* Please Review! I'm glad this story is being accepted so quick. I think this is the only Floating Fan Fic here but I could be wrong. I asked FFN to make a category for it and as soon as they do, it will be moved to there instead of Misc Movies. Thank you!*
" Van!" Van groaned and turned his head from the wall to his door as he laid on his stomach with his hands under his pillow. He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut harder. This time he won't get up. This time, he'd lay there and let his dad sleep alone. " Van!"
" I'm coming!" He yelled, pushing himself up. He turned in the bed and stood up with a shake of his head. He ran his hand through his hair as he walked out of his room and through the house. He walked into his dad's room, moved the wheelchair away from the bed then laid down next to his dad.
" Do you want some blankets?" His dad asked.
" Ah, no. No, I'm good, thanks." Van said.
As he laid in the darkness of his dad's room, Van stared at the ceiling. This was an every night thing. His dad had a hard time sleeping alone and, because Van loved his only remaining parent and felt bad for his dad, Van catered to him and would lay with him. But only until the man fell asleep. Van waited and stared. Thankfully, it didn't take long before his dad's breathing changed, slipping into the steady, even tone that told Van he was sleeping. Van looked over at him before he carefully left the bed and then the room.
" I have no life." Van muttered to himself as he wandered into his room.
Instead of going to his bed, he went over to his window and his telescope. He never used it anymore. His mom had got it for him when he was a young teen, wanting to star gaze with her son. It had been set up and used for a while but then she left. He knew he should take it down but couldn't bring himself to do it.
With a sigh, he took a hold of the telescope, closed one eye and looked into the instrument. It was aimed at the stars but Van found himself moving the telescope down. Without thinking too hard about what he was doing, Van quickly found the house on Mac Lane, the new Weathervane house. The house was right on the lake and he had a clear view of it...and then her.
Avalon was standing on one of the balconies, leaning forward with her hands clasped together. She looked like she was staring out over the lake but he couldn't be sure. The light was on in the room behind her but he still couldn't make out her face. What was she thinking about? Did she want to end her life again? If she jumped off the balcony and into the lake, could Van reach her before she drown?
" Don't do it." Van whispered.
As if she heard him, Avalon stood up straight. She reached up and behind her head. A second later, her hair tumbled down her back, freed from the tie that had held it in place. She put both hands into it as she tilted her head back and turned around. She seem to fluff it while she walked into the room, he guessed to be her room. She shut the french doors but not the curtains. She pulled her shirt over her head with her back to him. Van stood up straight, feeling bad that he was watching her. Than again...it's not like she knew. Van swallowed hard then looked back through his telescope. She was covering her breasts with one arm as she grabbed at her curtain with her free hand. She walked the curtain shut, shutting him out of her room. Van frowned but stood up again.
" Shit." He cursed as he looked down at his shorts. Yeah, he was hard.
NRNRNR
Van was laying on Julie's bed with her on top of him the next day. His hands were holding onto her hips but even though they were making out, Van could tell she wasn't into it. Truth be told, he wasn't feeling that into it either. He had been excited to see her, excited to get laid but now, he just couldn't get into it. As his tongue moved against hers, he could feel her lack of excitement and was sure it was affecting his.
" What's wrong?" Van asked Julie as she pulled away with a sigh.
" Nothing." She said, laying down beside him.
' Here it comes.' Van told himself.
As he sat on her bed and listened to her make excuses, Van's eyes drifted to her window and out over the lake. Didn't she get it? Didn't she understand? He couldn't just leave his dad and it's not like he had the money for college anyway. Van sighed and pushed himself off her bed. He yanked his shirt off her computer chair and tried to tamp down his annoyance with her.
" Van." She said.
" Forget it." Van snapped.
" It's just..." She started.
" I get it. It's over. You probably have a college boyfriend that you don't want to tell me about anyway. I don't care. Whatever. I don't want to do this anymore either." He snapped before he hurried out of her room. She hated her old room, hated her house, and hated her life there on the lake.
Everything was changing and changing fast. Well, everything and everyone but him. His life was stuck. His friends, his...whatever Julie was, had been,...everyone. Van frowned and thrust his hands into his pockets as he left Julie's house. Maybe he should get a job but then again, who would take care of his dad? Speaking of his dad, Van picked up pace to hurry home. Since he wasn't going to be having sex, he might as well hurry up and go do the grocery shopping.
" I fucking should have seen this coming." Van muttered to himself.
He pulled out his pack of smokes, pulled one out then slipped them back into it's place. His lighter was next. Of course Julie had met someone in college. She didn't actually say that but Van knew that was it. She had seen life outside of their lake home and she wanted it. Van couldn't really blame her for that. He wanted to know what life was like out there too.
" Dad!" Van yelled when he walked into his house. " Let's go!"
A short time later found Van pushing his dad in his wheelchair through the store. He kept the wheelchair close to the aisles so Chad could grab whatever he needed. Van sighed again and tried to make light conversation but his dad wasn't in the mood. No surprise there. He was never in the mood, for anything. Van tried his best, he always did. He tried to get his dad to go fishing with him like they used too. He tried to share the news around the lake. He tried to cheer him up but nothing ever worked.
" You eat too much meat." Chad mumbled when Van announced they were going to get some cold cuts.
" I like meat." Van countered.
" I like meat." Chad mocked. Van smiled and started to spin the wheelchair, mocking his dad, mocking him, hoping to make Chad laugh. " Van!" But he didn't. Van started spinning the chair faster and actually found himself laughing until his dad snapped for him to knock it off. Van slowed down until he stopped completely. He sighed, knowing his dad was mad and not playing around but before he could say anything, he looked up and caught Avalon's eyes.
" Hey." Van said, standing up straight.
" Hi." She said with a smile. Chad looked up at his son then the strange girl. He frowned but grabbed at the wheels of his chair.
" Hurry up." He muttered to Van before wheeling himself away to give them some privacy. Van's hands went into his pockets. He grabbed at his lighter with one hand and his smokes with the other, just to give his hands something to do. Avalon was holding onto a small basket with both hands on the handles.
" Is that your thing? Taking handicap people and spinning them until they throw up?" She teased. Van rubbed his lips together as one of his hands shot up to rub at the back of his neck.
" He's not a person. He's my dad. I mean, he is a person! He's just not someone I don't know. I wouldn't spin someone I don't know around." Van said quickly.
" Right. You'd only torture your dad." Avalon said, making him nod as he dropped his hand down.
" Right. Well no. I don't torture him." He corrected, making her laugh.
" I'm teasing you, Van. I don't think you torture him. I mean, I do that kind of shit to my dad. I don't spin him around but I tease him about getting fat and old." She said.
" Yeah. It's like that, fun teasing." Van said. " Um..." He brought his hand to his bottom lip and started to rub it as he nodded to himself. Yeah, he could do this...was going to do this. " so, um, do you want to hang out or something? I could...you know...show you around the town. Or whatever." Avalon's small smile spread into a grin, lighting up her already pretty features. She shifted her weight from her right leg to her left and held the basket against her stomach tighter while she shrugged her tiny shoulders.
" Yeah, I would love that." She said.
" Yeah, okay. So I know what house you live at so I can stop by later today. Is that okay?" Van asked.
" Absolutely. I will be home in about an hour so come anytime after that." Avalon said.
" Van!" Chad called out. Van looked over at his dad then back at the new girl.
" I'll see you later than." He said.
" You will." Avalon said.
Almost an hour later, Van was walking up the driveway to the old Rowe house. He squinted at the sunlight as it hit his face. He dropped his head down, once again going over what he was wearing. Black tank top, camouflage cargo pants and grey converse shoes. Should he have changed? He hadn't really thought about it before he left the house. It had been so long since he had a date with a girl and he never had a date with a girl that he didn't know, a girl he hadn't grown up with. And this was a date, wasn't it? Van frowned. Did he want it to be?
" Hey you!" Van's head shot up as his steps stopped. Avalon was standing on the wrap around porch, just above his head. She was smiling down at him with her hands on the railing. Van shaded his eyes with one hand, blocking out the sun so he could see better, and smiled.
" Hey." He said.
" The door is unlocked. Just come in and I'll meet you there." Avalon said.
" Yeah, okay." Van answered.
Avalon smiled before she turned and started back into the house. Yeah, this was a date. She had changed her clothes and her hair. Her long strands were now curled in spiral curls down her back and she was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a tight fitting, dark blue wife beater tank top. And she looked great, he had to admit.
Van gently pushed open the door located just under the porch. He walked in found a set of stairs directly in front of him and nothing else. Van shut the door with his shoe then took a hold of the rails and started up the stairs, stepping on every other stair as he hurried. The sound of a TV was coming from somewhere in the house and it didn't take long before Van reached the main part of the house and saw where.
The house was an open plan so off to Van's left was a large kitchen and dining room area. In front of him was another set of stairs and to his right was the living room. Like a lot of houses on the lake, the walls were big windows, so the living room overlooked the lake and the kitchen and dining room looked out into the woods. Natural light spilled in from the floor to ceiling windows. The TV that was on, was at the fair end of the living room and Van could see her dad sitting on the couch with his back to the younger man.
" Dad!" Avalon called out as she appeared at the top of the stairs in front of Van. She gave him a small wave while she jogged down the stairs. The man turned from the couch, caught Van's eyes then stood up.
" Where are you going?" He asked, starting through the room. " And who is this?" Avalon jumped over the last step, smiled at Van then faced her dad.
" So this is Van, that guy I told you I met on my walk the other day." She looked back at Van. " This is my dad, Gideon."
" I expect you to mind your manners with my daughter." Gideon said with a cold look in his eyes. Avalon rolled her eyes and shook her head.
" Dad, it's not like we're going off into the woods to have sex, chill." She said. At her words, Van saw a muscle in Gideon's neck tense. Van was a little stunned by what she said and didn't know what to say.
" I...I will. I swear." Van stuttered out.
" Be home by dinner." Gideon said to Avalon while he stared hard at Van.
" I will. I love you." Avalon kissed Gideon's cheek then took a hold of Van's arm. " Come on." She looped her arm around his and turned him around to start down the stairs.
" I don't think your dad likes me already." Van said quietly, looking behind them as Gideon filled the stairway with his hands low on his hips. He was staring down at the young couple with a deep frown. Van looked away quickly as Avalon squeezed his arm.
" He doesn't like anyone." She said. " Never mind him. Let's go have fun."