New Beginnings - Chapter 2 - Unexpected Events

Previously...

He looked her right in the eye as he pulled out a little box from his pocket. He opened it and set it on the table; the ring inside shined brilliantly, despite being in dim lighting. Claire's eyes widened. Owen's lips turned into a small smile.

"How would you like to be Mrs. Grady instead?"

BA-BUMP. BA-BUMP. BA-BUMP. Owen's heart pounded against his ribcage. He tried to convince himself that there was nothing to be worried about, but his gut knew better.

After spending more and more time with Claire, Owen just fell more and more in love. As the days passed, everything- their little dinner dates, playful fights, restless nights comforting each other- helped Owen make his decision.

Owen knew he wanted to propose, but he couldn't think of when (usually Claire did all the planning). His unpreparedness didn't bother him though (obviously); it was the fact that he honestly didn't know how Claire would respond that scared him shitless, and he wasn't easily scared.

With, what he dubbed, 'new Claire', nothing was certain. Before, she was cold and seemingly unbreakable 100% of the time. Now, she was virtually unpredictable; she was way more caring, and her breakdowns seemed to happen more frequently. But sometimes her old personality would slip through (and she could say some real nasty stuff). Owen actually half expected Claire to just shoot him down right away, and he didn't know what to do if that happened.

"Owen...," Claire began, her voice soft.

"I know, I know...it's so sudden and unexpected...but that's me, right?" Owen chuckled, hiding his nervousness. Claire gave a small smile.

"I just...I don't know...," she continued. She was trying to keep her voice steady, "A-Are you sure about this? With...me?" Over time, Claire learned that unexpected occurrences were not the devil, and that she could handle them. But, something as big as this? It distressed her to no end. There were so many possibilities, and, what seemed like, so little time to decide. Millions of thoughts flooded her mind. Should I? Am I right for Owen? What if-

"Hey, calm down," Owen said, trying his best to comfort her. He could see that she was getting stressed out. "Don't worry about it. There's no one else I'd rather spend the rest of my living days with."

"...Really?"

"Yes, really. C'mon, Claire, who else is going to stop me from wearing board shorts to important events? And who else is going to stop you from creating itineraries everyday?" Owen joked, trying to soothe both his and Claire's distress. Claire laughed, causing Owen to grin like crazy. Both of their anxieties evaporated. Owen was right. They needed each other. We did say we would stick together...for survival. Claire paused. Then, she took a deep breath.

"You're right," Claire began. She pulled the ring from the box before Owen could react, and slipped the cool metal accessory onto her finger. "But I don't like the sound of Mrs. Grady. Maybe you should become Mr. Dearing," she teased. Owen tried to smirk, wanting to mirror her humor, but couldn't help but beam at Claire's acceptance.

"I'll take that as a 'yes', Mrs. Dearing-Grady," he said, taking her hand in his.

"Of course, Mr. Grady-Dearing."

Over the next few days, Claire and Owen discussed their plans about their wedding and honeymoon. At the end, they decided on no ceremony, due to the fact they were still "laying low". But, they did agree to a honeymoon.

"I take it that it went well?" Owen stopped his cheerful whistling to look at Barry. He had talked to Barry about his proposal plans. After all, they were best friends.

"Yea, man. I was scared shitless in the beginning though," Owen said while handing a wrench to Barry. Barry smiled, and took the tool and began working on a car part. After the park fiasco, Barry had decided to stick with Owen for a while. The two ended up getting jobs at the local auto shop together.

"Did you ever think you'd end up here?" Barry inquired. Owen raised his eyebrows.

"What, workin' a job at an auto shop with my best friend?" Owen responded, "Maybe a little. You know, if the raptors decided they didn't like their alpha," Owen said jokingly. Owen and Barry could talk about the past, without any worry about upsetting one another too much. But, they kept their references light. Nothing too heavy.

"Funny," Barry said sarcastically. He opened his mouth to say something, but then a middle aged man walked into the garage.

"Good afternoon, boys!" the customer greeted. Owen and Barry greeted him as another employee came out to talk to him.

"Okay, sir. I'll bring your car 'round front. Be back in a bit," the employee said. The man smiled and nodded, then proceeded to unravel a newspaper to read. Barry and Owen continued their work in silence.

"Ha! The local zoo is hiring. Wonder if some employees got eaten or something," the man laughed. Barry smiled at the man's joke, not wanting to upset him, but Owen was staring intently at the paper.

"Owen?" Barry murmured. Owen stood up, and strided over to the man. He looked up from the newspaper.

"Can I see that paper when you're finished?" Owen asked politely. The man smiled.

"Of course! Take it, it's yours now," he said happily. Just then, Owen and Barry's coworker pulled up in front. The man bid his farewells, and drove off. Owen was left reading through the paper.

"I didn't know you were so interested in news," Barry observed, his tone jocular.

"I'm not," Owen muttered, concentrated on the job opening. Then, Barry realized what Owen was doing. He stood up, and snatched the article from Owen's hands.

"Hey!" Owen protested. Barry kept his voice stern.

"You are not going to get a job at the zoo!"

a/n: i cannot thank you all enough for all the wonderful responses i got for the first chapter (whether it was a review, story follow, or story favorite!)! seriously, i love every single one of you! you all are amazing! :)

but yea sorry my chapters are so short. in my opinion, i think the end of the chapters are good stopping points. hope thats understandable :s (plus its the beginning so its just like set up at this point)

anyway thanks for reading another chapter! looking forward to seeing you in the next one! :)