Expect the Unexpected

Chapter Seven

Picture Perfect

Duncan wasn't sure how he got himself into this predicament. There he was, standing in his living room watching Heather fix the collar of her white turtleneck, and over that she wore a maroon, corduroy, overall dress. It was worth mentioning that Bruiser was wearing a matching maroon colored bow tie collar. But the worst thing, the thing that made this all truly horrible, was the fact that Duncan was also wearing a maroon turtleneck sweater. Oh, Heather was truly evil for this one. On his chest sat a skull, but the badassery of the skull was demolished the moment that the makers of said sweater slapped antlers and a red Rudolph nose on it.

"You are one evil lady." He shook his head at Heather. "I can't believe I trusted you when you said you would go to the store for me to match you guys."

Heather stopped applying her lipstick in the hallway mirror and turned to Duncan. "It was the only maroon thing left in the store that was the same shade as me and B's outfit." She motioned to Bruiser. The cat seemed to puff his chest out in pride, as if he really wanted to show off his bow tie. "Plus, it's not that bad. It's cute! It's super Christma--sy."

Duncan tugged at the collar of his sweater. "It's totally lame, Heather," He sighed. He walked over to the cat carrier to unzip it for Bruiser. "I mean... look at this skull. If I would have seen anyone wearing this sweater back in the day I would have beat them up."

Heather put her purse on her shoulder before she folded her arms. "You are such a crybaby. It looks fine." She walked over towards him, and began to smooth out the top of the shirt for him.

Duncan let out a loud sigh as he let Heather fix his shirt by standing up straight for her. "I know, but it's so dorky that people might laugh."

The ballerina looked up, not realizing how close she and Duncan were until this moment which made her step away a bit, and their eyes met. "Since when did Duncan Nelson care about what people think, huh? I thought you were above that."

"I am." He insisted. "But–" Heather looked at him with that famous smirk of hers. She looked as though she was a cat who was only seconds away from catching the mouse. He knew that if he spoke again she would call him out for being worried about the jeers his friends would send his way. He wanted to knock that smug look right off her face, but to do that... he would have to give in. "Fine, I'll wear the shirt." He threw his arms up in defeat. "Happy?"

Heather nodded her head. "Ecstatic." She pinched his cheek gently. "Such a good boy."

Duncan felt peeved at her teasing, causing him to crinkle his face up. "Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes, putting the cat carrier on his shoulder. "Just grab Bruiser and let's head to the truck. Where are we going again?"

"It's this state park called Rouge National Urban park," she informed him, picking up the feline. "It should only be an hour drive."

"An hour!" Duncan dramatically groaned even louder. It sounded like a loud rumbling coming from his chest more than anything. "Okay, well I'm picking the music. I refuse to listen to anymore of your stupid ballet music."

Heather motioned for Duncan to place the carrier down on the counter with her fingers. "It helps me memorize the moves," she stated, watching Duncan unzip the flap of the carrier. "And with opening day coming soon I like to go over it all. Every cue, every step, hell, every time I breathe is supposed to be marked down to perfection!"

Duncan's eyes glanced towards Heather, the pair now carefully putting Bruiser into the carrier. It was always a two person job doing anything with the grumpy cat. "You will be perfect. Trust me, no one sees or has to deal with your constant practicing more than me."

Heather hid back her flush at his compliment. It wasn't often she could hear the sincerity in his voice, but she could detect it now just by his tone. "Thank you," she said, biting her lip. She zipped the meowing cat up as Duncan carefully held the carrier. "Now let's head out; I don't want to be late."

The pair began their journey in Duncan's black pick up truck to the park. Heather and Duncan were able to actually agree on a mutual playlist to blast as they drove on the highway. Heather was currently leaning back in the passenger seat while singing along with Duncan to the song Bohemian Rhapsody; the idiot didn't believe that Heather knew all the lyrics so she just had to prove him wrong.

"Okay," Duncan laughed as the song faded to an end. "I'll admit, you killed it, Queenie!"

Heather tilted forward as if she was bowing with a laugh, "thank you, thank you, you have been a great audience." She turned her head to look out of the window. She couldn't help but take in the beautiful scenery before her. With it now being November, the trees along the highway were able to turn to the enchanting colors that autumn always delivered. "You know, living in the city is great and all," she began, "but sometimes I do miss the suburbs."

Duncan looked at the road ahead till he snuck a peek at Heather as she watched the trees. "I miss it sometimes as well. It's much easier to get out of trouble when you live in a small town."

Heather chuckled and turned her head to look back at him. "What made you leave in the first place?"

Duncan gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. He didn't like to talk about his home life much, but he felt comfortable enough to discuss it with Heather. This was most likely because he knew they came from similar backgrounds– the black sheeps of the family. "My parents are both cops, my brothers are all cops, and I clearly am not on that side of the law," he explained. "Everything I did was just another mistake to them, but mainly my dad. My mom is a nice enough lady, she just likes to excuse his ass too much. So, I decided to start my own path away from them."

"How did they take it?" Heather asked softly. Duncan once again took a glance towards her and saw the genuine concern written on her face. There was also a small glint in her eyes that Duncan knew to be recognition. She could understand exactly what he was saying as she experienced a similar dynamic with her parents.

Duncan let out a scoff at the question. "Not good," he answered simply. "They thought when I got out of jail that I would realize the error of my ways," he said, mimicking his father, "and try to become a cop. When I told them that it only made me realize that I wanted to go somewhere I'm happy, which meant away from them, he flipped. So, I got some bruises as a going away present."

"Jesus," Heather mumbled at his last statement, "Duncan I'm... so sorry."

"Don't be." He shook his head. "I gave him some back. It was quite the front yard tussle." He surprisingly let out a smirk at that comment, clearly finding it funny. "I'm happy now, that's all that matters. Plus, I got a hot roommate out of it."

"Oh my god," she rolled her eyes, turning her head to hide the small smile that tugged on her lips. She wasn't smiling because she liked him or anything, but because it was good to see he had a sense of humor about the situation, "Shut up."

When the two did arrive at the park, they met with the photographer Heather hired; Jennifer. She seemed like a nice enough lady as she introduced herself. Bruiser was slightly ary of her and preferred to stay closer to Heather and Duncan, but that didn't mean anything– Bruiser was wary of everyone. The park itself was quite stunning due to the autumn trees all being different shades of red, yellow, brown, and orange. Then with the warm hue of the setting sun it looked to be like quite the shots.

They started with a few shots of just them each alone, holding Bruiser. Duncan had to admit, when he saw a few of the photos being taken he figured out why Heather enjoyed doing this tradition. They were all quite funny to look at. Especially whenever they got to sit down on the provided blanket together with Bruiser now just jumping around between them. The old man seemed to have found the burst of energy when his picture was taken.

When the photographer walked off with the now obedient cat to take some photos of just himself, the two young adults were left alone. Heather let out a yawn and stretched her arms a little. "Oh I'm sorry," Duncan said, his tone oozing with sarcasm, "Am I boring you?"

Heather shook her head at him. "Shut up. I got up early to go find you a sweater, and that ride was long."

Duncan was about to respond with another sarcastic comment, but it died in his throat when Heather leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. She rested her head there and shut her eyes. He casted his eyes downward to see her look pretty comfortable in this position. He wouldn't want to ruin that. So, he wrapped his arm around her waist, letting her come in closer to rest on him.

To keep herself steady, Heather's hands went to lay on Duncan's chest. She hated to admit that he was quite comfortable to lay with. In fact, she was quite comfortable enough to let a soft smile, that she didn't even realize she was doing, rise on her face. She let out a hum of approval. "Are you wearing cologne?" she asked him quietly.

"Yeah," Duncan answered, his voice suddenly going low and deep for some odd reason. "Is it bad?" He couldn't take his eyes off of Heather as she kept her eyes shut. Every so often he would come home to see her napping on the couch, and every time, he found that she looked very peaceful. Her face would be clear of any harsh lines that annoyance, mainly due to people, caused her to have. She just looked like… like an Angel.

Heather moved her head up a little higher on his shoulder to get more comfortable. The strong scent of his cologne tingling her nose in a way that she found quite enjoyable. "I like it. You should wear it more." she suggested.

Duncan felt the corner of his lips turn up to beam at the compliment. "Thanks, Queenie."

He wasn't sure how long they stayed in that position. Duncan found himself to be quite content with Heather using him as a pillow while she tried to recharge herself. His eyes just kept watching her till a sudden flash pulled him out of it. He turned his head and felt Heather lift her head up from his shoulder as Jennifer the photographer pulled her camera away from her face. "Sorry," she said, "you guys just looked so cute that I wanted to snap a photo."

Heather cleared her throat as she scooted away from Duncan, "it's fine." She stood up and smoothed down her dress, "are you all done with him," she asked, motioning you Bruiser while picking the feline up.

"Yes! I think I have enough photos to work with," Jennifer nodded, tapping her camera gently, "I have you each with him, you guys together, and him by himself."

Bruiser purred in Heather's arm as she held him. "Great, I guess we're all set here then," she stated, handing him off to Duncan so that he could put him back in the carrier.

Duncan walked off with Bruiser to get him settled for the ride back while Heather finished talking with the photographer. He sighed as he looked at the bushy, white cat. He stared at Duncan with wide eyes and, as crazy as it sounded, Duncan could have sworn he was smirking at him. "Don't look at me like that. I was just letting her rest, okay?" There were plenty of times that he had caught Heather talking to the cat as if he was a person. He used to tell her she was nuts, but she swore up and down that Bruiser was different and he could read people. However, with this Cheshire Cat look alike staring at him, Duncan finally believed her.

By the time that the two had gotten back on the road, the sky fell and the moon rose in its place. The two young adults decided to stop in the nearby town to get something to eat. They went through a fast food drive through and parked the car to eat it. Duncan unwrapped his burger, ready to dig in when an audible moan from Heather halted any action he had.

"Jesus," Heather, who had been on her diet for the past week, melted in the passenger's seat. "Oh fast food," she groaned, "how I've missed you so."

Duncan cackled loudly at her dramatic reaction. "You're such a freak," he jostled her arm. "Can't you eat like a normal person?"

"You try staying away from all of the good tasting food for a week straight," she sighed, bumping his shoulder with her own. "It's really fucking delicious."

"I'm so happy that the greasy, not even sure if it's real meat, burger could satisfy you." Duncan poked fun at her.

Heather took a sip from her large coke with a hum. "It's better than sex." she joked back.

"Please," Duncan laughed again, his mouth now full of his own burger. "Do not start talking to me about your sex life." He reached down and began to place a few fries in his mouth. He saw Heather eat a few, making him smirk. "Here," he said, holding up one to her. "I bet if you throw this fry at me, I could catch it."

Heather looked at the fry hesitantly before taking it. "Alright, show dog, let's see how you do." She turned in her chair, so she sat with her back to the window. She grew up with a few brothers, and as annoying and dorky as they were- she used to be able to play with them like this when she was younger. She threw the fry up slightly to Duncan's awaiting open mouth. He leaned forward and instantly caught it, thus making the two cheer. "Okay, one more." Heather clapped as she reached for another, which Duncan once again caught, thus causing another celebratory rally.

They continued the game, which at one point they switched turns to see how well Heather could catch. It turns out she was not as skilled as Duncan and just kept getting hit in the face with French fries. "Dude, you suck at this!" Duncan ridiculed her.

"I'm so sorry that I'm not a well trained neanderthal like you are," she belittled him innocently. "You're only good at it because you have a huge mouth."

"I have a huge mouth?" he repeated, his hand going on his chest, seeming to be offended by her words. "You have the biggest mouth out of everyone I know!"

Heather held onto her stomach as she let out a laugh at his statement. She knew it was true, but the goofy, offended look on his face was too much. "Shut up! My mouth is perfectly proportional to my face."

The pair looked up and held their gazes. Heather never did expect to have as much fun with Duncan as she did. It seemed to happen more and more frequently every day. She was always trying to put walls up around people, but Duncan had a way of making them crumble. She assumed this was because they came from similar backgrounds, so he could understand why she was so guarded. Then the added factor of them living together, and oddly enjoying it, made it even easier to let him in.

The tension in the air was suddenly cut as Heather's phone chimed, alerting her to a message. Duncan instinctively turned his head towards the noise and was surprised to see Alejandro as the person sending her a message. "So," he said, remembering that it was also the Latino who called her yesterday, "You and Alejandro back on?"

Heather let out a scoff at his question, "No." she answered simply. She reached for her phone and began to text back. "We're just friends."

The punk bit into the last remaining piece of his burger. "Friends who used to sleep together." he commented, his mouth stuffed.

"You're such a pig!" she recoiled away from him. She sent her message to Alejandro before sitting up and clearing her throat. "I actually do want to talk to you about him though." She spoke up. "You see, he is coming in from Venezuela to visit, and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if he stayed on the pull out couch. It'd only be for one week."

"The pull out couch?" Duncan's face contorted into one of confusion as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not just let him stay in your room?"

"Because like I said, we're just friends. I'm sure we could sleep together and it means nothing, but I don't want anyone getting the wrong idea." She explained. "It's been a while since I've talked to him, and I'm hoping that if he likes it down here… he can move back."

Duncan felt an odd sense of hesitation. Normally, he wouldn't give a shit if Alejandro stayed with them or not. Yet, when she mentioned that she wanted Alejandro to move back to Canada, he wanted to blurt out the word no. He didn't know why he wanted to shut it down; he really didn't have any reason to say no anyhow. "Yeah, that's fine," he agreed, trying to ignore the unusual sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yes! Thanks Duncan." Heather leaned over to hug him. The tattoo artist went still at her sign of affection. She never hugged him. Maybe she really did want Alejandro to move back that badly. She pulled away from him and went back to seat, quickly picking up her phone to text Alejandro the confirmation that he could stay with them. "He'll arrive in two days, but don't worry. I'll clean the whole place up," she promised.

"It's no problem," Duncan shrugged. "Let's just get back on the road. I'm sure Bruiser would be much more comfortable sleeping in his bed than that carrier bag." At that, he put the car in reverse, so that they could exit the parking lot and get back on the road. For some reason, he continued to feel that disgruntled feeling in his chest. Alejandro's presence never did bother him before. Sure, he thought the man was a total poser, but he thought nearly everyone was. So, why did he care?

He was sure this feeling would fade away by the time Alejandro arrived. It had to be just nerves, right?

A/N: As usual, feel free to favorite and comment! I love reading your reviews.

I'm sure you can guess who will be making a cameo next week. But why would Duncan feel so weird about it? Odd.