Expect the Unexpected

Chapter Nine

Snow Falling

With December finally beginning, it was officially Christmas season in Toronto. With the holiday season in full swing, and the first weekend of the month, it was officially time for Heather to make her big debut. The snowfall was coming down pretty lightly that night, yet the crisp winter air chilled Duncan as he walked towards the theatre. He held the specially ordered bouquet in his hands tightly. It cost him quite a pretty penny to get the custom ordered bouquet of cherry blossom flowers, entwined with white tulips, and small bits of the pink heather flower sticking out. He was quite content with the look of it; he was sure Heather would be pleased. Plus, it smelled absolutely heavenly. Which was a phrasing that didn't come to his mind often, but it was the only way to describe the scent of the three different flowers mixed together. He wasn't even sure why he decided to get them, but… he just did.

Duncan walked up to the ticket booth and got the tickets that Heather set aside specifically for him. She also put a few other tickets on the side for her family to come, but apparently her parents were too busy on their winter vacation to come see their daughter. Duncan personally offered to punch them both in their faces, but Heather declined. When he walked into the theatre, Duncan felt entirely out of place. The people surrounding him were obviously the posh types who were used to the theatre. He moved past the large groups all standing around the lobby of the theatre, and just went straight to his designated seat and held the flowers in his lap. He stared ahead at the closed curtain, not even noticing the elderly man coming to sit next to him.

"Ah, Duncan!" A familiar voice snapped him out of his trance. Duncan turned and found Heather's grandpa, which she called Baba, sitting next to him, "Good to see you."

"Hey, Mr. Hiroshi." Duncan smiled at him, moving the flowers from the seat next to him so that the old man could sit. The two originally met when Duncan was going to get Bruiser from him. The old man had been taking care of him when Heather originally couldn't have him at their apartment. Duncan oddly liked older people, on the condition that they weren't assholes. Yet, when he met Heather's Baba he could tell that there wasn't a mean bone in the old gardener's body. How he was even related to Heather was quite a mystery, but apparently he fathered Heather's mom, so Duncan just had to take her word for it. "I thought Heather said you guys weren't able to make it."

"Please, call me Baba." He insisted as he took the seat next to Duncan. The old man got comfortable in his seat, leaning his cane to rest down on the ground. "The rest of the family could not join us," he explained, "but I couldn't miss my little flower's performance. She's always so beautiful whenever she dances." Hiroshi glanced at Duncan, looking at the flowers. "Cherry blossoms, tulips, and calluna vulgaris, otherwise known as the heather flower." He observed, seeming impressed with Duncan's choice of flowers."You know her well."

Duncan smiled at that, taking it as a sign of approval that Heather would indeed love the gesture. "I read that this is what you're supposed to do. I couldn't give her roses—."

"She hates them." The pair of men finished the sentence simultaneously. Hiroshi let out a small chuckle at their unity.

Hiroshi turned to Duncan and gave an agreeable nod. "Finally, a man who knows how to give a woman flowers she will love and not just the bouquet that is easy." Duncan had learned from Heather that Hiroshi had been a professional gardener for most of his life. She once told him that no one knew flowers better than her Baba. He knew every family, every name, and even what the flower represented in meaning when one wanted it to be planted. Hiroshi once again began to inspect the bouquet some more. Duncan felt an uneasy feeling in his gut as his choices were being analyzed, but the nerves went away as Hiroshi smiled at him. "Cherry blossoms represent a time of renewal. Surely, this will be true for her big night on stage. Her career will hopefully take off after tonight. Heathers represent good luck, admiration, and protection; traits of which she will need for tonight. But the tulips... the tulips are different."

Duncan looked at Heather's grandfather in fascination. He remembered a vague recollection of hearing that flowers had meaning before, mainly from Heather's story about her Baba, though he didn't even know what in the world they represented. He just thought these looked nice. Yet, Hiroshi made it sound like he made the best bouquet for the occasion by accident. "What do tulips mean?"

"Well." the old man began, resting his hands on his lap. "Many think that roses are the only flowers to represent love. Don't get me wrong, they most certainly do represent romance. But tulips…," he held up a finger at Duncan, "tulips represent a deep love. A love so pure it can only be described as perfection."

Duncan held back a blush at the old man's words. "Oh! well…I just thought that they were pret–."

"Flowers are more than just things we can call pretty." Baba cut him off, "Even if we don't know it, their symbolism and language the selection of the flowers speaks volumes. Especially when we aren't expecting them to mean anything." There was a glint of meaning in the old man's eyes. "I like you, Duncan. So please, do not mistake me for a fool."

"I'm sorry, Baba," Duncan apologized, raising an eyebrow up in curiosity, "But I don't know what you are talking about."

"My granddaughter is a hard flower to read." He then turned to face forward towards the stage. "She is beautiful, but she has a hint of venom to her as well. I blame myself for that quite frankly, I should have tried to tell her that it was okay to express herself more when she was younger."

"Baba–."

"But she is a flower nonetheless. With careful tending to and patience, she will bloom. Especially for the right gardener." He turned his head once more to look at Duncan. "Do you think you could handle it?"

Duncan opened his mouth to answer him, and to reject the idea, but nothing came out. Before he could begin to look any dumber, the lights of the hall began to slowly dim.

As the stage curtain rose, Duncan tried to push past all of the craziness that people around him kept spewing. He had no clue why everyone kept insisting that he loved Heather. They were friends! So, as her friend, he was going to pay attention to the play. He figured it would just be a boring play about a boring girl being given a boring nutcracker.

Soon enough, Duncan was leaning forward in his seat as all of the action unfolded. The story was a bit hard to follow at first due to the fact that there was no signing or talking. Apparently the audience was supposed to figure out what was happening by the dance and music alone. He struggled for a moment, but with a whisper of explanation from Baba, he was soon able to catch on. Though the most surprising aspect was just how bad ass the whole thing was. There were some scenes that he could even call scary. Duncan believed those scenes to be a nightmare, and therefore quite entertaining. Plus, there was sword fighting that kept him quite engaged, and to top it all off there was some dude who was like... the king of mice... running around fighting the nutcracker. He was so focused on what was happening in the story, that he didn't even realize it was at the halfway point of the play, making the curtain close and the lights go back on in the theatre.

During the intermission, with no sign of Heather on stage yet, Duncan turned to Baba with wide eyes. "Dude," he pointed to the stage, "this shit– I mean stuff– is rad!" He made sure to correct himself out of respect for the elderly man.

Though, it didn't seem that Hiroshi minded his slip. The old man gave a hearty chuckle at Duncan's expression. "This shit is rad!" He agreed by nodding along enthusiastically. "I have watched her perform many versions of this ballet, but this is by far the best."

"Yeah, about that," Duncan changed his expression to one of confusion, "Why haven't we seen her yet? Is she okay?"

"Don't worry. She is fine. We have not gotten to see her yet because she is the Sugar Plum Fairy." He answered, making it seem like the answer to Duncan's concern was quite obvious. "The Sugar Plum Fairy is a big role, but it has minimal dancing. She does her big number at the end."

"Oh." Duncan nodded in understanding. "Sounds cool. Y'know, I thought that this would be boring, but it's actually sort of interesting."

"Just wait until the Christmas season is over," Baba warned him with a whisper. "That is when they start performing some of the darker and more tragic ballets. I find that there are very few with a happy ending."

Duncan grinned at that. Tragedies? He could definitely get into watching some tragic stories. It was basically like horror movies, just way older and less gore. The tattoo artist suddenly felt as though he could get into this silly ballet thing.

Through the rest of the play, Duncan did indeed pay great attention. He really did like the play! Before now, he would totally make fun of any nerd who said they liked ballet. It was such a dorky thing to be into. He would always mess with Heather about her passion for the prissy genre. However, Duncan's opinion was forever changed as he sat in his seat that night. He was hypnotized by the battle happening on the stage and the exploration of the strange land.

When the story's conflict seemingly came to an end, and the Sugar Plum Fairy was finally revealed, Duncan's jaw dropped. There Heather stood in a gorgeous white bodiace, white tutu with pink running along the skirt, covered in lace, and looking… Well, stunning. It wasn't just her looks that enamored him though. Perhaps, it was the captivating way that she moved when she danced. He watched her practice the moves plenty of times at home, but now watching her doing it full out— he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was able to leap and twirl across the stage as if she was weightless, no longer bound by the laws of gravity. Or maybe, it was the sweet lull of the music, that he had once made fun of, now grasping his attention as she hit every mark to the beat. There was just something that made it so that he couldn't pull his eyes away. He wouldn't dare miss a moment of the performance in front of him.

When her dance ended, Duncan felt his heart lurch forward in his chest as he cheered. She was extraordinary, and he would do everything he could to make sure she knew that tonight.

Once the play ended completely, Duncan let Baba hold onto his arm as the two men carefully, mainly due to the old man's cane, went backstage. Like many of the cast's loved ones, the two found Heather's dressing room and walked in. Duncan saw she was still in costume and again- felt his heart do a weird flip.

"My Heather flower," Baba grinned, stepping into the room and gaining her attention, "you were wonderful. I couldn't be more proud."

"Baba!" Heather's cheeks reddened at the praise, going forward to hug him. "I thought you would be back home."

Hiroshi shook his head, "Nothing would keep me away from watching you dance. You were breathtaking."

Heather smiled at him in appreciation. Finally, she turned to Duncan. She glanced down and saw the bouquet of flowers in his hand, "Are those-?"

"They are for you, yes." He confirmed, gently handing them towards her. He noticed her face light up as she took the flowers into her arms, giving them a soft sniff. It made him feel warm inside to see such a genuine reaction come out of her. It wasn't often that Heather beamed at anything. Duncan was happy that he could evoke such a reaction from her.

"Duncan, these are absolutely gorgeous." She gave an affectionate smile at him as she held the bouquet close to her chest like it was a newborn baby. "Don't tell anyone I said this, but this has got to be the most amazing bouquet I ever received. Thank you." At that, she placed the bouquet down before she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace. It felt nice for Duncan to be able to hold her, especially on such a big night. He was happy he could be there for her. Duncan didn't really want the embrace to end, but Heather did eventually pull away.

He sent her back a charming smile of his own. "Don't mention it. I read that it's like, stupid ballet etiquette or something." Although he tried to downplay it, getting the bouquet was quite a task. Though, he was just happy that she seemed to love it.

"What did you think? Did you like it?" she asked him quickly. She gave a small bounce on her toes, giving away a small sign of anticipation for his answer.

Duncan instinctively reached forward and took her hands into his own. "Are you kidding? Heather, you were incredible! I couldn't believe how sick this play was. But, you," he emphasized, giving her hands a squeeze, "you knocked it out of the park. I swear, I thought the dude next to me was about to cry at your performance."

At his words, her smile beamed, as though it was sunlight, illuminating every dark crevice in the room. She looked down for a moment to blush before moving back up to hold his gaze. Her dark eyes were striking against the white material of her outfit. It took a lot of self control for Duncan to not suddenly get lost in them. With those hypnotizing pools of grey on him, and the look of glee at his approval that painted her face, Duncan finally understood why his heart felt like it was going a mile a minute.

Could he really be in love with Heather?

No. It was impossible, right?

When Heather finished redressing, she and Duncan made sure to put her Baba in a car service to take him home. Then, the pair began their walk back to the apartment together. They decided that on such a beautiful night, and probably one of the last considering Toronto winters, it would be best to enjoy it. With the soft snow falling, and the twinkling lights of the city surrounding them, it made for quite a journey.

"You know," Heather spoke first, noticing how quiet Duncan got towards the end of the night, "I'm happy you came. I could only get a few tickets for opening night, and besides my family- I really wanted you there."

Duncan, who was reeling from his possible self realization, reached down into his pocket for a cigarette. He really needed the nicotine to calm his nerves. Though in personal turmoil, he couldn't dare let Heather clue in to what was happening. She was a shark. She could practically smell instability in a man and chew him apart for it. So, he lit his cigarette, took a long drag, and acted like his usual self. "What? Are Cody and Harold too dorky to show off on opening night?"

"No." Heather rolled her eyes, also stuffing her hands into her pockets. "Harold is off being an opening act on some guys lame rap tour. Then if I invited Cody, he would bring Gwen, and I would not want that. Not just because I hate her either, but because those two have been getting into some pretty heavy fights lately."

Duncan's interest was instantly caught at that nugget of information. "Seriously? Gwen never mentioned anything about them fighting."

Heather curled her lips into a face of disgust. "Of course she didn't. Cody is the more emotional one between them anyhow. Honestly, between me and you, they aren't going to last."

Duncan let out a titter at that. "I don't think so either. I love Gwen, but I think she needs to be single for a while."

"I agree," Heather nodded, "no one should hop from relationship to relationship like she does. Well," she turned her head to look at Duncan with a teasing glint, "no one besides you."

"Hey! I have not been in an official relationship since Gwen." He held up a finger at her, holding back his lips from stretching into a smile as Heather laughed.

"Maybe, but you also are still such a playboy." She reached for the finger that was in her face and pulled it down. "There is no way you could be tied down right now. You flirt with everyone–."

"False." Duncan cut in. "My main victims to flirt with are just you and my other girl friends."

Heather scoffed. "Sure. I bet you don't flirt with female clients or women at bars at all." She exaggerated her words to show her sarcasm.

"I know it's your big night and all," he started, now seeing their apartment building just up ahead, "but shut up, Queenie. Now, get to the point you were making earlier about how grateful you are for me to be your biggest fan."

Heather threw her head back in a laugh. God, Duncan always knew how to crack her up. He was quite proud of that too. He genuinely liked the sound of Heather's laughter. Not many people got to hear a genuine chuckle out of her, let alone the burst of giggles that he often got to hear. It was like a small treasure for him. "Okay." She snapped him away from his thoughts as she began to speak. "It's just, we've gotten close lately, and I-- I feel like I owe you for putting up with all of my stress about the play."

"Well, all of that stress was for nothing." Duncan reassured her, "You were fantastic. I really did love your performance, and I'm sure everyone else will too."

Heather actually giggled at his words. "Who would have thought, Duncan Nelson would be enjoying the ballet," she teased.

Duncan knocked his shoulder into her own with a mock laughter. "Very funny. See if I'll ever pay you a compliment again."

"Oh, come on," Heather reached forward to interlock their arms as they walked. Duncan figured she was just doing it since she was cold, but it didn't help solve his predicament. "You better give me more compliments. My ballerina ego needs them to thrive."

Duncan flicked his ashs on the ground as he turned to her. "Trust me, your ego does not need to be filled anymore than it already is."

She gave a gentle slap to his bicep, not that he could really feel it anyway due to his heavy coat, "Still! I am a woman, and women need to be complimented."

Duncan faced forward, more focused on their destination than anything. "You know you're great, Heather. You killed it. I'm just hoping you don't plan to move out once you make it big?"

"What makes you say that?" She asked, her face showing pure puzzlement.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "isn't that what most people do when they get famous? They go off and get really swanky apartments on the nice side of town, live by themselves, maybe even get a place that has an elevator attendant."

Heather bit down her plump lips in thought. For some odd reason, that didn't really appeal to her. Normally, a situation like that would have the Queen Bee written all over it. However, she quite liked her apartment. She enjoyed how close it was to the tastiest and most underrated restaurants in town it was near. They had the best nail shop right around the corner. Although he was skeezy, their landlord, Barry, was easy to bribe to look the other way on things. Then, what she found the most strange, Heather really liked to room with Duncan. "Maybe that's what I'm supposed to do. But, it isn't what I want to do."

The pair made it right to the outside of their apartment. Duncan's feet suddenly stopped working at her words. Heather also halted all movement once Duncan did. The pair turned to face one another. Their eyes, again, connected and there it was again- that sinking feeling.

The small specks of snow gathering in Heather's hair came together on her head, as if to form a crown for Duncan to see. As if his body went on auto pilot, Duncan lifted his hand up. On his pure instincts, he moved a piece of her snow flurry filled hair, and placed it behind her ear. He knew that she liked it to go behind her ears to show off her face. It was no secret that Heather was quite beautiful. She was the first contestant to catch his eye after all based on looks alone. She was gifted with creamy skin, soft curves, plump lips, but his favorite feature on her face was obviously her eyes. With the hair no longer covering her face, he finally allowed himself to get lost into her eyes; a pleasure he denied himself earlier. Her eyes were the same color as storm clouds, and even held the same electricity within them. It was a sight that could both terrify a person or make them fall into a puddle for her. That was when it finally dawned on Duncan— he was not terrified of her. He was in the latter category. He would give anything to make sure that those storm clouds in her eyes would be able to hold their electricity.

Due to their proximity, Heather allowed herself to study his face. Although he wasn't what she was normally attracted to, she had to admit that Duncan was quite handsome. He had a sharp jaw that was pretty appealing, a strong build, and his nose was even what she would call cute. However, she finally worked her way up into his eyes. She never noticed how blue they were until that moment. It was truly like looking at sapphires that were twinkling just for her. She bit at her bottom lip as the sudden pull to keep looking into them came upon her. She knew that she was not supposed to feel comfort by looking into Duncan's eyes. Yet, that's exactly what she was feeling.

Neither really knew how long they stood there, but it was Heather who pulled away first. "I am going to–uh," Heather cleared her throat. She paused and pointed at the building, "I'm gonna go inside. You can stay here and fin-- finish your cigarette." With that, she turned and headed straight into their building.

Duncan, now left alone, wanted to bash his own head in the concrete. Her words didn't really register into his brain as he only kept thinking about what he discovered. It had struck him like lightning, and possibly even stung worse. How could he be so silly?! How could he set himself up for failure like this?! But the angrier he got towards himself, the more it solidified what he knew to be true.

He was in love with Heather Masterson.

The tattoo artist made his way back up the apartment slowly. He got inside of the elevator and waited for the soft ding, signaling he was on his floor. Once he did hear the delightful sound, he stepped forward to exit the elevator, but halted. The moment the doors opened, he was faced with Heather, who had worry written all over her face, with a limp Bruiser in her arms. "He- he isn't breathing!" She let out a choked cry as the tears finally spilled from her eyes.

A/N: So sorry for the cliff hanger. (Not really). See you all next Monday!

This is my favorite chapter for a lot of reason. So, please let me know what you thought about it.

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