A/N: This chapter is very fluffy, and it doesn't propel the plot that much BUT it shows you a different side to Phoebe. Cavities may be ahead.
Chapter 5: Phoebe's POV
"Thanks, Caroline," I said, sitting awkwardly in the passenger seat of her car. The teartracks were still on my face, but somehow I didn't care. Caroline was like that.
"It's nothing, Phoebe," she said, smiling at me. "You're in danger, plus it's always nice to drive around." Her pink hair glinted under the streetlights, taking on even more depth.
The conversation stilled, but somehow it wasn't awkward. Caroline seemed happier, carefree.
"Hey Phoebe, want to see something? It's a bit out of the way but-"
I cut her off. "Definitely"
She looked pleased by that, her rosy lips pulling up into a smile. "I'll have you home by midnight" she joked, and I laughed.
"Don't worry about it" was all I could say, and she giggled again, and I couldn't stop smiling.
"Do you want to listen to some music?" she asked at a stoplight, and I nodded in approval. She pulled out a pink CD labelled "Chaos", and put it into the CD player.
"Our destination is about 20 minutes away, " she said, smirking
"You're not gonna tell me where we're going? I asked, faking offense. Before long we were laughing again, as "Cherry Bomb" came on. We both fake sang the lyrics, miming microphones and dancing along.
It was the most carefree I had been in years. For the next 20 minutes we continued in the same pattern, joking around and laughing to different songs on the CD, and any random thing we saw on the road. Eventually, we reached our "destination"
"You took me to… an abandoned building," I said, confused. We were 10 minutes away from the suburbs, and nothing was around us.
"But it's more than that, dummy," she said, getting out of the car and gesturing with her arms out wide. I quickly followed suit, getting out of the car and sitting on the hood, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.
"So… it's not an abandoned building?" I asked, before laughing. Eventually she joined in, but not before grabbing my hand and pulling me off her car.
"This is a place where you can do anything, Pear" she said genuinely, smiling wider than I thought was possible.
"Pear? Really? That's the nickname you give me?" I said, faking anger, "Hmm… then your nickname will be Cherry!" I declared, sticking my finger in the air pompously.
"I'm glad you approve, but do you want to explore or not?" she asked, before walking to her trunk and getting out two flashlights.
"You planned this!" I said, before taking the flashlight she offered and turning it on.
"Of course I did!" she laughed, before turning on her flashlight and walking towards the building. I followed her, and together we entered through the double doors in front, and as she led me down the dark hallways, I felt more thankful than ever that she was in my life. Before too long, she stopped walking as we arrived at a door.
"Are you ready for the next part of your life?" she deadpanned, gesturing towards the door. I laughed at her antics before walking towards the door, suddenly nervous. SHe noticed, and reassured me with a smile. And when I opened the door, I was glad that I came.
The door opened to a staircase going down into a basement, but the basement wasn't as creepy as most basements were. I walked down, Caroline right behind me, and relished in the peaceful aura of the room. It was lit by christmas lights, with a large rug covering most of the cement floor. There was a beat up loveseat and a couple beanbags on one side, with a coffee table between them. On the other was an acoustic guitar next to a small desk with a CD player on top of it, along with a few CDs.
"This, dear pear, is my happy place" said Caroline, twirling around the room. "This place was abandoned a few years back after the company closed, and because it's such undesirable real estate, no one bought it. After it had been closed for a year, I decided it was perfect and turned this room into my personal haven". She flopped onto the loveseat with an inviting smile, and I sat next to her.
"It's perfect is what it is" I said, before laying my head on her shoulder. It felt… right. Like it belonged there. She hummed in approval, putting her arm around my waist and pulling me tighter against her.
"It was about time I let you in here, Pear" she said, before removing her arm from my waist and standing up, grabbing my hand afterwards and pulling me up.
"Wanna dance?" She offered, a strange look in her beautiful cerulean eyes that I couldn't quite identify.
"But there's no music," I replied dumbly.
"That can be easily fixed," she responded, walking over to the stereo before putting in a CD, and Cyndi Lauper's "Time after Time" began to play.
Lying in my bed, I hear the clock tick and think of you
She walked over to me, grabbing my hands and setting them on her hips while putting hers on my shoulders and swaying to the beat.
Caught up in circles / Confusion is nothing new
I pulled her closer, smiling at how the usually confident girl seemed nervous.
Flashback, warm nights / Almost left behind
Her body fit into mine like the perfect puzzle piece.
Suitcase of memories / Time after
Her face looked up at mine, and inched closer and closer until…
You're calling to me, I can't hear / What you've said
Our lips met.
Then you say, "go slow" / And I fall behind
They were warm, and soft, and wonderful.
The second hand unwinds
She pulled away, looking at me for reassurance.
If you're lost you can look and you will find me / Time after time
"I can't believe I waited this long to do this," I said, and she smiled before moving her lips towards mine again.
If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting / Time after time
We kept kissing for what seemed like hours until the song ended, but I swear that was the most complete I had ever felt.
"Thank you," I said, looking at Caroline and her smudged lipstick.
"Do you want to do this again sometime?" She asked, and I laughed.
"Try and stop me from coming back" I retorted, before she laughed in response.
We sat together on the loveseat, lazily kissing until we fell asleep, inside a bubble of warm contentment.
A few hours later…
beep
beep
beepbeepbeep
"Huh?" I said groggily, wiping my eyes before realizing where I was.
"Caroline, Caroline we have to go" I said, poking the girl that was laying on me until she woke up.
"Where are we?" she said, before suddenly realizing and bolting up.
"We're fucked" we said simultaneously, before Caroline pulled me off the couch and we rushed to her car.
"You look like you're about my size," was all she said before she pushed a bundle of clothing towards me, taking one for herself. It was a dress with a cherry print. I smirked at the unintentional nickname reference before nodding, thankful that we were in the middle of nowhere.
"This is not what I expected when I thought about seeing you naked for the first time," she said, and I immediately turned bright red before laughing at her boldness.
"It's a quarter to six, so we can stop by a fast-food joint before school if you want" she offered, before getting in the car and turning it on.
"You mean we could have changed in a McDonalds' bathroom?" I asked, putting on my seatbelt.
"I… did not consider that option." was all she said, before she turned onto the road heading back into town.
"It's okay," I reassured her, "and I would appreciate some breakfast, I didn't exactly get a chance to get dinner last night either."
"Well consider it my treat, Pear," she said, and I smiled.
"Is there a reason you don't want to stop by the cafe?" I asked
"Well, I told mom that I was bringing you home last night. She probably thinks I just slept over, but if we showed up for breakfast today she might think something was up" she said, and my heart dropped a little bit. Did she not want an us?
"I do want to be with you, but I don't think the best way to introduce my new girlfriend to my mother would be after we both disappeared for a night" she continued, seemingly unaware of how much that statement brightened my mood.
"So.. you're my girlfriend?" I asked, a smile on my face.
"I mean, I would really like that," she said, and I noticed a blush on her cheeks.
"I would like that too," I said, smiling like a madman as I watched the landscape slip by us. Eventually we reached a McDonalds, and Phoebe ordered an iced coffee and a sausage biscuit for both of us. Once we got our food, she distributed it and waited until I took my first bite to talk.
"So, were my eyes deceiving me or do you have a tattoo?" she asked, looking at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes and laughing when I almost choked on my food.
"Your eyes did not fool you," I eventually replied, "I do have a tattoo. When I was younger, my mom would call me her little dove, so after she died I got a mother dove and a baby dove tattooed over my left hip. Hurt like hell, but it's usually covered by anything I wear and it makes me feel like she's close to me" I said, trailing off towards the end.
"You don't have to tell me anything else, I know how much you miss her," she said, before exclaiming, " But that could not have been legal!"
I laughed before replying, "Technically no, but the tattoo artist didn't care after he heard my story."
She nodded in response, and we sat in companionable silence as we drove to school.
"Have a nice day at school, Pear" she said, pulling into the parking lot.
"It'll be hard not to after seeing you," I replied, before stepping out of her car. "Can we hang out after school? At the cafe?" I asked.
"Definitely. And I put my number in your cell so you can text me during lunch. " I smiled at that, before adjusting my backpack.
"Goodbye Cherry," I said, before turning around and walking into school.