Chuck vs The Other Guy
-o0o-
"Tell me again why I have to meet with your brother?" Chuck asked the blonde lady beside him. It was a sunny afternoon in Burbank and the two of them were walking towards the restaurant where Chuck would meet Sarah's brother. The two of them could easily be mistaken as a couple, but then-
"Because you said you would help me you dumbass! Don't forget that you also agreed to it." Sarah shouted at him. Right, no sane girlfriend would be cursing her superbly handsome boyfriend like that.
"Fine, fine." He agreed. It was no use arguing with this fiery blonde. But then again, he said he would help her, not help her lie about her pregnancy. As much as he wanted to help, he hated meeting people he barely knew and those that didn't have anything to do with money or other assets. Blind dates were so off his list. That's right. Chuck Bartowski only meets with people that would benefit their company. He sighed as he remembered the phone call she made during the weekdays.
Chuck Bartowski loved relaxing in his couch, watching a random horror movie with a cup of vanilla ice cream in his hands. As soon as the climax of the movie was about to unfold, his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?" He lowered the volume of the television as the main character screamed for her bloody life.
"Hello, is this Chuck Bartowski?" A girl's voice could be heard over the other line.
"No." He smirked. It was Sarah. She called a bit too soon. Chuck tried to mess with her. "I'm his boyfriend! We just had the time of our lives a while ago, he's sleeping right now. Do you want me to give your message when he wakes up from his beauty sleep?" He made the pitch of his voice higher than it should have been.
"Yes, please pass him my message." Sarah answered him. "Can you hit him in the head and tell him to stop joking around the moment he wakes up from his dreamland?" Chuck withdrew his cell phone away from his ears, her voice was too loud. It might break his eardrums.
"What? I'm sorry." He chuckled. So, she figured out sooner than he had expected her too. "What are you calling me for? Do you miss me already? We just spent the whole afternoon together." He tried to tease her.
"Sh-shut up!" Sarah stuttered from the other line, which made Chuck laugh. So, she stutters when she's nervous. "Don't be ridiculous! I just have a favor to ask from you!"
"Tell me dear ninja princess." He switched off his television and placed the empty cup of vanilla ice cream on the table.
"Can you not call me a ninja princess?" She huffed from the other line.
"Why not?"
"Because I said so!"
"How very commanding of you, ninja princess." He emphasized the last word, much to Sarah's frustration.
"Fine. Call me whatever you want. Just do this favor I ask of you." She gave up already? That wasn't much of a challenge.
"So, what's the favor ninja princess? Just ask me, your very noble subject, and I will do my best to comply with your wishes."
"Fancy talk." He heard her say from the other line. "Anyway, are you free this Saturday?"
"Are you asking me on a date?" He couldn't help but feel flattered.
"In your dreams." Her reply sent him feeling a bit disappointed. "So, are you?"
Might as well answer. He thought. "Yeah. I am."
"Then if it's okay with you," She paused for a moment. "I'll introduce you to my brother."
"Your overly protective brother?" He asked her. "So, what was his reaction when you told him?"
"I haven't told him yet." She answered meekly.
"What? Why?" He wondered. Then why was she asking him to meet her brother if she hasn't even told him.
"Err… I chickened out and I ended up lying to him." She confessed.
"Then where did 'introducing me to your brother' come into the picture?" What did Sarah possibly say?
"I-I-I…" She had difficulty in speaking. "I… I… I… said…"
"You said?" He urged her to continue.
"I…I… s-said."
"Hmm?"
"I told him that you're my boyfriend." She spat the words out.
Chuck's eyes widened. "Boyfriend?" He repeated. How amusing. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at Sarah's words.
"What?" She asked defensively. "It's not like I want you to be, you know…" Her voice trailed off.
"Okay." He cheerfully agreed.
"Okay what?" Sarah asked him.
"I said, okay, I'll meet up with your brother."
"Oh…" She never thought that it was that easy. "I'll just call you again for the time and place. Thanks…"
"Welcome! Then let's be lovey dovey in front of your brother!" He suggested.
"Pervert." She hung up on him.
"Boyfriend huh?" he mused to himself.
That was how he ended up together with the blonde beside him. Albeit he was looking forward to getting to know Sarah more because he found her so interesting, he still didn't want to meet with her brother. Chuck didn't want to imagine what her brother would do to him if they already confessed that she was pregnant.
"We're here!" Sarah finally stopped in front of Azul, Daniel's favorite restaurant. She took one final deep breath before entering the restaurant. But before she could even go in, she felt her hand being grasped by the man beside her.
"Wha-what do you think you're doing?" Her eyes widened at the horror. Chuck was holding her hand, her bloody hand!
"Well didn't you say that I was your boyfriend?" Chuck questioned her with that perverted smirk on his face. "We should act like a couple in front of your brother, right?" In a matter of seconds, Chuck's fingers intertwined with Sarah's. "Cause the spaces in between your fingers are where mine fit perfectly." He winked at her, causing her face to become beet red.
Sarah blushed furiously at Chuck's hasty move. This was the fourth time that she ever held hands with a boy. Well, the first and second one was from her dad and Daniel. The third one was from Chris. But compared to Chris's rough hands, his hands were so smooth and warm, like a baby's. He didn't even grip her hand; he was holding it like it was delicate and fragile. She didn't deny that it made her feel less nervous that he was holding her hand.
"Shall we go inside?" Chuck interrupted her train of thoughts and was now walking ahead of her, with his hand still on hers.
They got inside and Sarah started to search for her brother, but it wasn't as hard as she expected to because she saw a brunette waving at her, Vivian'.
"What is Vivian doing here?" Sarah thought. She didn't know that Daniel also invited Vivian to meet Chuck. Sarah liked Vivian of course, but her presence here is making her much more nervous. Vivian was like Lou; she could spot if someone was lying to her. This was not going to be easy.
"Did you find your brother already?" Chuck asked her as he also searched for him inside the restaurant. If it was Sarah's twin brother they were looking for, then maybe he was also blonde. Maybe he was a boy version of Sarah.
"Yeah, I think I found them." Sarah pointed her index finger to the direction where Daniel and Vivian were.
"Wait a minute, you mean to tell me that your brother's not blonde?" He couldn't help but ask her. It was the first time that he saw siblings that had different hair color. "Did he just dye that hair of his?"
"You idiot!" She whispered so that Daniel wouldn't hear her. "Of course not! That's his natural hair color!"
"Then you dyed yours?" The question caused Sarah's eyebrow to twitch. He expected her to scream at her again.
But to his surprise, Sarah was actually smiling. Well, if you count a plastered smile. "Of course, not dear! It's also natural." She laughed. It was a fake laugh. Chuck soon realized that her brother was walking towards them.
"Sarah! Hey!" Daniel gave her a big hug. Chuck soon realized that even though they had different eye and hair colors, they pretty much looked alike. After Daniel gave her a hug, he turned his attention to Chuck. "You must be the lucky guy!" He reached out his hand for Chuck to shake.
Chuck let go of Sarah's hand and shook Daniel's. "Nice to meet you. My name's Chuck Bartowski." That may have been so formal because he received a death glare from Sarah. He got used to meeting with clients that he forgot that it was Sarah's brother.
"Chuck Bartowski? By any chance, have we met before?" Daniel asked him.
"No, I've never seen you before." He answered bluntly and Sarah was inwardly pulling her hair out. Act normal Chuck!
But thankfully Daniel didn't mind and even motioned them to sit down. "This is my girlfriend, Vivian."
"Hello Chuck." She smiled at him and also stood up to give Sarah a light hug.
"Hi." Chuck greeted her more casually this time.
"So, shall we order?" Daniel handed the two of them the menu.
"Thanks." Sarah muttered under her breath. She couldn't help but feel so nervous. Chuck better not blow their cover off.
"So," Daniel started to speak as soon as they all gave their orders to the waiter. "Since when have you too started dating?"
"I'm also curious to know." Vivian smiled at Sarah. "Daniel called me right after you told him that you had a new boyfriend."
Sarah was taken aback by this question. She was so not prepared for it. Of course, they would ask how they met and the sort! "W-well w-we…" Sarah tried to find the right words but couldn't. "W-we…"
Chuck, who was currently sitting beside her, started to laugh at her. Sarah gave him a sharp glare. How dare he laugh at her? She wanted to hit him with a frying pan on the head. He was supposed to be helping her and yet he was laughing at her!
But then he was surprised when he got a hold of her chin and titled her face to his direction. "Sarah my ninja princess, why do you always get so embarrassed when people ask us that?" He was stalling; he also needed time to think about what they should say. It should be convincing and realistic.
"Bu-but I'm not!" She tried to deny it. But she stuttered as Chuck touched her chin. This guy was touching her too much today! "Don't call me ninja princess!"
"You're so cute." Chuck gave her a pinch on the cheek.
"Aww! The two of them are so lovey dovey!" Vivian squealed at the sight of the couple in front of them being so affectionate with each other.
"Come on, tell us already!" Daniel urged Sarah to continue talking. "Vivian and I are dying to know!"
"During college, I was Sarah's upperclassman in tennis club. I couldn't help but notice how pretty she was, so I always approached her and challenged her to a tennis match as often as I could. I liked the fact that she never gives up and tries so hard to win every single time. Because of that, I wanted to try and ask her out on a date." The lies were flawlessly coming out of his mouth.
Sarah's eyes widened at Chuck's words. How the hell did he know that she was in the tennis club? Could he really have been from her university and on the same club? If he was, she would notice him. A man like him would definitely attract a lot of attention. He looked at her knowingly and urged her to back him up, but all she could say was, "Yes, Chuck was really cool."
"But I didn't get the opportunity to ask because Sarah had a boyfriend at the start of her junior year. Even then, I made sure that I always talked to her during our club hours. You could tell how lonely I was when I graduated, because I was a year ahead of her." The expression on his face changed into a frown. This guy was a good actor!
Daniel and Vivian kept on nodding so Chuck continued on with his charade. "We made contact after graduation and I found out that Sarah started her own business and opened up her own pastry shop. I wanted to support her pastry shop so I came there as often as I could. I also gave her gifts as a sign of my undying love for her."
"I was touched by his efforts, really. Chris never did anything that thoughtful to me, and I had to admit I was happier when with Chuck. So, I realized that he was really the one for me." She felt stupid that she didn't have anything to say at all. Sarah prayed that Daniel and Vivian wouldn't suspect anything.
"So, Sarah, why didn't you tell us about him?" Daniel raised his eyebrow.
"Well because, I thought you liked Chris for me." She nervously answered.
"You should have told us!" Vivian chimed in.
"I wanted to make sure before I told you guys. I'm sorry." She lowered her head apologetically to both Daniel and Vivian.
"It's okay sis! I'm happy for you!" Daniel gave her a light pat on the shoulder.
Soon enough, their orders came. Sarah couldn't help but look at Chuck as they ate. He seemed so calm and composed, contrast to what she was feeling, anxiety and stress. Daniel and Vivian looked so sweet feeding each other, which Sarah sometimes was uncomfortable to see.
That's why she sometimes disliked eating or even hanging out with just the two of them. She felt like a third wheel, even though they talked to her and stuff. But the thing is, they were a couple, they do couple stuff.
"Sarah honey, say 'aaah'." Chuck tapped her shoulder.
"Wha-" She wasn't able to finish her sentence because Chuck was stuffing her mouth with food.
She almost choked to death! What was that stupid Chuck thinking? She grabbed her glass of water and drank until she emptied the glass.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sarah asked him as she put down the glass. "Were you trying to kill me?"
"No, I wasn't Sarah dear." Chuck smiled innocently at her. "I was just feeding you like Daniel feeds Vivian. Aren't I sweet?"
The look on Daniel and Vivian' face made Sarah change her response from: 'You bloody pervert! Of course, you aren't!' to "You're sweet Chuck! But next time don't just shove the food inside my mouth okay?"
"I'm sorry sweetie." He pinched her cheek for the second time. Chuck kept calling her pet names, which she hated. Maybe she'll remind him later to stop calling her those childish names.
"It's okay Chuck." She gave him a 'thumbs up' and tried to hide the temptation to punch him in his gorgeous face.
"So, Chuck," Daniel began to ask Chuck. "Where do you work?"
"I work at CARMICHAEL Fragrances." He answered Daniel.
"CARMICHAEL Fragrances?" Daniel couldn't believe his ears. That was why he thought he had heard his name before. "You mean the number one company in the fragrance industry?"
"Yes." He took a sip from his coffee. He couldn't help but feel proud that Sarah's brother knew that their company was number one.
"So, you must be the Chuck Bartowski that rejected the idea to merge with VOLKOFF!" Daniel pointed at Chuck accusingly.
"That's also a yes." He stated in a matter-of-fact tone, which irked Daniel. "Whoever came up with that stupid idea was insane. I was glad that I was able to convince the stockholders."
"May I ask why?" Daniel was curious to know. VOLKOFF Flavors was where he worked.
"Because VOLKOFF is a weak company, I don't understand why CARMICHAEL, the number one in the fragrance industry, needs to merge with a number three in the flavor industry. If we were to merge with a flavor company, of course it should also be the number one." He answered bluntly.
This sent Daniel so irritated than ever before. This man has the nerve to insult their company! VOLKOFF tried so hard to be the number three company in that industry and yet this man…
"You don't understand! That was supposed to benefit the two companies! By merging their assets, we could be the number one in terms of market share." Daniel defended his company; it turns out that he was the one who suggested the idea of merging CARMICHAEL and VOLKOFF.
"CARMICHAEL can very well run on its own. As you can see, we're number one in terms of market size. The number two company is lagging very far behind." He answered him confidently.
"Daniel…" Vivian tried to calm his boyfriend down. Sarah, noticing the rising tension, also did the same.
"Daniel, let's talk about this some other time okay?" She also tried but to no avail. Daniel was very infuriated at the moment.
"I'll have you know that VOLKOFF provides the flavor of that juice Sarah's drinking!" Daniel proudly stated while pointing to Sarah's glass.
"Then I'll have you know that CARMICHAEL's perfume is the scent all over this restaurant that we're currently eating in." Chuck retorted. If this Daniel was planning to start a fight in what company was better, then Chuck couldn't lose.
"I'll have you know that VOLKOFF provides the flavor of the most popular orange juice in the state." Daniel fought back; at least he was certain the orange juice was currently the number one.
"I'll have you know that CARMICHAEL provides the scent of the fabric softener that you and Sarah use. I can tell just by smelling."
Daniel couldn't help but sniff his clothes. "That explains the horrid smell! Then I won't use that fabric softener any longer!"
"Then don't, let's see if you're clothes smell any nicer."
"Oh yes they will."
"No, they won't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because we're number one. Top products always chose number ones like us."
"The fabric softener that we're using isn't that good!"
"Oh yeah? Then why are you using it?"
"Because it's cheap!"
"Really now? I'm sure that it's the most expensive one in the stores."
"Fine! Then I'll use something that isn't made of CARMICHAEL Fragrances! I won't patronize your products for as long as I live!"
"Then you can't eat here, and that's so sad. I heard that this was your favorite restaurant."
"Then I won't eat here any longer!"
"I bet a million dollars that the perfume you're using is from CARMICHAEL perfumery. That's one of our best-selling scents."
"I won't use this perfume any longer! I didn't like the smell anyway."
"Just admit it, CARMICHAEL Fragrances are the best. Even you like it."
"No, they're not!"
"Yes, they are! You can only counter what I'm saying because you can't really say that VOLKOFF is number one. You'd be lying then. You know what they say, 'Real men accept defeat'."
"Why you little-"
Sarah couldn't believe what she was now seeing. Her brother, the one who always told her not to pick fights and Chuck, the man that she found so composed and refined were bickering like two old women. She didn't know if she were to laugh or to get mad at the both of them. Vivian, on the other hand, looked so terrified because she'd never seen Daniel so worked up like that before.
"Daniel…" Vivian tried to hold him down but it was too late. There was no use in making him calm down now. He was so outrageously pissed.
"You think you're so cool with your stylish curls huh?" Daniel was now taking things personally.
"Yes. I think I'm so cool with my hair. Sarah said so herself. What about you? Is that horse licked hair of yours natural?" Chuck always enjoyed teasing people that were losing it. He always had fun with Lazlo, who would eventually explode due to anger.
"Of course, it's natural you freak! Sarah doesn't think that way!"
"Yes, she does. Are you threatened that I'm Sarah's new number one? Mister number three."
"You fucktard. Why I ought to-"
"Daniel, Chuck will you two please shut up?" Sarah couldn't help but splash water at both of their faces. If she didn't do that, Daniel might be pouncing on Chuck and beating his face to no avail. All the customers in the restaurant stopped what they were doing to look at them, which lead to the embarrassment of the two girls.
"Daniel, why are you so childish? You're humiliating Vivian?" Daniel stopped to turn to Vivian, who was now in the verge of tears.
"Vivian I'm sorry for my sudden outburst." It was so fast, the transformation from the murderous Daniel to an angelic Daniel. He gave Vivian a light hug.
"It's okay." She returned Daniel's hug. That made him calm down a little. "Don't fight Chuck, okay? Give it a rest."
"Yes, I won't." He turned back to Sarah and spoke. "Okay I changed my mind; I don't like him for you either. Let me rephrase that, I like Chris more than I like him for you. And Chris was bad enough."
"Daniel!" Sarah didn't want to believe what he just said. They were making a good impression a while ago.
"Let's go Vivian." He stood up and Vivian followed behind him. "Since you're so great mister number one, you pay for the bill."
Vivian mouthed Sarah a 'Don't worry. I'll talk to him.' and gave Chuck a wave and exited the restaurant with Daniel.
-o0o-
"Way to go you idiot!" Sarah yelled at Chuck as they walked out the restaurant. The embarrassment was too much for Sarah to take. As soon as Daniel left, Chuck paid the bill and they rushed outside the restaurant.
"What? It wasn't my fault. He started it! He asked where I worked. I didn't know that he worked in VOLKOFF. I really had no idea!" He pouted like a child.
"If you hadn't provoked him, then we could've said the 'p word' already!" She couldn't help but smack him on the head.
"Ouch!" Chuck caressed his head. This girl was as fiery as her brother. They were really siblings. "I'm sorry okay?"
"Now you've done it. I doubt that Daniel will like you now." She sighed.
"He possibly can't just ignore me." He said to her. "After all, I am the father of the child."
"I want to tell him as soon as possible you know. The guilt of hiding it from him is killing me!"
"We'll be able to tell him, eventually." They walked to where they're car was parked.
"How do you know that I was in the tennis club back in college?" Sarah asked him.
"Hmm… I think you told me that when we were together at the bar."
"I see."
Then there was an awkward silence.
As Chuck continued walking, not even bothering to look at the blonde beside him because he was also humiliated with what happened earlier. But then he realized that he had to speak to her. So, he started to ask Sarah. "So where should I drop you?" He looked beside him and realized that she was no longer there.
"Where is she?" He turned back and searched for her. He was surprised to see her stop walking midway. It appears that she was staring at something or someone. He couldn't really tell.
He walked near her and tried to even joke her. "What are you staring at?" He looked at the other side of the street; there was nothing special to look at. The only shop that was there was a café and there were a few people inside it. There were businessmen discussing on one table, women gossiping on the other, a man that was quietly sipping his coffee and a couple who were dating on the next.
He looked back at Sarah and was surprised at what he saw; Sarah was on the verge of crying.
