Chuck versus The Sizzling Shrimp

(Chuck and Ellie's mother's day)

Chuck sat down on the sofa, with Sarah at his side, he felt invincible. Across from him were Morgan and Ellie, he was rather surprised that she had invited Sarah and Morgan. Ellie had said Sarah was his new best gal now. She wasn't jealous was she?

It felt like he was in an alternate universe, because Ellie and Morgan were actually getting along, they were laughing and smiling. Ellie's eyes were innocent, but Morgan's were full of love. Chuck remembered back to when he had introduced him to Ellie and how a five-year-old Morgan looked as he did now. Chuck thought that maybe over the years he might get over it, but he showed no signs of getting over his feelings.

The two stood up and said they were going to fetch drinks from the kitchen.

"Chuck!" Sarah whispered harshly.

"-Yeah?" He turned to her with a giant bowl of pasta on his lap, he had managed to get most of it around his mouth.

"Firstly." Sarah said. "You have a little, uh, sauce around your mouth."

"Oh." Chuck blushed. He put his finger in his mouth, licked it and then rubbed the corners. He only got a little bit of it though. "Is it gone?"

"No!" She replied. "Come here."

He hesitated for a second before moving slightly closer to her. She took his hand as he let it go limp, she showed him where the mess was and held his palm as he rubbed it away. It was such a strange but intimate situation.

"There." Sarah whispered, her hand lingering on his longer than necessary. "Now what I really wanted to talk to you about.." She paused. "Uh, look, Ellie was staring at us weirdly, and I know why."

"Ah, so it wasn't just me. So why was she staring at us 'weirdly'?" Chuck asked.

"Normal couples don't sit on opposite ends of the sofa, Chuck. I mean, we've been 'dating' for almost three months now and we act like we're repulsed by each other. And I'm not at all repulsed by you."

"Your not?" He sexily raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not." Sarah hid her face behind her hands. "Now, we need to look more like a couple."

"Fine by me." He said quietly. Sarah didn't respond. She glanced through to the kitchen where Ellie and Morgan were pouring drinks. She made a face which said 'hurry up', Chuck responded by hurriedly pulling her on top of him. He lay in an awkward angle, his legs were stretched out in front of him on the chair and Sarah was lying on top with her head on his chest.

"Um, Chuck, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind." Sarah said gently.

"Oh no, of course not." He said, embarrassed.

"We have to look comfortable, just be natural." She said, as if she were explaining it to a small child.

"Okay." He sat up and went back to his previous sitting position.

Sarah edged closer to him so that she was merely a few inches away. She felt her skin tingle slightly as he put his arm around her waist. Slowly, she moved her head down and rested it on his chest. She felt Chuck rest his back against the chair and she put her feet up. This was natural, she felt totally at ease.

They sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Sarah could hear Chuck's heart pounding, she couldn't hear herself think anymore. She could barely let a breath escape from her throat. She was fighting the urge to wrap her arms around him, she wanted to hold him tight and she didn't know why. She wanted to make his heart beat faster so that it was in time with her own.

Ellie and Morgan showed no signs of returning as they were deep in conversation with one another about old times. Presumably when Ellie was in tenth grade.

Any second now they're going to come in and I'm going to feel like my old self again. Chuck told himself firmly. He didn't bother telling himself anymore that he didn't have a crush on Sarah, because he did. How could he not, he loved the way she did everything. The way her face would screw up when she was angry, the way her hair would swish when she ran. But he wasn't in love with her.

He knew this would happen, no matter how much he tried to stop it. The situation they were in didn't help either, with them acting all 'coupley'. He felt like it was real, he wanted it to be real. Every time he saw her now, he had to stop himself from thinking about what it would be like if they were a real couple, because they would never be. All he was letting himself in for was a whole lot of hurt, he had to let go before his feelings developed into something deeper.

This wasn't helping, she was laying on his chest. He could feel his heart beating, he wanted to stay like this forever. Please, please don't do this to yourself again. You can't let it. She has no interest in you whatsoever, she probably hates you and thinks your some lanky, nervous geek with no life except for playing Call Of Duty in your bedroom with Morgan.

Finally Ellie and Morgan re-entered the room, Morgan looking redder and hotter than before. The half glass of champagne in his hand indicated why.

"Yo." Morgan said, sitting down on the sofa, swishing his drink around nonchalantly.

Ellie nudged Morgan playfully when she noticed Chuck and Sarah's new sitting position.

"What did you do when we left the room?" Morgan asked, lifting both eyebrows up and down.

"Morgan, you do know you can see exactly what we're doing from the kitchen, you know. These rooms are attached."

"Well excuse me for actually being busy and forgetting to notice."

"You're excuse." Chuck said cheekily. They cracked up laughing, Ellie poured them all some more wine and Chuck downed his in record time. Soon, the bottle was empty. Morgan eyed it with interest, he had an idea.

"Let's play spin the bottle." He slurred, the others nodded as the majority of them were tipsy, even Sarah. She couldn't refuse a drink, she didn't want to stand out. This was for the cover, besides, she had played spin the bottle in high school, it wasn't that bad a game.

"Morgan, it's for kids and teenagers, not adults." Chuck said, folding his arms.

"Adults play it all the time." Ellie corrected.

"Fine." Chuck said. "But I'm not doing anything I don't want to do."

"Okay." Morgan shrugged. "Girls, are you in?"

"Sure." They said in unison. Chuck looked down at Sarah who was looking rather queasy.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I'm okay." She whispered, her blue eyes boring into his. They both felt an intense rush shudder through them as her head pulled away from his chest. Sarah felt her temperature rise as a million goosebumps erupted all over her body. They both sat up and watched anxiously as Morgan span the bottle round.

The bottle span around for what seemed like an eternity, taunting each person it pointed at. Finally, after a few moments of making it's decision, it landed on Ellie. The other side pointed to Sarah, which meant Sarah had to dare Ellie to do something.

Sarah smiled for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Hug Morgan for a whole minute."

"You what?" Ellie gasped before leaning over to Sarah and whisperer in her ear, "look, I know we get along and everything now, but.. I can't hug him, it's too.. Too.. Weird."

"Come on Ellie, you really don't want to do the forfeit." Sarah teased.

"And what's that?" She wondered aloud.

"Lick Morgan's beard." Sarah whispered as everyone gasped.

"You wouldn't!" Ellie narrowed her eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll hug you." She said, defeated as Morgan cheered. Ellie towered over Morgan as she defiantly wrapped her arms around him. He smelt of stale Doritos and uncleanliness. Sarah counted in her head as Ellie squirmed and wriggled uncomfortably.

"Minutes up." Sarah said.

"Oh thank God." Ellie breathed, releasing the little rat from her grip. Morgan smiled and nodded like he was the hottest guy on earth. He arrogantly lifted his hand and span the bottle. "Until we meet again, Eleanor." He curtsied. Okay, Ellie hated him when he was drunk.

The bottle selected it's second victim. Chuck. And Morgan was the one to dare him.

"I dare you to kiss Sarah." Morgan grinned.

Chuck was a little startled. "Why would you dare me? I do it all the time! That's not a challenge!" He babbled nervously.

"Well I've never seen you." He said. "That or you can lick my beard."

Sarah looked at Chuck and nodded,, it's okay, her eyes were telling him. We have no choice. He nodded at everyone and took and breath, he had to make this look natural. Hang on. Wait. He was about to kiss Sarah.

The person he couldn't stop thinking about, the woman of his dreams-

A crash invaded Chuck's thoughts, a wine glass had fallen on the floor along with a passed out Morgan. Ellie began to laugh and Chuck sighed in what he thought may have been relief, though he couldn't be sure. Sarah felt weird, a sinking feeling had appeared in her stomach. She wasn't disappointed was she?

Sarah's Hotel Room 1.00am

Sarah only ever did this as a last resort, but she couldn't take it anymore. She dove into her suitcase and pulled out her diary, she guiltily poised her pen over the paper before indulgently letting herself write.

Dear Diary,

I know I haven't written in a while, I only ever write in here when I have no options left. When I'm feeling out of control, I have to write it all down in here before I explode, and then I'll feel better and my emotions will get back on track.

I know I'm a spy. I'm not meant to have emotions, to have these feelings and I want them to go away. It's just like Dad always said to me, your feelings only get you hurt. But sometimes I can't help but doubt this fact, I mean, it's what makes you human, isn't it? I am still a person. Writing in this diary isn't going to hurt anyone, it's my guilty pleasure and I'm making sure no one will ever get to read it.

Lately I've been feeling.. well.. Okay, let me start again. Chuck. That one word that makes my heart flutter, and I know it shouldn't. It's just that ever since I've met him, I feel like a different person, like I can be me again. My heart beats faster when I see him, my face flushes, I get butterflies, these are all the signs that I like him.

But I can't! Oh but I can't. I know I feel something, I've tried training myself to be an emotionless robot, while on the outside I am, but on the inside I still feel all of these things, sometimes I push them away to the back of my mind, but they always come back to haunt me. It's like I'm wearing a mask. And sometimes, I want to take it off, but I can't.

It's just, I love his smile, I love the way he gets all nervous and makes me laugh. I love the way his hair is wild and unruly and I love how his eyes tell me everything. But what confuses me most about him is that he actually cares about me even though I'm just his handler. He puts me before himself, and that makes me like him even more.

I'm not sure what I'm feeling. Maybe I'm just mixed up. But now I know I'm certainly not ill and I know aspirin won't fix this.

Then, Sarah closed her diary and locked it away. Hopefully it would take her emotions with it.

Review please?

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