"Near to You"
By: singyourmelody
Disclaimer: The characters are so not mine! Neither is Matt Damon or Dick Clark. Darn. Oh, and welcome to Fluff City, where the fluff flows freely!
Chapter 5: We Made Plans to Be Unbreakable
"Hey, I'm going to pick up the twins from their hockey practice. Care for a ride?" Will asked from the doorway to Phoebe and Christina's room. Phoebe looked up, tossed aside the book she was reading, and put on her shoes, trying to hide the smile on her face from Christina, who was painting her toenails.
Once in the car, Will reached over and took her hand. Although they had only been together for two days, their hands had figured out exactly how to find each other whenever they were alone. It was like clicking two pieces of the puzzle together.
"Do you think anyone suspects?" Phoebe asked Will. They hadn't really discussed what would happen when their relationship became public, or even how they wanted it to.
"Dylan's definitely out of the loop. His band is playing that New Year's Eve party, so he's been totally wrapped up in that. I don't think Dad or Helen know," Will responded. "And we don't want them to, right?"
"At least not right now. We need to see where this goes and get a little more established before we come under major scrutiny and the familial knife," Phoebe replied.
"Well, when you put it like that . . ." Will said, teasing. "But this is worth all that, right?" he asked, seriously, pulling into the hockey rink parking lot.
"I think it is," Phoebe said. She waited until Will turned off the car and then reached over turning his head so that he was looking at her. "To me, being with you is worth it. All of it, okay?" She leaned over and kissed him. He cupped his hands around her heart shaped face while she ran her hands through his hair as he deepened the kiss. He kept pulling her closer and closer until she was almost in the driver's seat with him. Suddenly, Phoebe's elbow was against the steering wheel and the horn blared loudly as the two sprung apart.
"What is it with us and car horns?!" Will exclaimed as Phoebe moved back into the passenger seat and straightened her clothes.
Phoebe laughed and said, "Hey, it's our thing. We have our first official thing: car noises. Years from now, we can needlepoint it on a pillow. I can see it now: 'Blaaare!'" Phoebe said, pretending to sew.
Will tossed his head back and laughed. "Years from now, huh?" He asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Phoebe responded, "Yeah, years from now." Leaning over, he gave her a quick kiss and then opened his car door.
As they walked inside to pick up the boys, hands brushing against each other every so often, Phoebe leaned over and whispered in Will's ear, "This is perfect."
0-0-0
New Year's Eve found Will and Phoebe sitting on the couch, watching a movie. Phoebe had casually draped her legs over Will's, his hands resting on her knees, as Matt Damon managed to track down that CIA agent one more time to find out more information. Anyone looking at the pair would notice just how comfortable they were with each other.
"You're watching a movie when the ball is about to drop?" Frank asked as he entered the room. Phoebe quickly sat up, removing her legs from Will's. He noticed the loss immediately.
"Well, it's kinda the same thing every year, Frank. Dick Clark counts down and the big orb of glass falls ten feet. And then the confetti explosion and we all go to bed," Phoebe responded.
"So cynical, are we?" Frank questioned, sitting in the nearby armchair.
"I'd have to agree with Phoebe. You think they could come up with some new material or something," Will commented.
"It's tradition! Ball, confetti, those eyeglasses in the shape of the upcoming year, it's all part of the tradition. I swear, no one has respect for tradition anymore!" Frank exclaimed.
Will shot a quick glance at Phoebe before responding, "Sometimes it's good to start new traditions, dad."
"Okay, big shot. Just hand over the remote," Frank commanded, teasing. He turned on "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year" and said, "Where's my best girl? I need to be ready to kiss her when the time comes!"
"I'm here. Right here," Helen said, entering the room and sitting on the arm of Frank's chair.
On the TV, Dick Clark was counting, "7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year!"
"Happy New Year!" they all said, lifting up there glasses full of sparkling cider. "To the next part of our lives," Helen toasted, leaning down to kiss Frank.
"I'm off to bed, I guess," Will said, cringing slightly as he and Phoebe watched Frank and Helen kiss.
"Right behind you," Phoebe stated as the two raced up the stairs. Will could feel Phoebe's hand on his back as they ran up the stairs and stopped in front of his bedroom door.
"Dylan's gone, right?" Phoebe whispered.
"Yeah, he's at that big party."
"Christina's there too."
"Oh, good."
"Yup." The two stood in silence for a minute.
Finally, Will said, "So, my room or yours?"
Phoebe slapped him on the shoulder. "So presumptuous aren't we, Mr. Beardsley?"
Will grinned at her and just folded his arms, as if waiting for an answer.
"Okay, okay, your room. Christina will more likely come home before Dylan," Phoebe said.
Will leaned against the door and turned the knob, letting them both into his room quietly. He laid down on the bed and patted the side next to him. Phoebe curled up next to him, her head gently resting on his chest. They laid like that for a few minutes.
Finally Phoebe said, "I can hear your heart beat."
"Oh yeah?" Will responded, his hand playing with her fiery hair.
"It's soothing. I could probably fall asleep right here."
"I wouldn't mind," Will stated.
"Dylan might," Phoebe said, smiling.
"You mean he doesn't want to see his sister and step-brother in bed together, innocent or otherwise?" Will quipped.
"No, I definitely think he might be more than a little freaked out over that, which is saying a lot since he can be such a-- "
Brrring. Brrring. Will's cell phone rang from his nightstand. Phoebe leaned over and grabbed it, handing it to him.
"It's Dylan," Will said, reading the Caller ID. He sat up. "Hello? What? Wait, Christina, why are you on Dylan's cell? Slow down, I can't understand you. What? He is? Okay. Alright, we'll be there in fifteen minutes. Who's we? Me and Phoebe. Um, oh, well, we might need the help, you know? I'll see you soon," he said, finally hanging up the phone.
"What's going on?" Phoebe questioned.
"I'll tell you on the way," Will said as he put on his shoes and found his coat. "Dylan got smashed at that New Year's Eve party. And apparently Frank and Helen can't find out because he's gotten into a lot of trouble while we were at school. So Christina called me to come get him."
Once in the car, Phoebe asked, "Why can't he just sleep it off at Jeff's or Paul's?"
"I don't know. I think Christina was scared and she didn't know what to do with him. Oh, and sorry I almost slipped up on the phone."
"What do you mean?" Phoebe questioned.
"I said that 'we' would be going to get Dylan. Christina was really confused. I just momentarily forgot that the rest of the world wasn't in my room with us. That's why I had to pull the 'we might need more help' line."
"Well, he is my brother. I need to be there to help him," Phoebe stated.
"Look at us, all responsible and stuff," Will tried to joke.
"Responsible with some things. Not so much with others," Phoebe said seriously.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm not having second thoughts, Will. I'm not. I just, I just don't want anyone in our family to get hurt because of us."
"I know you don't," Will said, taking her hand. "I don't want anyone getting hurt either. And maybe we haven't completely thought this through, as far as telling our family, and what their reaction might be. So that's something we need to be thinking about. But I really think that we need to be talking about it and thinking about it together. Because if we aren't together, than there's nothing to even be talking or thinking about at all. There's just the two of us, unhappy because we are apart, making sacrifices because we are afraid of what they might say."
Phoebe gave a small smile and said, "You're right. I want to do this. You want to do this. And we are going to fight to make it work!"
"I love it when you are all resolved," Will laughed as Phoebe beamed back at him.
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