Disclaimer: I don't own A.T.O.M. and never will. Unfortunately. But I do own the idea of this fic and the new characters I introduced.
And I don't own "Who Knew" by Pink. But the song is awesome!
A/N: Heya!!! Thanks for reviews everyone! Well, here's the next chapter! By the way, I've used the song "Who Knew" by Pink here, I hope you've heard that one, and if you haven't, I totally recommend you, because the song is great!
Hostage.
Chapter Eight.
The following few days were like a fairy tale for Sophie. And for Lee. Of course, he was afraid at first, he tried to convince Sophie that this was all wrong, that he was almost twice her age, ('Good thing he still doesn't know I'm seventeen,' Sophie thought at one point.) and that SHE had a life to live, while he had lived the most part of his.
"Maybe you should've thought of this before you took me with you on that helicopter," Sophie smiled crossing her arms.
"But I..." Lee stopped mid-sentence. He had nothing to retort to that.
Sophie smiled in triumph. The man was sometimes so unlucky when arguing with her. And that's why an idea came to her mind.
"Take me to town today," she said suddenly.
"What?! No, I can't and..." Lee was taken aback by Sophie's sudden request, but never got the chance to finish the sentence, as Sophie had already snaked her arms around his neck and silenced him with a kiss.
"And why not?" she asked smirking as they parted. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He had learned by now that he could not refuse her.
Sophie giggled at Lee's defeated look.
"Well then, see you in the hall!" Sophie left for her room to get ready for the trip, leaving Lee to himself.
As the girl entered her room, she headed for her wardobe to pick out an appropriate outfit. It was close to the end of August, but the weather was still as good.
Suddenly Sophie's thoughts became very gloomy, her hands falling to her sides. The closer to September, the closer to her birthday and the beginning of the term.
'I will have to talk with Janus or come up with a way to hide the truth about myself,' Sophie thought. She somehow didn't feel safe to tell Janus of her age yet.
"Besides age is always something a girl keeps a secret," Sophie thought out loud.
'Yeah, but usually it's when they look or WANT to look younger than they are, not the other way around,' her mind retorted.
Sophie frowned at the idea.
"If the guy is cute and you like him, get him. Even if you have to tell him that you are from the North Pole and work in a 'Protect Penguins' organization."
Sophie burst out laughing at the memory of her friend, Krista. She cheered up a bit, and started changing.
In a white dress with brown, green and red flowers on every inch of it, light makeup and her hair loose, Sophie entered the hall fifteen minutes later. While she was walking, an idea suddenly stroke her: there WAS a reason why Lee couldn't go to town with her! How could she be so stupid for Heaven's sake!
Sophie quickly hurried to the hall. She knew Lee was already there.
"Listen, Janus, I'm so sorry, I was really stupid when I suggested this, I completely frogot that..." Sophie stopped mid-sentence and froze, as the man in the hall turned around to look at her.
It WAS Janus Lee, alright, Sophie could recognize him. But it was as if she was looking at his younger brother or something. He was like a younger version of himself, his hair shorter and less messy, the ever-present glasses gone, as well as a few wrinkles. He was not wearing his usual jump suit, but a sand-coloured costume and a black shirt.
Recovering from the shock, Sophie smiled brightly.
"Well, seems like you've taken care of the problem!"
Lee himself was once again taken aback by Sophie's appearance, her beauty. He stood frozen too, until the girl came up to him and took his hand in hers.
"Well, let's go!" she said brightly, and he complied.
"You look beautiful," he said.
"Thank you!" Sophie smiled again. "You look great too! To tell you the truth I had completely forgotten that the whole of Landmark City is after you when I asked you to go to the town with me. I'm sorry. And by the way, how did you take care of that problem so fast? Hardlight?"
Lee chuckled and nodded.
Soon the two were in town centre.
"So, where did you plan to go?" Lee asked.
"Uhm... How about the park?" Sophie suggested.
"Alright, then the park it is," Lee agreed, and the couple headed for the park.
As it was Tuesday, Landmark City central park wasn't too crowded. Janus and Sophie walked around, talked, joked and laughed. Sophie was glad to see Lee actually happy and having fun. And she felt quite proud of it: after all, it was her who made him smile for real at last.
A few hours and two portions of ice-cream later, Janus Lee was doing something he thought he'd never do in his whole life: he was lying on the lawn nearby the park lake, gazing at the sky, with Sophie lying next to him, her head rested on his shoulder, their hands interwined. Both were silent, as both felt no need for words. Somewhere close by, a gang of teenagers was having a picknic. They had a radio with them with random songs playing all the time. One saong, however, was one of Sophie's favorites.
"You took my hand
You showed me how
You promised me you'd be around
Uh huh
That's right
I took your words
And I believed
In everything
You said to me
Yeah huh
That's right
Is someone said three years from now
You'd be long gone
I'd stand up and punch them up
Cause they're all wrong
I know better
Cause you said forever
And ever
Who knew...'
Sophie didn't know why but the song somehow fitted the mood. And the girl had a strange feeling that the man beside her was now listening as well.
'...I wish I could remember
But I keep
Your memory
You visit me in my sleep
My darling
Who knew
My darling
My darling
Who knew
My darling
I miss you
My darling
Who knew
Who knew'
The song ended and another one started shortly afterwards. But Sophie was still under the impression of the song. She had listened to it a million times before, but somehow hearing it now made her feel different about it. Indeed, who knew she would ever meet her 'idol' again? And who knew she would end up as his lover after being taken hostage by him?
Lee was thinking exactly the same thing. Who knew that a simple girl he had taken hostage would change his life so much? Who knew he would end up in love with her?
Wait, what was that again?
Lee's eyes widened a fraction as he realized what he had just thought. He WAS in love with her. And he didn't see that one coming.
'Or maybe I did?..'
A few hours later Lee and Sophie were walking along the central Landmark City shopping gallery.
"Hey, look!" Sophie headed for the jewel shop stand. What she noticed was a pendent on a chain, made as a crystal-shaped emerald in a white-gold frame.
Lee looked at the skillfully made piece of jewel, then at Sophie, then back at the jewel.
"Hmm..."
Lee entered the shop. Surprised, Sophie followed.
"We would like to try on that emerald pendent," Lee told the shop assistant, who immediately dispatched the said item.
"Here," she said, politely smiling and helping Sophie fix the pendent.
It looked gorgeous. Sophie simply couldn't tear her eyes away from the jewel.
"Perfect," Lee said, also charmed by the way the pendent fitted Sophie, "We'll take it."
As the lady smiled and went away to get the receipt, Sophie wheeled around and stared at Lee.
"What?! But, Janus, I..."
"It's perfect on you," Lee interrupted. Sophie fell silent and just smiled, happiness shining on her face.
"Thank you," she whispered, "I will always keep it as a memory of you."
The rest of the day also went great. Lee took Sophie for dinner to one of the best restaurants in the city. After that they had another walk, and then headed back to the lab.
"Thank you for everything, Janus," Sophie said happily, as they were walking towards his room.
"What for?" Lee played a game of innocence. He knew Sophie would get annoyed. And he was right.
"You KNOW what I'm talking about, so quit, will you?" Sophie growled. Lee laughed again.
"Alright, alright," he rose his hands in mock defeat.
Sophie knew that Lee was trying to tease her. She smirked inwardly.
'My turn!'
"But, anyway, I think I know a way to thank you, after all," Sophie smiled cunningly, and before Lee could react, she was already kissing him, one hand blindly finding the button to open the door to his room.
A/N: Ok, this one was pretty hard to write, but I hope I didn't suck that much.)))