Ere Bov, don't look so miserable, you just got away with murder,"
Everyone glared at him and he winced.
"Right, that sounded a fuck load funnier in my 'ead," he told them.
Silence descended again and Allie glanced around at the boys, unsure of what to do; swallowing hard, she stepped forward, noting the wary look in Bovver's eyes as she neared him.
Standing in front of him for a moment, she bit her lip knowing that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her next move. Was she going to yell at him? Hit him maybe? Shake his hand and mutter a polite 'thank you'?
With a mental 'sod it' Allie reached out and hugged him, the stiffness of his body not going unnoticed for a few seconds until he relaxed and hugged her back. He wasn't good with words and he was grateful she knew that because if she had wanted some great big speech about how much he owed her one then she'd be waiting an awful long time.
Pulling back from her after a second, he cleared his throat and stared down into her bright green eyes.
"This don't mean I like you or anything," he told her.
"Oh yeah," she nodded, trying to hide the grin pulling at her mouth. "I know,"
He smiled back faintly, subtly reaching down and squeezing her fingers; it was s small gesture but coming from someone like Bov who had the emotional capacity of a door handle even on the best of days, it meant the world.
Walking over to the boys, he only had about three seconds before they all jumped on him, shouting mostly incoherent words as they pulled him into a hug.
"Thanks," she jumped, not realising that Pete had come to stand behind her, his free arm wrapping around her to rest protectively over her stomach as his lips sought out the soft skin on her neck.
"What for?" she asked, leaning back into him.
"I dunno actually," he frowned. "Just…everything, I guess."
Turning in his arms, she rested her forehead against his chest for a moment, feeling his hand running through the softness of her hair.
Pete gently tilted her face up to his, taken aback when he saw the tears shimmering in her eyes.
"You ok, sweetheart?" he asked her in concern.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I just…" she shook her head and he understood right then and there what she meant. They had all been through so much in the last few months and now it seemed to have come to a head, their lives were slowing down to something approaching normal and that meant that for the first time in ages, they could just focus on each other. It was freeing.
"Come 'ere," he laughed, pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her neck, her soft hair tickling his nose as the smell of her shampoo enveloped him.
"Oi, Sloaner!" Swill laughed. "You ain't crying are ya?"
"No," she shouted back, her voice coming out muffled by Pete's shoulder.
"I told you not to look in that baby book," he warned her. "But you wouldn't listen and now its gonna haunt my fucking dreams! You reckon you should be the one crying? Mate, after seeing that, I'm never having sex again."
"That fact has very little to do with the book though, does it Swill?" Ned frowned. "It's to do with the fact that you are what the French refer to as fuck ugly."
Feeling Pete's laughter vibrating through his chest, Allie looked up at the boys and fought to hide her own laughter as Swill looked hurt.
"Oh, so that's how its gonna be, eh?" he nodded. "Alright, fine. Fuck the lotta ya then," he stormed over to towards the kitchen, stopping only to wink at Allie and mumbled. "Not you, you're my favourite," before jogging into the kitchen and raising the cupboards for more food.
"Yeah, that's what'll get the ladies begging for it," Ned called. "Another couple of inches to the waist,"
"Its not the inches on my waist the ladies care about," he shot back.
"Bloody hell," Bovver shook his head. "Some fucking welcome back this is, I've only been through the door five minutes and we're talking about this? Can we not just get off the subject of Swill's barely there third little finger?"
"I'll get off it when your mum does," Swill poked his head around the corner, laughing at the look on Bovver's face.
Swill emerged from the kitchen with a huge sandwich and handed one half of it to Allie, smiling when she looked at it happily.
"Barbeque chicken and gherkin?" she frowned.
"Oh, fuck me that's nasty," Pete winced and then looked at her. "'old on, that's what you've been eating,"
"Yeah," Swill shrugged. "You don't need to be pregnant to eat it, do you?"
"Nah," Pete shook his head. "But if you're not then you're just plain wrong in the 'ead."
Ignoring him, Swill shoved the rest of the sandwich in his mouth and jogged over to rejoin the boys.
"You feeling better now?" Pete looked down at Allie as she picked at the sandwich half heartedly.
"Yeah," she nodded, standing on her tip toes to brush her lips over his and then blinking in outrage when he turned his head to the side so she caught his cheek.
"Ouch," she laughed.
"You reckon I'm kissing you after that?" Pete shook his head, pointing down at the sandwich in her hand which she then placed on top of the piano by the window.
"I reckon you better at least try," she raised an eyebrow.
"Fine," Pete smirked and then lowered his head, growling as he attacked her neck, making her squeal with laughter. She fell back to rest against the wall so the boys couldn't see them, raising her eyebrows when he threw his crutch onto the floor so he could hold onto her hips with both hands.
"Pete, your leg," she reminded him, biting her lip hard when he slipped one hand up under her shirt.
"Fuck the leg," he muttered, lifting his head and kissing her lips making her gasp and using the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue playfully swiping over her teeth before seeking out hers. His body was heating up quicker than usual and the way her hands were sliding down his face, over his chest and then up under his shirt wasn't helping.
"Bathroom," he growled against her mouth.
"What?" she pulled away, staring at him hazily as she tried to work out what was going on. Did he actually expect her to be able to form anything along the lines of a coherent sentence after kissing her like that?
"Come on," Pete grinned, bending down to retrieve his crutch with one hand, keeping his other one locked around hers as he hobbled down the hallway towards the guest bathroom, turning back to face her once they got to the door and kissing her deeply as he moved to drag her inside. She fumbled blindly with the zip on his sweater, her eyes opening when she heard the distinct sound of a snap.
"Uh…" she winced, looking down at the zip tag in her hand. "I can fix it," she promised.
"It's not a problem," Pete told her, seeking her mouth with his again and moaning when she pressed her body against his, her hands going up under his sweater to pull it over his head, bending down to kiss the skin of his chest when it came into view.
"Fuck Allie," he hissed, hating the fact his arms were raised above his head so he couldn't touch her.
"We're getting there, Dunham," she smirked. "Patience is a virtue,"
"I need to get this fucking knee sorted," he snapped, growing impatient as she fought to get the sweater over his head with the zip done up all the way. "That way we can go back to doing this properly." He sighed. "I want you so badly and I'm getting sick of having to dose myself up on painkillers every time we have sex,"
"Cripples can't be choosers," she laughed, pulling away from him. "It's stuck,"
"What?" he frowned, his voice coming out muffled by his sweater.
"The sweater," she started giggling, tugging on it again. "I can't get it over your head,"
"You're having a bubble?" he tried to look down at her but couldn't actually see her. "Allie…"
"Wait," she giggled louder, her hands shaking as she fought to keep control. "I'm trying…to…fuck," she shook her head. "Its lodged, Pete, I might have to get some scissors,"
"Fine," Pete told her. "Do whatever you have to…I can't believe we've been reduced to this,"
"To what?" Allie frowned, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated.
"Look at us," Pete shouted from inside the sweater. "Someone up there must hate me because as if it wasn't enough that I can't walk properly or that I can't go to work, nah, that's not enough…now they have to take away my ability to get laid,"
"Shut up," she laughed, slapping his stomach and trying not to look for too long at the way the muscles quivered in response to her touch. "Quit being so bloody dramatic,"
"I'm not," he spat. "But look at me, I've got a leg I can't use, a kick ass job I can't go to and a ridiculously hot fiancé who I can't fuck. It's the world's worst practical joke,"
Someone cleared their throat and Allie looked up, her eyes widening in horror as she realised that there was no way she could talk herself out of this one.
"Hi dad," she winced.
"Funny," Pete snorted, still unable to see through his sweater, standing there with his arms above his head, the jumper itself hunched up around his chest. "Who is it? If it's Swill tell 'im to fuck off,"
"I think I actually preferred you when you were comatose," Richard Harding quipped with a definite smile in his voice. Wincing, Pete couldn't even imagine how bad this looked: seeing your only daughter pressed up against a wall with the bloke who had gotten her pregnant out of wedlock with her belt undone and his shirt stuck above his head.
"Richard," Pete breathed, actually grateful that his sweater stuck, concealing how red his face was right now. "How's it going, old man?"
"Oh I'm just…" he looked at the scene once again and shuddered. "Just super…but I was hoping I could have a word with you two," he looked at his daughter who was still staring at the floor just like she used to when she was a little girl and he would catch her trying to get into the box of sweets in the cupboard. However, that didn't haunt his dreams the way he had an awful feeling this was going to. "Once you've uh, sorted yourselves out of course,"
"Right," Allie nodded. "We'll be out in a second," she paused and bit her lip. "You know I was just helping Pete change his bandage, right? I meant it-…"
"Alyssa," her dad held up a hand and shook his head.
"Ok," she wiped her hands on her jeans. "Ok,"
"I'll be in the kitchen," he smirked at the pair of them, muttering something along the lines of 'kids' as he strolled across the hallway, a huge roar greeting him as the members of the GSE spotted him and practically bundled the old man.
"Can you kill me?" Pete asked her, collapsing back against the wall.
"Sod off," Allie groaned. "If I kill you, who's going to kill me?"
Tugging his sweater back down, she laughed when his face came into view, seeing how red he still was.
"It could have been worse," she told him.
"How?" he frowned, looking at her like she was crazy.
"Remember what Steve walked in on Christmas Eve of last year?" she waited for the look of realisation on his face and shook her head when he grinned broadly.
"Yeah," he laughed. "That was a great night,"
"For you maybe," she bent down and picked up his crutch, handing it to him. "You at least had most of your clothes on," she shook her head, buckling her belt back up as she walked down the hallway. "I was the one that then had to go out and face…Shannon,"
"What?" Pete frowned, limping along behind him. It was uncomfortable enough walking with this thing and the severe lack of…room in his jeans wasn't making it any easier. "Shannon wasn't there that night,"
"I know," Allie nodded staring straight forward. "She's here now, though."
Following her gaze, Pete's eyes widened as he caught sight of the raven haired woman staring through the window at them, her face red and blotchy signalling that she had been crying.
"Oh fuck." He shook his head. "This can't be good,"
This wasn't all that but the next chapter is much better I promise, there's some good ol' fashioned GSE action in it. Actually come to think of it, there are fights galore...its almost like everyone has tourettes in the next chapter. Oh well, something to look forward to, eh? ...