Expect the Unexpected
Chapter Twelve
Christmas Miracle
The following morning, Duncan woke up in his bed all alone. The following night's events were starting to come back to him. He went to bed with a scared Heather, and now he was waking up all alone. This wasn't too crazy, as Heather usually did wake up before him, but he couldn't help but feel strange when he saw the empty side of the bed next to him. In an attempt to ignore this feeling, he decided to get up and follow his usual morning routine.
Duncan decided to start his day with a warm shower. He had been using this time lately to think over whatever events had taken place the night before, mainly whatever idiotic thing he had done. Ever since his feelings for Heather hit him like a semi truck, Duncan kept finding himself doing stupid things around her. It wasn't like him! He was always the cool guy! He wasn't the weirdo who accidentally tells the girls he likes that he purposely wore his cologne more for her. God, he couldn't believe he did that! He let the water wash away the memory and shame of his sleepy confession. He was much smoother than ever admitting, in a sleep filled haze, that he wanted to impress her by smelling good.
Truthfully, the comment that Heather made on the night of the ballet opening was haunting him. She didn't think he was ready for a relationship. True, he wasn't sure if it even was a possibility that she would even be interested in him. But he knew he wanted to prove Heather wrong. Duncan wanted to take her out on a date, see where things went, and since he was already so smitten, maybe even... he did want to try the boyfriend and girlfriend thing out. Sure, it was crazy for him to even consider it. However, he would show Heather that he had changed since they started doing- whatever this was.
With his new plan in motion, Duncan stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel tightly against his waist. Since Heather snuck out at some point in the morning, he turned down the hall and knocked on her bedroom door. He wanted to make sure she was okay from last night. "Hey, Heather,." Duncan gre,ed her from the doorway.
Heather jumped at the sound of him entering her room. "D-Duncan, you uh- you- ahem." She rambled, a blush spreading across her cheeks, "You're.. in a towel."
Duncan wasn't sure why she was so… skittish. It wasn't like her to get flustered around him. Did he really freak her out that much with what he said? "Oh, yeah. I just got out of the shower. I wanted to know if you wanted to go get a coffee with me."
Heather looked side to side as she tried to think of an answer. "Uh.. nah." She shook her head as she walked closer to him, "No thanks. But, I have to change and go visit- ah-Cody. Yeah, Cody! So, I'll see you later. Bye!" At that, she gave him a subtle push from her doorway and shut her door in his face.
Duncan stood in astonishment. She never acted like this with him. What was going on? She would never ever pass up a coffee date, especially with him since he always paid. Was she onto him and his feelings?
On the other side of the door, Heather leaned against the woo, letting out a shaky breath. With her latest realization regarding her feelings for Duncan, she didn't know what to do. She tried to make them go away. All night she kept thinking of things that Duncan had done that would normally give her an ick. If she could find something dorky or lame about him, those feelings would have to go away, right?
Wrong! She couldn't think of anything that he did recently that didn't outweigh the nice stuff he was doing. Every time she thought about him, his kind actions would flood back to her; getting Bruiser for her, buying her favorite flowers, worrying about her diet, bringing her to the tattoo shop, and even last night by letting her sneak into hishe hadort. It was so annoying! She had left him as soon as the rain and thunder subsided that morning. Once in the safety of her own bedroom, she still couldn't think of anything to do to get rid of it. She was stuck; she was stuck being in love with Duncan!
Being in love was a terrifying idea for Heather. Growing up, she was taught that love always came second to success. Her mother instilled this idea into her from a young girl. If she, as an Asian woman, wanted to get anywhere in the world she would need to put herself first. Love wouldn't allow that. If she fell in love, she would think of them in every decision she made. If she got a big chance to join a tour, then she wouldn't be able to leave her lover behind. If she had to have a love scene with a dance partner, she would need to take into account her real lover's idea about it. The list could go on and on. Though, Heather never was good about confronting feelings.
The last time she fell for someone, she knocked them off of a volcano. However, with her time away from Duncan, she was faced with a harsh truth. Within the past few months, she had fallen harder for Duncan than she ever did for anyone. The signs were always there, even when she didn't realize it; the constant mentioning of him, getting nervous about what he thought of her performance, letting him in on her traumatic childhood, laughing openly at the stupid things he'd say, and she never ever shared her Dance Dads love with anyone like she did with him. It was terrifying to realize just how deep she had fallen down into the trenches, and couldn't find the strength to bring herself back up into the sunlight. She could not rebuild the walls that she so expertly surrounded herself, and her heart, with. So, if she could not trust herself around him, she simply would not be around him.
The last time that Duncan had gotten to talk to Heather was that weird encounter in her bedroom a week ago. He tried to set his plan of redeeming himself into motion by talking to her, maybe even asking her to go out with him to finish their task of Christmas traditions. However, Heather kept seeming to find excuses to not go. One minute she would be sitting on the couch, and after he'd offer to go do something with her, she would become a rambling mess and already be halfway out the door. He was sure he did something to piss her off enough to not want to hang out. Normally, he wouldn't... Yet with his feelings still so fresh, he just couldn't shake the strange feeling he had.
It was finally the day of their shared Christmas party. Christmas day was originally supposed to consist of him and Heather decorating the apartment for their party, but she gave some bogus excuse about needing to go to Harold's apartment instead. So, Duncan called the next person he knew who could give a woman's touch to their Christmas party– DJ. Though Geoff would be coming by later to help set up for the more fun aspects of the party.
Duncan was fixing up his spiked hot chocolate in the kitchen. He was so lost in his thoughts regarding the strange week that he didn't even notice DJ calling his name. That was until the friendly giant suddenly fell off their foot ladder, making a loud thud that shook the apartment. He dashed out of the kitchen to check on him, only to find DJ laying on the ground wrapped up in tinsel. "Dude, you good?"
"No! I am not all good! I was calling your name to help me reach across before the foot ladder began to shake." DJ sat up, removing the tinsel from around him. Thankfully, he was tough enough to sustain no injuries from his small fumble, but it still ruined the tinsel that he did hang up.
"I'm sorry, dude," Duncan apologized, picking up the red tinsel and thumb tacks that they used to hang it up. "I just have a lot on my mind lately. I kind of checked out back there."
DJ let his small grudge go when he saw the apologetic look on Duncan's face. He lifted up the decorations again to try and rehang them up- now with Duncan's help. He didn't want to say anything, but DJ did notice that Duncan did seem to be off in space that day. He seemed much more mopey than usual. "It's alright." DJ shrugged his giant shoulders."Do you want to talk about it?"
Duncan thought it over. He did want to hear what others thought of the situation, maybe he was just being sensitive. But if he did that, he would have to tell DJ about his feelings for Heather. Sure, DJ was probably the best option out of all of his friends to go to. He wouldn't judge him too hard and he didn't hate Heather, which most of his friends did. Though, it may be best not to tell him which specific girl he was talking about. If Gwen or Leshawna poked hard enough, DJ would crack and tell them about Duncan's feelings. With a thoughtful sigh, "I think I screwed things up with some girl I lov- like. There is this girl I really, really like, but I must have done something to piss her off."
DJ stuck a tack into the tinsel, letting it hang slightly before starting his next loop. At Duncan's words, DJ was able to make the connection of which girl he was talking about. Despite how oblivious everyone thought he was, DJ was quite observant . He noticed all of the longing glances Duncan would send Heather whenever he was with the two roommates. Duncan was always so easy to read. However, it did take DJ quite a while to notice the looks Heather would send towards Duncan when she thought no one was looking. He truthfully first noticed it the night at the club when he, Geoff, Bridgette, and the roommates went out. He saw just how much the pair giggled and relaxed with one another. It wasn't a usual sight for either of them. But, if Duncan didn't want to give him a name, he wouldn't pressure him. "Why do you think you pissed her off?"
Duncan let out a groan as he thought it over. "That's the thing, I don't know what I did? The other night we were uh- hanging out, and I said something stupid. I just said that I wore my cologne for her because she said she liked it. That's it! I was sleepy and probably wouldn't have said it if I was more awake. But, I didn't think it would freak her out that much! Now, she won't even talk to me. She's always too busy to hang out and just runs off the moment I come home! Which I- I didn't mean come home. I mean when I go to uh.. work. She runs off the moment I come to work, yeah."
DJ obviously caught Duncan's mistake. Though, he would let him think that he played it off well. "So, she is your work colleague?"
Duncan looked side to side pretty quickly, "uh- yeah! We work together." It was an agreeable enough fib. To be in love with a work colleague wasn't too far off from being in love with a roommate. They spent just about the same amount of time together a day after all. "She already isn't the most friendly of people. If anything, she can be quite scary. But, I think that's what I like about her. I like her blunt honesty, how she says every little thing that pops into her head, and how she doesn't hold back from telling me what she thinks. Now that I don't have that anymore, it feels weird. I miss asking her about her day and hearing her funny little rambles about who pissed her off. I try to hang out with her, and she just runs out… of work."
"Have you ever told her how you feel?" DJ simply asked with a shrug. From the look on Duncan's face, he realized he must have said the wrong thing.
Duncan stared at DJ like he suddenly grew two heads. "Are you insane? Trust me, this chick would grab me by my head and rip it clear off my body if I ever confessed how much I like her."
"Whoa, I didn't mean telling her about you liking for her." DJ quickly stated as he finished hanging the tinsel up. He got off of the step ladder and looked at Duncan. "What I meant was, did you tell her that her snubbing you was bothering you? If you guys are good enough friends, I'm sure that one comment isn't really what is making her act weird. Maybe something is really going on with her, and she's just acting that way to everyone."
Duncan blinked slowly as DJ's advice hit him? Was something wrong with Heather? Well, her childhood pet did just die, she wasn't going home for Christmas, and her ballet was ending so she probably was freaked out about that. Maybe DJ was on to something. Though, what if DJ was wrong? What if it was him that was bugging Heather?
Before the two men could go further, the sound of the door opening and the loud yell of "Sup Dudes," halted them. Geoff, who Duncan definitely couldn't talk to about this, held up a large box full of liquor, "I got the goods. This party is going to be sick!" He then set the box down and began unpacking it on the small bar cart that Heather and Duncan owned.
"Geoff, that sure is a lot of alcohol." DJ hesitantly began to pull out the small, fake Christmas tree, which Duncan and Heather kept putting up. "Where should I put this?"
Duncan just held his hands out for it. "I'll put it up. I think this corner next to the TV should be good." Duncan set it down and then began to slowly pull the branches out. He figured that he would use the small gold ornaments that he and Heather bought. He really wished that they would have done this earlier- together.
"Dudes, we need to get ready for the fun stuff of this party!" Geoff groaned, grabbing another bag from his box. "I got the mistletoe, some drinking games, and my Christmas themed funnel."
"And…" Duncan turned to give him a wink.
Geoff grinned at Duncan before holding up a bag of weed, "and I got the green holiday cheer."
"Geoff, have I ever mentioned that I value our friendship?" Duncan sent him a smirk, "just make sure if anyone smokes they have to go on the fire escape. I can't have my landlord charging extra due to the smell inside."
"No problem. I got it all figured out." Geoff said, going to hang the mistletoe above the doorway of the kitchen.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Heather was sitting on the park bench. The usually grassy scenery was now covered in the white veil of snow. In front of her, hurried groups of people who walk pass, most likely either heading to get ready for Christmas Eve parties or some last minute shopping. She truthfully wished that she too had somewhere to be, but at this point she was just passing the time. It seemed that was all she was doing lately.
She kept finding new reasons not to go home the past week. With her bubbling feelings for Duncan happening, she just could not be around him without making a fool of herself. This wasn't like her at all!
Okay, maybe a tiny bit. She did get flustered pretty easily around people she got crushes on. Though, it wasn't like her normal self. She was sure that Duncan was catching on to her odd ways. She hoped that he was just as dense as usual. Though, she did miss their movie marathons. It also did sting to not get the chance to tell him that her ballet had ended the night before. She knew that Duncan mentioned earlier in the month, after his first viewing of her ballet, that he wanted to go to her last performance. Yet, with this new position, Heather couldn't dare invite him. What if he did something charming, like the flowers, again? She couldn't imagine having to not get flustered by that.
Heather adjusted her gloves as a swift wind came by. The black leather that warmed her fingers from the cold then moved down to straighten out of her coat. She was able to see her breath in the air as she sighed. Suddenly, her cell phone rang and without looking she accepted the call. "Hello?"
"Hello, my flower," the familiar voice of her Baba greeted her. The sweet voice of her grandpa made Heather grin. "What are you doing for Christmas Eve, my flower?"
Heather let out a breath as she stood up, walking with the phone to her ear. "Nothing much, I am just in the park– alone. You know I like to watch all of the people freak out today while shopping. What are you doing today?"
On the other side of the phone, Hiroshi was sitting on the couch in front of the television. "I am just watching the news right now. They mentioned Toronto and it made me want to call you. But, what do you mean you are walking alone? Why are you not with Duncan?"
The question threw Heather off. "Why would I be with Duncan?" She couldn't help but remember the odd way that her Baba looked between her and Duncan on her big night. Every time her Baba would call her throughout the month, he would ask about Duncan.
"Well, I know you two were spending Christmas Eve together. I figured you would be spending the entire day together." Hiroshi leaned back in his recliner, adjusting himself to be comfortable. "He is a good guy, flower. You should try to hang out with him more."
Heather let out a sigh at his statement. Her Baba was one of the smartest and most intuitive people she knew. To know that he liked Duncan, it did not help her push her feelings aside. "Baba, can I ask you something?"
"Of course." Hiroshi cleared his throat, "Though, I have a feeling I know what it will be."
Heather stopped walking when she felt the question getting formed in her head. She just wanted to be able to say it, but she really couldn't allow herself to say it out loud. The moment she says it, she can't take it bad. It was much easier to deny thoughts than words. "Baba, I think I… I feel strange around Duncan lately, and I don't mean in a 'he is weird' type of way . I get pretty nervous around him, and I want to… hang out with him, but not in the way that you would want to hang out with a friend."
Hiroshi was silent for a few moments. He knew he had to be careful with his words when it came to his granddaughter. She was a very literal person. Plus, she never was able to navigate matters of the heart easily. Her mother and father never did help her much when it came to expressing her emotions. However, there were several times throughout her life where Hiroshi was able to help her understand her feelings by simply talking to her. "Heather flower, you know in times like this I need you to be more clear. I am an old man after all."
Heather bit her lower lip as she thought about it. "Baba," she started over, "I think I'm falling for him, and I don't know what to do about it." She swallowed a lump in her throat at the confession. It was the first time she was able to say it out loud. She had hoped that when she said it, it would sound gross and wrong. However, Heather did not feel that way at all. She actually felt more sure about her statement.
"Heather, I need you to listen to me very clearly," Hiroshi began, "it is okay to feel a certain way about someone. You will only hurt yourself."
"I know that, Baba." Heather groaned in frustration. She ran her fingers through her hair. "We're just so different. Duncan is… Duncan! Sure, he has become one of my best friends. But, what if it doesn't work out?"
Hiroshi went silent again as he thought of how he should advise her. "Heather, did I ever tell you about the old tale of–."
Heather let out a loud sigh of annoyance. "I have heard all of your stories, Baba. How are any of them going to help me?" Throughout her life, her grandpa gave her life lessons through the tall tales of his home country of Japan. Some of them were interesting, but she just couldn't take one at that moment.
"Heather," Hiroshi scoffed, "I was going to tell you the story of how I met your Jiji?" Jiji was what Heather had called her grandmother.
Heather went quiet as he finished his sentence. She let out a big sigh, "no, Baba. I actually…I thought you were just her family's gardener or whatever."
Hiroshi smiled on the other end of the line. "I was. I worked for her father for a year till I finally saw your Jiji. At first, we did not get along. She always complained about the flowers and how she did not like my choices. She was very different from me in general. She was very loud and brash, while I was much calmer, however your Jiji was able to make me lose my cool once or twice."
"You?" Heather raised an eyebrow as she began to walk again. "I could never imagine you getting mad at anything."
"Yes, well, only your Jiji could pull it out of me. However, it all changed one night when I was in town. Your Jiji also went out with some friends of her own. There were some men there as well. They did not like how loud and opinionated your Jiji was. Back then, it was not very common for women, like Jiji and even yourself, to be so… open. But, I stood up for her. We spent the rest of the night talking."
"And let me guess," Heather cut him off, "you saw through your differences and were together ever since that night. Blah, blah, blah, right?"
Hiroshi chuckled at her interruption. "No. We actually did not start dating that night. Though, I did start to really like her. We hung out some more whenever she could go to town. Then, I slowly fell in love with her. However, I did not tell her for quite a while. I did not say anything until it was nearly time for me to leave for Canada."
Heather had a feeling in her gut that she knew what her Baba was trying to get at. "What did you do?"
"I was leaving for Canada the next week, and if I did not tell her then, I would never get the chance. So, I showed up to her house and told her. It turns out, she felt the same way about me. Within the week, she followed me to Canada, and we have been together ever since." Hiroshi thought back on the memory fondly. "So, my flower, if I would have only focused on our differences and never told her how I felt– I wouldn't have you."
Heather tried to hold back a smile at his words. Although she knew he was trying to encourage her to tell Duncan, which she didn't think she could do, Heather only sighed. "I'll see, Baba. I'll call you tomorrow."
Hiroshi knew that whenever Heather was told something that she didn't want to hear, she would back off. Yet, she was always nicer to Hiroshi compared to others. "Alright, my flower. I love you. Have a merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Baba. I love you too." At that, the pair hung up the phone. Heather let out a groan once she put her phone away. It was very frustrating to hear the truth. Her Baba, in all of his wisdom, always was the person she went to when she wanted to hear advice. Even though he never did tell what she wanted to hear. But, maybe he did have a point. It may not be too bad if she took a risk for once.
However, Duncan was a huge risk.
Heather did not go home till about an hour after her phone call. When she walked into her house, Geoff and DJ were in the living room. They halted their conversation when they noticed Heather had walked in. "Hey, Heather. Can you settle a debate for us?" Geoff asked, standing up and placing a hand on DJ's back.
"Depends," she stated, hanging her coat up before looking at them, "what is the debate?"
"DJ is nervous about bringing this girl, Celine, over for the party. Can you, as the host, just tell him to bring her as his plus one." Geoff encouraged DJ further by giving him a pat on the back.
"Why would I care?" She shrugged her shoulders at the question, "Sure, bring her over." Before she walked off to her room to get ready, Heather stopped and looked at the two boys, "Why didn't you just ask Duncan?"
"Oh. He is in his bedroom getting your present ready or whatever. He told us not to disturb him," DJ answered. He couldn't help but notice how would Heather freeze up at his words. She almost looked… nervous.
She bit her lower lip before turning down the hallway where the two bedrooms were located. She put her hand on the doorknob of her room, ready to go hide. However, she felt compelled to glance at Duncan's door. Her Baba's story seemed to echo in her mind for a moment. With a deep sigh, she let go of her doorknob and instead knocked on Duncan's door.
There was a bit of rustling behind it till it suddenly popped open to display Duncan. "Heather!" He quickly stepped out into the and closed the door behind him, "what's up?"
This was the first time that Heather was able to be so close to him in a week. Her heart beat a little quicker in her chest. It was not due to falling for him. That would be silly; she was not that far gone for him. It was just… nerves. He was one of her very close friends, maybe even one of her best friends, and she needed to just think of him as only that. It would be easier to talk to him that way. "Oh, I heard that you were working on my gift," she sent him a smirk, "and I wanted to see if I could take a peek."
"No way, Queenie." Duncan let out a laugh as he held his arms up to get her further away from the door. "You can not just weasel your way to get your gift early. If I have to wait for Christmas Day, then so do you."
Heather laughed as she was led away from the door by Duncan. "Oh, come on. Where is your sense of the season of giving? I thought you were all about the holiday traditions?"
"I am." He stopped her right in front of her door, "and my favorite holiday tradition is getting drunk as fuck on Christmas Eve. Which is what we will be doing tonight. So, go get dressed. Everyone should be here in an hour."
Heather leaned against her door, turning around to face Duncan with a giggle. However, before she could even get what she wanted to say out of her mouth, Geoff looked at them from down the hall. "Can you two love birds chile out? DJ is about to call Celine."
Duncan and Heather both blushed a deep red right as Geoff disappeared again. Heather looked back at Duncan, feeling a panic rise in her chest. "I uh— later," she said so quickly that Duncan couldn't even register what she said before she slipped inside of her bedroom. With the door shut in his face, Duncan wanted to smack his head. They were so close to feeling normal again. Maybe DJ was right? Maybe.. he should be honest?
Stupid Geoff.
About an hour later, Heather emerged from her bedroom in the same outfit that she wore to take her Christmas pictures with Bruiser in. As she walked down the hall, she figured that a good bit of their guest arrived due to all of the exciting chatter ahead. The sweet smell of DJ's gingerbread man cookies seemed to pull her even further. The moment that she entered the living room, she made eye contact with Duncan. Immediately, she grinned as she saw the sweater he was wearing. It seemed that the pair shared the same idea of wearing their photoshoot outfits. As she giggled, Duncan walked towards her with a knowing look. "Don't you dare laugh, Queenie. This whole outfit is your fault."
"No, no, no." She put her hand on his bicep to smooth the sweater down, "I can only take the blame for our Christmas card photos. You're the one who wanted to wear it today."
Duncan glanced downward before meeting Heather's eyes again with a chuckle. "What can I say? It's the only Christmas themed shirt that I own, and Geoff would mess with me all night if I don't stick to the Christmas outfit theme. Which, by the way, you are not doing."
Heather pretended to be offended by his words as she put a hand to her chest and dropped her jaw. "Excuse me? This is a maroon dress, and since maroon is a shade of red that makes this technically a Christmas dress."
Duncan gave her a pointed stare as he shook his head. "Oh no. You don't get out of this that easily. There will be a punishment." He turned his head before shouting Geoff's name, "we have a theme snob!"
Immediately, Geoff sprang into action. The party animal grabbed his trusty funnel and a canned beverage.He nearly ran poor Gwen over as she got in his journey across the room, he also made sure to ignore her cursing at him. "I'm here, dude!" He cleared his throat before looking at Heather. "Heather," he stated, suddenly taking on a serious tone that was not usual for Geoff, "since you broke the theme rule, you must pay the ultimate price. You must chug from the funnel!"
"You can not be serious?" She folded her arms across her chest as she looked between the two carefully. She couldn't believe these two expected her to chug from the funnel just because of her outfit.
Duncan took the drink and funnel from Geoff. "Sorry, Queenie. But don't worry, I got you if you can't handle it."
Heather sent a glare at Duncan. She knew what he was up to. He didn't seriously doubt her drinking abilities. He just hoped that her competitive streak would make her want to do it. Surprisingly, it worked. "Give me that!" She got down on her knees, taking the end of the funnel's tube to put in her mouth. Duncan just grinned as he was able to open the drink and pour it down the funnel.
While Heather was funneling, Leshawna and Harold walked in right as Duncan and Geoff began to loudly cheer her on. "What is going on?" Leshawna asked Gwen as she and Harold moved to the living room.
"Heather apparently isn't dressed Christmassy enough," the former goth explained, "so, she has to now funnel."
Leshawna shook her head at the scene. She watched in fascination as Heather finished the funnel pretty quickly. Leshawna did note that the moment the queen bee stood back up that she and Duncan shared a look that piques Leshawna's interest. It was also the giant smile that Duncan didn't seem to drop as he and Heather high fived that clued Leshawna in. She definitely could sense that something was afoot at this party, and she didn't mean the weird tension between Gwen and Cody.
Things seemed to pick up once Geoff was able to use his funnel. He had the unique ability to convince just about everyone to take a chug, well everyone but DJ and Celine, but they were drinking from the spiked hot chocolate and did not even know it. Heather had never seen so many small, plastic shot cups litter a coffee table before. She truthfully found Geoff's party god ways pretty impressive.
Well, she did till Cody got so sick that he needed to throw up. With Heather as the host and Cody being her guest, she took it upon herself to help him throw up. She patted his back till he was basically passed out on the toilet lid. She felt pretty sorry for him. Only a few days ago did Gwen and Cody officially agree to take a break from dating, and it was clear that he was just drinking to ease that burden. This was one of the reasons that Heather did not want a boyfriend; love and heartbreak always made people act so stupid!
She washed her hands before going to exit the bathroom. Heather opened the bathroom door right as Leshawna walked up. "You aren't going to be able to use it." Heather informed her, motioning towards Cody, "he is out cold."
"Poor kid. He really is such a lightweight." Leshawna shook her head at the small man lying still on the toilet. Heather tried to move past Leshawna in hopes of going back to the party. Well, that was her plan, until she heard Leshawna ask a question behind her. "By the way, what's going on with you and Duncan, girl?"
Heather suddenly went still. She stood in place and her body went fridgeded like someone dropped an ice cube down her shirt. Once she was able to process what Leshawna said, she swiftly turned around. She looked side to side to make sure no one was around. "W-what did you just say?"
Leshawna raised an eyebrow at Heather's weird behavior. "I just asked what is going on with you and Duncan? Anyone with eyes can see you two keep lingering near each other and making go-go eyes all night."
Heather wanted to slap herself silly. How could she be so stupid?! She had a few drinks and now she suddenly couldn't hold her feelings bad. She had been strong all week, and now someone as oblivious as Leshawna was able to see through her! "I- I still have no idea what you're talking about. It's called being friends! You should try to get some." With a flick of her hair over her shoulder, Heather hurried off back to the party.
"Heather!" Duncan exclaimed from across the room, making her jump. He walked right over to her, holding out a watermelon seltzer for her. "I got you the last watermelon since it's your favorite. Did you want to go sit out on the balco-."
Heather swiftly grabbed the drink from Duncan before pushing past him. She didn't even want to hear what he would have to say. What if someone else noticed that they were too close together? Would they all talk? If enough people did talk, it would get back to Duncan, and he could possibly notice some of her behavior. Duncan was smarter than most people gave him credit for. He would definitely be able to figure out that she had feelings for him based on her actions alone. She just couldn't give him that fuel.
Meanwhile, Duncan watched in confusion as Heather walked away from him. What was that about? They had been doing so well all night. She was even his partner in beer pong! They had finally got back into a great place, despite the week of awkwardness, and now she was avoiding him again. Right when he thought that it would be wise to take DJ's advice and talk to him, she goes back to treating him like he had the plague. What did he do now?
For the rest of the night, Duncan kept trying to just get near Heather. But, she seemed pretty adamant on keeping her distance from him. It was very frustrating, especially as the party seemed to dwindle. Eventually, everyone was stumbling out of their apartment to head to their Ubers and go home. Therefore, the only people who were left were Heather and Duncan, and a passed out Cody.
Duncan stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking down at the passed out nerd. "We should probably move him to the couch," Duncan loudly said, hoping Heather could hear him no matter where she was in their small place.
Heather was in the living room, tossing some of the shot cups into their trash bin. When she heard Duncan, she took a deep breath before standing up. She felt herself swaying slightly as the alcohol in her system was way more than normal, but she kept herself steady by putting a hand against the wall as she walked to the bathroom "Are we... are we even sober enough to try and move him?"
Duncan gave Heather a look that let her know she brought up a good point. "We probably are," he answered, making the pair giggle, "but I think we can do it."
"I'll get the legs, you get his shoulder." At Heather's statement, the two moves to try and get Cody out of their bathroom.
As the pair began to clean up, having to maneuver around Cody as he laid passed out on the couch, there was an uncomfortable silence in the air. It was killing Duncan. Only a week ago, Heather was someone that he considered to be a best friend. Now, they couldn't even speak to one another. He glanced at the time on his phone, and saw that it was officially Christmas Day, and this wasn't how he wanted it to begin. With a loud sigh, Duncan dropped his trash bag, and went to the kitchen where Heather was cleaning. "Can you tell me what I did?"
Heather looked up at Duncan's sudden outburst. She was leaning over the table trying to grab all the red plastic cups when he caught her off guard. She set the cups down and turned to him, "What are you talking about?"
Duncan walked around the table so that they were staring in front of each other. "You have been avoiding me for a week. It's been bugging me, Heather. If it was about what I said the other night when we were laying down about the cologne-."
Heather instinctively stepped closer to him, holding her hands out to stop him. "No, Duncan. It isn't you or what you said,'' she reassured him. She had absolutely no idea why she even would want to calm him. She never did care to reassure people before. But, she just really wanted to make sure that he wouldn't go into a ramble. Despite her promise to herself to not be weak by giving in, she finally allowed herself to crave. Damn, drinks! "It's actually me. I have been dealing with some stuff, and I… I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Duncan knew that Heather was probably either drunk or tipsy, and if he was going to be honest- he was as well. Maybe that was why the two usually hardened people felt the need to be so open right then. Though, Duncan knew to be careful when he was drinking. He didn't want to let any major secret, like his new found love for Heather, slip out. He still needed to prove that he had changed. "Is it something you want to talk about? You know, I'm all ears."
Heather shook her head as stared at him. There was no way she could ever tell him the truth. "No, it's a little personal. But, I promise that I'm fine."
Duncan stared at her, inspecting to make sure that she was. Yes, it was hard to read Heather due to the two of them being drunk, but he still tried. "Fine, I forgive you." He let a small smile spill from his mouth, showing that he was just teasing her. She replicated his smile and shoved his arm gently, though with the alcohol still slowly coming into his system, he shouldn't have agreed to do those last few shots with Geoff, he stumbled at the push. To keep himself steady, Duncan reached forward and held onto Heather, specifically her hands.
The two stood there, continuing to hold hands as they made eye contact. Heather felt a wave of calmness come over her. Sure, it was definitely the spiked hot chocolate that she used to drown her woes, but it still felt nice. "I had fun tonight. It felt good to actually enjoy Christmas Eve."
"Well, we still aren't done." Duncan grinned as he let go of one of her hands, "come on, it's technically Christmas Day. Which means we can exchange gifts."
Heather seemed to pump up at the idea. "Oh, you're on. My gift will put yours to shame!"
Duncan led Heather through the kitchen and past the living room. "Come on, we can exchange in my room. It seems your pipsqueak of a friend is sleeping on the couch for the night." He then pointed towards Cody, who looked practically dead on the couch. Thankfully his loud snore eased that worry.
"Leave him alone." Heather giggled as they turned down the hallway, "you know he is a light weight."
The pair then did a brief separation to go and get their gifts set up. After they each made sure it was prepared, Heather went to Duncan's room. She slowly opened the door, seeming surprised at how the room, for once, was exceptionally clean. "What is this all for?"
Duncan kept his back to her as he stood at his desk, making sure the present was still in great condition. Once he did that, Duncan turned around to look at her. "You like it? I figured I would try to clean up some. It's much easier to find stuff in here now."
Heather was pretty impressed at this. If she would have had to guess, she was sure DJ was to blame for the transformation. Though she definitely didn't mind. She sat on his neatly made bed and patted the spot next to her, signaling to Duncan to sit next to her. The punk man listened by taking the spot next to her and placed his present next to him. "Alright, I call going first," Heather smiled. She held her arms out with the wrapped present.
Duncan leaned forward and took the rectangular box. He carefully removed Heather's intrict wrapping and saw a large square box. "What the heck is this?" He let himself mumble it softly. He glanced at Heather and noticed how she carefully was watching him, she kept looking between his fingers opening the box and his face. When he finally decided to open the box, his jaw dropped. "No way! You got me an Elvis vinyl!?" He held the gold vinyl up, staring at it in awe. "Dude, these are my favorite songs on here!"
Heather beamed with pride at his reaction. She knew he would love it. "There is a catch with this though," she giggled, "if you do that silly impression-."
"What impression, little mama?" Duncan asked, doing the exact Elvis Presley impression that Heather was about to warn him about.
"Oh my god!" Heather laughed, letting out a small hiccup that seemed to remind her of the fireball shots she took. "You sound ridiculous."
"Well, thank you. Thank you very much." He sent her a wink before finally dropping the impression. "I love it, Heather, seriously. Thank you." He leaned over and gave her a hug.
Heather wrapped her arms around him to hug him back. She normally wouldn't hug someone, especially Duncan considering her recent promise to herself, but, it was Christmas. Plus, the drinks stopped much of her will power. She felt the uncontrollable urge to make up for the little proximity that they had that week. She missed him like crazy. As the hug, the distinct scent of the very cologne that started her realization was coming into her nose sent her tumbling- internally that is.
When they pulled away, Duncan reached over and grabbed his present. "If you uh- don't like it, I can take it back," he warned. He rubbed at the back of his neck as Heather began to take it out of the bag. She pulled out a very tiny rectangular cardboard box. She carefully opened it up, as the words fragile were displayed on it. To her surprise, she pulled out a red and gold faberge- egg style music box. Her hands carefully molded to the collectors item, admiring the gems and intricate details. She had once told Duncan long ago about how she used to collect things like this when she was younger. However, what made it more special was the small drawing laid across it. She could recognize the artwork as scenes from the Nutcracker ballet. "How did you-?"
"Turn the knob," Duncan instructed, pointing at the music knob. When Heather did so, she was surprised with the sound of the Sugar Plum Fairy's song playing, while the egg opened up and showed off a young Clara spinning while holding the nutcracker. "I found it at an old antique shop when Gwen wanted to go antiquing a few weeks ago. I had it for a while. I figured it would be a nice way to remember your big break."
Heather didn't have the words to describe how she felt at that moment. She looked up at Duncan with a gleam in her eyes. Some would even describe it as- adoration. "You win."
Duncan let out a grin at that; both because he liked that he won their unspoken contest, but he also was quite happy since Heather never really just let people win anything. He was sure that she would forever deny saying that he won, but he would never forget. "I'm glad you like it."
"I love it." Heather made sure to clear up, holding it. "I'm gonna go put it in my room."
"I'm gonna try to finish cleaning the kitchen." Duncan stated, standing up with Heather.
The pair walked out into the hallway together before going their separate ways. Heather opened her door and quickly set the musical egg down. She stared at the gift in awe, and not just because it was quite beautiful. Sure, it was a nice touch that it was well decorated. However, it really touched Heather to know just how much thought Duncan put into this. It was also so interesting to her that he had this gift hidden from her for so long, meaning he had a lot more forethought than what she was led to believe. If Duncan was able to put such care into simply getting a gift for her, what else was he capable of?
With a sense of bravery, Heather took a deep breath. She looked at herself in the mirror, carefully taking it all in. "I'm done being afraid." Her entire life, Heather was supposed to treat emotions as if they were deadly. It wasn't fair. She didn't want to push Duncan away due to her own cowardness when it came to love. She ran her fingers through her hair, "I deserve to be happy, and happy adults talk about their emotions and feelings. I will not do this to myself again." She refused to go down the rabbit hole of self destruction like she did when she was seventeen and on Total Drama World Tour.
She opened the door to her bedroom, walked out of the hall, passed the drunken Cody, and went straight into the kitchen. Though her momentum was halted as she nearly ran into Duncan as they both turned to be in the doorway.
"Whoa. Careful, Queenie." He reached forward and balanced her. Duncan glanced upward and pointed to the archway above them. "Hey, we're standing under the mistletoe," he smiled.
Heather, who seemed to lose her nerve the moment Duncan nearly knocked her over, got frazzled at his statement. "W-what?" She looked up and saw a clear piece of green and white mistletoe wrapped with a red bow above them. Her cheeks went a deep red, more red than normal due to the earlier drinking antics.
They both looked back at each other simultaneously. Heather bit her lip as they held eye contact. Once again, she stared into those sapphire blue eyes and felt like they were twinkling just for her. "I like your eyes." she spoke without thinking. Those last few shots were definitely hitting her at this point.
"I love yours." Duncan responded, getting lost in the storm clouds that she possessed. His heart beat wildly in his chest. He wasn't sure why either of them were saying this, but it felt right to say.
Heather felt a stirring in her that she hadn't felt for quite some time. It was frustrating, yet it caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. "Should we- uh," Heather cleared her throat, "do one last Christmas tradition together?" She pointed upward to the mistletoe, hoping he would take the hint.
Duncan wouldn't dare break his promise of giving her all the Christmas traditions that she missed out on, though he doubted that this was the original thought of it. Yet, his original plan of showing off that he was no longer a playboy didn't really help the situation. He reached forward and took her small, well manicured hands into his bigger, rougher ones. Surprisingly, the two of them stepped closer to one another. With his promise to himself on his mind, Duncan leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her cheek.
When Duncan looked back at her, he could have sworn he saw a flash of disappointment on Heather's face. "You okay?"
Heather felt the sting of Duncan's kiss on her cheek, as if it was marking her skin. Why wouldn't he kiss her? "You know that- that didn't count. It was supposed to be a real kiss."
Duncan bit his lip as his last bit of strength was dwindling. She wanted to really kiss him? With caution thrown to the wind, Duncan leaned forward and placed a simple peck to her lips. It was criminal for a woman to have such soft lips like Heathers.
When Duncan leaned forward and pecked her, Heather felt, like her cheek, her lips were now tingling. She wanted to feel it again. She never could remember what their original kiss was like as it was many years ago, and the one they shared on the second season was mainly used for comedic purposes. She wanted a real kiss, and if he wouldn't give it- she would. With her bravery suddenly back, Heather closed the gap between them as they shared another peck.
Yet, it didn't stop. Duncan's arms wrapped around Heather's back, cradling the back of her head, while her own hands slid up to press against his chest. They continued to give small pecks of kisses to one another until each kiss kept getting longer, and longer. Till finally, they were fully sharing a true kiss with one another. One of Heather's hands went further up to wrap around his neck, her fingers now tangling into the hair on the back of his head. Their bodies seemed to mold together as the kiss deepened, the pair now fully making out in their kitchen.
Duncan wanted to pull away, he really did. This whole thing was counterproductive to his plan of proving himself. Yet, he just couldn't dare pull himself away. He felt like a man who had been dying of thirst in a desert, and Heather was an oasis waiting for him. Then when he finally heard the unmistakable sound of Heather letting out of a soft moan, he was a goner. He couldn't stop himself anymore. Her quiet squeals of delight were awakening something in him that made his pants quite uncomfortable.
Heather never expected to love kissing Duncan as much as she did. As they made out, there was a sense of forbiddenness. They were polar opposites, from different worlds, and were completely not meant to work. However, they were more alike than anyone would ever imagine. They came from the exact same environment. Then their kiss… God did it work. Heather viewed more sensual acts as if it was dance. She needed a good partner if she wanted to perform well, and Duncan was an exceptional partner. Their hands ran over each other's bodies in a way to explore one another without breaking any boundaries. His kiss was simply addicting. In fact, she was so caught off guard with just how much she liked it, she didn't even realize that her leg was sliding upward against the outside of his, till Duncan suddenly picked her up by her tights. She immediately wrapped her legs and arms around him.
Eventually, their lips needed a break and the pair instead moved to kiss at one another's neck. Heather leaned her head back back, giving Duncan full access to plant those tingling kisses down her neck. The groans that he let out only fueled her on a non physical level. She was so lost in her passion, that she was even surprised by her own next words, "Your bedroom."
At her instructions, Duncan pulled away from her skin. With the sight of her once perfectly creamy skin now littered with red blotches from his mouth, he couldn't have agreed more. He held onto her tightly as they walked through the wedding room, Heather still securely wrapped around him. She then began to place kisses right on the veins of his neck. This woman was going to drive him wild.
The moment Heather's back hit the door of Duncan's bed room, her hand immediately went for the door knob behind her. Duncan walked in, kicking the door shut behind him. Therefore, changing the fate of the pair forever.
End.
Stay tuned for the sequel "Expect Trouble"
A/N: Please favorite, follow, and review!
See you soon.