#5 – Red shoes

''OH, JUST GO TO HELL!'' were the first words Anna heard when she opened the front door to the apartment block, after arriving home from work. The Bateses were once again at each other's throats…or at least Vera was at John's and he was keeping his head above water, but just barely. Ever since Vera had insisted on moving back in with her estranged husband, scenes like this had become a daily occurrence.

''YOU GO TO HELL!'' John's voice echoed through the stairwell, while Anna was making her way upstairs as slowly as possible.

''FUCK YOU, JOHN!'' Vera screamed. ''AND YOU CAN FORGET ABOUT ME SIGNING THE DIVORCE PAPERS! NOT BEFORE I DESTROY YOU!'' she added, storming out of the flat.

''YOU'VE ALREADY DONE THAT!'' John shouted, following her into the hallway. He was so tired of doing this day after day. All they did was argue, and nothing ever got better. He had to admit to himself that he was barely holding it together at this point.

''GOOD!'' Vera spat, and was about to continue when she saw Anna making her way up the stairs. ''Oh, look...'' She turned to John with a sly smile. ''Your little slut is home!''

Ever since Anna had moved into the flat opposite John's, Vera had sensed that something was happening between her husband and the young woman. She had no proof, but seeing the way his demeanour brightened every time he saw Anna had been motivation enough for her to move back into the flat.

''You take that back!'' John was very close to losing control of his temper, when he saw Anna standing behind Vera.

''Or what?'' Vera smirked, and that was enough for John to walk toward her, seething with anger and frustration. ''Come on - hit me! I dare you!'' Vera challenged, well aware that she knew how to bring out the worst in him.

''Mr. Bates!'' Anna finally opened her mouth, seeing John's knuckles turn white as he clenched his hands into fists of rage.

''Come on, show little Miss Smith here what you're capable of!'' Vera hissed at him. John stared directly into her eyes and did not say a thing. He knew what she was trying to make him do, but regardless of how angry he was, he was smarter than that. He took a deep breath.

''Just as I imagined. You are a pathetic excuse for a man, John Bates.'' She cackled into his face. ''You always have been...and you always will be.'' Turning to Anna, she added, ''He's all yours, darling.'' She turned her back on John and, pushing past Anna, flounced down the stairs.

''Sorry you had to see that...again,'' John winced, looking down. He was so ashamed that Anna had once again witnessed the sorry state of his terrible relationship with Vera.

''It's OK,'' she replied, approaching him. She hated Vera from the bottom of her heart for being so cruel to John, when to her he was so perfect.

''Are you all right?'' she asked, when he just stood there quietly, still looking away.

''Ummm...not really,'' he said, finally looking in her direction and smiling shakily. She looked amazing, just as she did every single day.

''Come,'' she said, and started unlocking her flat. They had become close over the last few years, but no matter what Vera had said, there wasn't anything more than friendship between them, even though they both knew - somewhere deep in their hearts - that they wanted more.

''Are you sure? The neighbours are bound to talk...''

She always invited him over to her place when he and Vera had had one of their arguments. She knew that talking calmed him down, and he had to admit to himself that it felt good to discuss his problems with someone who truly understood. But at the same time he was worried about her reputation. He didn't want the neighbours to think that their friendship was the reason for his broken marriage.

''We've been over this a million times already, John - I don't care what people say. You're my friend, and friends are there for each other, in good and bad times. Don't you agree?''

She didn't need to say much at all to help him feel better about himself. He knew she was right, and he also knew better than to argue with her.

''You're right,'' he replied, smiling. It was so easy when he was around her. Everything was ten times better, and he felt so content when they were together.

''Come, then. Let's give the neighbours something to gossip about over their afternoon tea,'' she teased, taking his hand and pulling him into her flat.

xXx

''OK, how about…'' Anna paused to think. She was seated on the couch opposite John, a glass of red wine in her hand. After they had finished talking about what had happened, Anna had asked John to stay for dinner. He knew that he should decline, but at the same time he was unable to say no to anything she asked of him.

''…your first kiss?'' she finally asked. They were both a little tipsy from the wine, so it hadn't taken them long to start talking about personal matters.

''Oh, ask me anything but that!'' John moaned, taking another sip of wine. He loved spending time with her like this. And he absolutely loved the fact that he felt comfortable enough to talk about his private affairs when he was with her. He had learned so much about her during their conversations, but at the same time he knew that he was in trouble. Every time he left her place he could feel himself falling even more deeply in love with her.

''It couldn't be that bad!'' she teased, seeing his discomfort.

''You have no idea.''

''Try me.''

''OK, but you have to promise that you won't laugh.'' He couldn't believe that he was about to tell her about something so embarrassing.

''I promise.'' She giggled, her curiosity piqued. How could it be that bad? Just looking at his lips, she guessed that he was a great kisser.

''Well…'' he began, emptying his glass. Picking up the bottle of wine, he refilled both their glasses before continuing. ''Uh…''

''Yes?'' she prompted, a bit impatiently.

''…the first person I ever kissed was…'' He paused, taking another sip before proceeding.

''Oh, for god's sake! Just tell me!'' She giggled and threw a pillow in his direction.

''All right, all right.'' He chuckled, catching the pillow. ''The first person I ever kissed was…Robert.''

''WHAT?!'' Anna wasn't quite sure she had heard him right. ''You mean Rob? Mary's father?''

''Yes...'' he whispered, his cheeks turning crimson, seeing that she was about to burst into laughter.

''But…'' She covered her mouth with her hand to stop herself from laughing. ''Why...and…how?''

''Well as I've told you before, I met Robert at Eton. I was on a scholarship and he...wasn't, obviously. We were in the same drama class and…''

''This is going to be so good!'' Anna grinned.

''Tell me again...why am I even telling you this?'' he smiled, pleased that he was making her laugh. She looked especially beautiful when she had a smile on her face.

''Because we've had some wine, and this is what friends do when they drink - they share embarrassing stories with each other!'' She bit the inside of her cheek, enjoying seeing him blush.

''You must have some really strange friends.'' He chuckled.

''Don't try to change the subject, Mr. Bates,'' she scolded him playfully.

''Yes, yes…where was I?''

''First kiss, Eton, Robert, drama class!'' she quickly reminded him.

''Right. So we were doing a modern version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He was playing Romeo and...well…I was…''

''Oh, my god! You have got to be kidding me! Were you Juliet!?'' At this point Anna could barely stifle her laughter.

''It was an all-boys school, Anna! We didn't have any girls in class to play her,'' he tried to explain, but it was too late. She was already in hysterics, and her laughter was infectious. ''There was a kiss in the script, and we had to do it!'' he chortled.

''Oh…my god...did…did you wear a skirt and everything?!'' she managed to ask, gasping for air. Just imagining a young John running all over the stage dressed as a woman made her day….and knowing that he and Robert had had to kiss each other…it was too good to be true.

''Yes…'' he nodded. ''…skirt, makeup, wig. I was a proper lady, you know!'' he chuckled.

''I bet you were.'' She burst into laughter again.

''Actually…'' He stood up. ''…give me a minute.''

''Where are you going?'' she asked, when he placed his glass on the coffee table.

''I'll be right back,'' he said, and left her flat.

10 minutes passed and still John had not returned. To tell the truth, Anna was starting to worry that she had hurt his feelings when she'd laughed at him. She was just about to go check on him, when she heard her front door opening, followed by a familiar clicking sound. ''John?''

''I found them!''

''You found what?'' she asked, not having a clue what he was talking about, until he entered the room. ''Oh, my!'' She covered her mouth at the sight of him wearing a pair of glittery red heels.

''Nice, right!?'' he laughed, giving her a little twirl. He had no idea why he and Robert had kept them, and he had even less idea why he still had them after all these years, but the wine had definitely lowered his usual inhibitions.

''They're gorgeous! I want them!'' she laughed.

''Well, get your own pair, because these are mine!'' he joked and sat back down on couch, crossing one leg over the other, so that Anna had a great view of the shoes.

They really were beautiful shoes, and Anna wasn't lying when she said that she wanted a pair for herself.

''You are full of surprises, Mr. Bates!''

''You have no idea.'' He laughed and handed her one of the shoes to look at. They spent the rest of the evening talking about his Eton days, and at the end of it, Anna had to admit to herself that she was even more in love with him than she had been before. He had the best sense of humour, and it felt good to know that she could help him relax.

And John really was full of surprises…because just two months later, when Anna opened her birthday gift from him, she found an identical pair of glittery red heels in her own size.

Luckily nobody else was present, as they would have had a very difficult time explaining why they immediately dissolved into hysterics, both laughing so hard and so long over the gift that their stomachs hurt and their faces were wet with joyful tears.

beta: the one and only ANNAMBATES! I LOOOOOOVE YOU! :)

THANK YOU for R&R! miss-ute loves you very, VERY much! :)