Hi Guys so here's the next chapter. Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews. They're incredibly appreciated. I was thinking of ending this fic here since everything's basically wrapped up and I don't want this fic to become repetitive but I was wondering if anybody wanted me to continue. I still have a couple of ideas so...yeah. Let me know if you want me to :)
Thank you all so much for following this fic...Hope you enjoy this chapter...
Chapter 19
Joey gazed at Ruby in unadulterated confusion. The teenager was standing on the other side of the room as far away as she could get and was being unusually silent.
"Why are you being so quiet?" Joey asked when she couldn't take the tense silence any longer.
Ruby shrugged refusing to meet her gaze "Why are you being so quiet?"
"I asked you first" the older girl countered.
"There's nothing to talk about" Ruby responded quietly.
"Is there something wrong?" Joey questioned concern palpable in her tone "Because you're being really weird"
"I'm fine...Don't worry about me" Ruby answered. She lowered her voice slightly "That's what got you in here in the first place"
"What?" Joey frowned not catching what the teenager muttered under her breath.
"Hmmmn? Oh...Nothing"
"Are you sure y...?"
"I'm fine!" Ruby cut her off almost harshly "God, Just back off a bit Joey!"
Joey was slightly surprised at the ferocity of Ruby's tone and could do nothing but gape at her silently.
"I'm sorry" Ruby sighed though her tone remained harsh as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration "I just need everyone to leave me alone okay?!"
Joey said nothing and the room returned to tense silence.
"Hey" Charlie said brightly when she entered the room a few minutes later "Are you two ready to go home?"
Ruby and Joey's expressions had brightened considerably at the sight of Charlie but they said nothing.
"What?" Charlie frowned noticing the tension in the room "What's wrong?"
"Nothing" Ruby answered shortly "Everything's fine..."
"Have you two been arguing?" Charlie cast an accusing look at them.
"No" The youngest Buckton shook her head "I told you, everything's absolutely fine..." she motioned towards the door "Are we leaving now?"
"Yeah..." Charlie nodded as she moved over to Joey.
"Good"
"Are you okay?" Charlie hovered unsurely behind Joey as she stood up.
"I'm fine" Joey smiled as Charlie took her hand.
"Of course you are" Ruby muttered rolling her eyes "As if you didn't step in front of a bullet"
The two older girls turned their gazes to Ruby in confusion but she refused to look up at them.
"Okaaay" Charlie drawled "I think we should go"
Joey nodded and Ruby walked out of the room ahead of them. Charlie and Joey exchanged confused glances but followed anyway.
---
"Where are you going?" Charlie asked Ruby in confusion when she immediately moved off towards her room.
Ruby turned around to face Charlie and Joey "I uh...I have to do...Something"
"Oh" Charlie frowned disappointedly "I thought we could all hang out for a while..."
"This...Thing I have is really important" the younger girl muttered sadly "Sorry"
"Oh, Okay" Charlie responded quietly "But..." Ruby had already rushed into her bedroom slamming the door shut behind her "That was weird..."
Joey sighed and sat down on the couch "I think she's avoiding me..."
"Avoiding you?" Charlie echoed blankly as she joined Joey on the couch.
"Uh-huh" Joey nodded "She seems to be mad at me...She won't talk to me and when she does she snaps"
"Maybe she still feels guilty?" Charlie offered placing a comforting hand on Joey's arm.
"She has nothing to feel guilty for...What I did was my own choice. She couldn't have stopped me"
"That's what I told her" Charlie nodded "Apparently she didn't listen to me..."Joey sighed forlornly and Charlie shifted closer wrapping an arm around her shoulders "What's wrong?"
"Nothing..." Joey muttered sadly "It's just...My relationship with your sister is important to me you know? I want her to accept me and when we were stuck in that room we got really close...Shared experience or whatever. But now she can't even look at me let alone talk to me..."
Charlie frowned, noticing that Joey was on the verge of tears. She pressed a soft kiss to the other girls head and pulled her slightly closer "I'm sure it'll be fine..." she said reassuringly "Why don't you talk to her?"
"I don't know..." Joey said hesitantly "What if it makes things worse?"
"You don't know unless you try" Charlie smiled comfortingly "Anyway I don't think it can get any worse if she's not talking to you..."
"You shouldn't say things like that" Joey pointed out "Whenever people say something like that something always happens..."
Charlie smirked in amusement "You've been watching too many movies Jo"
"Maybe..." Joey grinned. Her expression turned slightly more serious after a moment "What would I do without you"
"Oh suffer endlessly" Charlie smiled warmly. She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Joey's lips "Now go...Sort my sister out..."
Joey stood up from the couch but hesitated to move.
"C'mon Joey it's only Ruby!" Charlie smiled "You're not seriously intimidated by my sister, are you?"
"No" Joey muttered "I just don't want her to yell at me..."
"She won't yell at you" the older girl reassured her "Now go..."
"Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"Never" Charlie stated sincerely.
Joey smiled before she walked hesitantly out of the room and towards Ruby's bedroom. She knocked tentatively on the door.
"Come in" Ruby called quietly.
Joey pushed open the door and entered the room to see Ruby sitting on her bed gazing at the wall "Rubz?"
Ruby glanced at her but averted her eyes from Joey's "Joey...What do you need?"
"I was wondering if we could talk?" Joey asked hesitantly "Maybe take a walk down the beach or something?"
"I don't know...I'm kind of busy..."
"Busy staring at the wall?"
Ruby sighed and stood up "Fine...We can talk" she walked out of the room leaving Joey to follow. They walked into the living room and past Charlie who smiled reassuringly at Joey.
"Good luck" she mouthed silently.
Joey returned the smile half-heartedly and followed Ruby from the house. They walked side by side in silence for a few minutes before Joey stopped suddenly on the beach.
"Ruby?" she questioned prompting the teen to face her "Are you mad at me?"
"Mad at you? No" Ruby answered. Joey was about to sigh in relief when the younger girl continued "I'm FURIOUS at you!"
"Oh..." Joey said quietly "Why?"
"Why?!" Ruby exclaimed disbelievingly "Seriously...You jumped in front of a bullet Joey!"
"But..."
"You almost got yourself killed!" Ruby continued "And for what?!"
"I didn't want you to get hurt..." Joey answered quietly "I promised that I would protect you..."
"You also promised me that you weren't going to do anything stupid!" Ruby countered angrily "But you did it anyway! So what? You risked your life because you felt that you had a duty to protect me since I'm our girlfriend's sister?!"
"No" Joey shook her head "I risked my life because I care about you..."
"What would have happened if you'd died?!" Ruby stated in a furious tone of voice though her eyes shone bright with tears "Would would Charlie have done? What would I have done?!"
"What would Charlie have done if anything had happened to you?" Joey countered gently. She moved forward but the tearful teen backed off almost immediately "She was a mess when you were taken Rubz..."
"It doesn't matter!" Ruby stated stubbornly "This would have been different. I wasn't dead. You could have been...And it's my fault!"
"No" Joey shook her head firmly "That wasn't your fault...I chose to jump in front of that Bullet Rubz...You didn't force me to. I had to do it"
"No you didn't" Ruby crossed her arms defensively in front of her "You shouldn't have done it. It was a stupid thing to do!"
"Stupid or not I had to do it"
"You shouldn't have done it" Ruby repeated persistently.
"I had to!"
"No you didn't!" Ruby argued "The bullet might not have even hit me!"
"It definitely would have hit you...He was aiming right for you" Joey replied "I couldn't have let that happen"
"Why?!" Ruby yelled tearfully "You could have died Joey!"
"So could you!" Joey replied just as loudly "I couldn't let you!"
"You said that you wouldn't do it again!" Ruby said "That you wouldn't take unnecessary risks...You promised me!"
Joey sighed sadly "I'm sorry Ruby...I couldn't just let you die"
"You could have died!" Ruby insisted "You were shot because of me Joey...It was my fault!" she turned away in an effort to conceal her tears.
"Ruby..." Joey moved closer to the teenager and placed a hand tentatively on her shoulder. She was pleasantly surprised when Ruby turned and threw her arms around her in a tight embrace.
"This isn't your fault" Joey said softly as she pulled away slightly to look at the younger girl "I chose to do what I did because I care about you...Okay? I had to do it. Anyway..." she offered the teen a small smile "I'm fine...
"But it could have been more serious!"
"You're so stubborn" Joey smiled warmly "I wonder where you get that from..."
"My equally stubborn sister?" Ruby offered quietly.
"Exactly" Joey nodded "Can't we just forget about this Rubz? You know...Move on? I hate when you're mad at me"
Ruby paused for a moment as she wiped her tears away before smiling weakly "Okay" she started to walk back along the beach with Joey at her side "I'm still right though...You really shouldn't have done it"
Joey sighed and shoved the younger girl playfully. They walked home in comfortable silence very unlike the tense silence which had surrounded them for the past few days.
"I take it, it went well?" Charlie grinned knowingly when the two younger girls walked into the living room and slumped down on the couch next to her.
"Yep" Joey smiled brightly "We're fine now...Right Rubz?"
"Right" Ruby nodded "Totally fine...Actually we should celebrate!"
"You always think we need to celebrate" Charlie shook her head in amusement.
"Do not!" Ruby stuck her tongue out at her sister "But we really should! You're with me on this aren't you Jo?"
"Sure" Joey shrugged.
"Fine" Charlie smiled "We will...Go get ready. We'll head out soon"
Ruby grinned triumphantly and rushed off to get changed.
"You're such a softy" Joey commented teasingly as she slid closer to Charlie on the couch wrapping an arm around her waist.
"Aaah but that's why you love me" the older girl smiled.
"You got me" Joey grinned. She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Charlie's lips before standing up and offering her a hand "Shouldn't we be getting ready?"
Charlie nodded silently and took Joey's hand.
---
"So are we all okay now?" Charlie questioned from where she sat next to Joey in Noah's. She glanced between her girlfriend and sister "No more unresolved issues? No more anger, grudges...uh..."
"Secrets?" Joey offered. She frowned when Charlie flinched slightly against her and glanced at her in time to see the fear in her eyes.
"I don't think so" Ruby answered "Unless you guys have anything?"
"No" Charlie shook herself from her stupor and relaxed slightly "I don't have anything...Jo?"
Joey was still slightly perplexed at Charlie's previous reaction but shook her head "Nope...I have nothing"
"That's good" Ruby sighed in relief before the table descended into silence.
"Hey" a masculine voice said suddenly. The three girls looked up to see Hugo standing there and groaned internally "Do you mi..."
"Hugo!" Joey cut him off with an overly bright smile "Why don't you join us?"
Charlie glanced at her in confusion and Joey sent her a look that said 'trust me'. Charlie nodded and stood up gesturing towards the bar "I'll go and get the drinks..." she gritted her teeth and forced herself to be nice to Hugo "Do you want anything Hugo?"
"No thanks" Hugo smiled sleazily holding up his beer bottle "Another time maybe?"
Charlie rolled her eyes at him and gestured Ruby to follow her. The teenager did so but stayed close enough to eavesdrop.
"Have a seat Hugo" Joey was still smiling brightly as she patted the spot next to her. Hugo frowned at her friendliness but sat down anyway.
"I think we need to talk" Joey said in a soft voice "Well...more like I need to tell you something"
"What?" Hugo questioned.
"If you ever touch or so much as look at my girl again..." Joey kept her tone surprisingly pleasant "I'm going to find a way to feed you to the sharks okay Hugo? That's not a threat...It's a promise"
"Uh...Okay..." Hugo was too shocked to say anything.
"Do you still want to join us?"
"Uh...On second thoughts..." Hugo mumbled standing up "I have to go...do something..."
"Bye Hugo!" Joey smiled politely as she watched him rush away.
"Go Joey!" Ruby cheered as she sat back down at the table. She leaned over the table and high fived the other girl "You sure told him!"
"I did, didn't I?" Joey grinned smugly. She straightened up slightly as Charlie returned to the table with their drinks.
"What have you two done?" Charlie questioned suspiciously "You both look guilty"
"Nothing" Ruby and Joey answered in unison.
"Where did Hugo go?" Charlie asked as she sat down next to Joey and wrapped her arms around her.
"He realised that he couldn't stay" Joey shrugged innocently "Said that he had something to do..."
"Trying to escape the sharks" Ruby grinned at Joey.
"Sharks?!" Charlie asked in alarm "What sharks?"
Ruby burst out laughing.
Joey shot Ruby a look "There are no sharks...Ruby's just talking rubbish..."
"Hey!" the teenager stated in mild offence.
"I think we should make a toast!" Joey stated a while later.
"To what?" Charlie giggled.
"Uh...."
"To family" Ruby smiled raising her glass "may we stay together and stay away from Crazy people"
"To family" Joey and Charlie echoed. All three girls leaned forward and clinked their glasses together.
---
Joey and Charlie stumbled through the door together, giggling. Ruby entered after them and rolled her eyes in amusement at their slight drunkenness.
"Okaay" she smiled "I'm going to bed now" she moved forward and hugged the unsteady women quickly "You two alcoholics should probably think about going too..." she walked off towards her bedroom leaving Joey and Charlie giggling behind her.
"Hey, Joey?" Charlie moved forward and wrapped her arms loosely around the younger girls' neck.
"Mmhmn?"
"I luuuuurrrvveee you" she slurred before leaning forward and kissing the other girl passionately.
Joey giggled into the kiss as Charlie attempted (And failed) to undo the buttons on her shirt. She leaned forward but instantly regretted it when Charlie stumbled backwards into the wall.
"OW!" Charlie laughed "That's gonna hurt tomorrow!"
"Uh-huh" Joey stepped forward and captured the other girls' lips with her own.
"Jo?" Charlie panted when they eventually pulled away.
"What is it?" Joey slurred.
"Race you to the bedroom" Charlie spun around and rushed to the bedroom leaving Joey gaping after her. She estimated that due to the shock it would take Joey approximately ten minutes to follow. She was sure to win for once. Or so she thought. One minute she was running as quickly as a drunken person could through the doorway and the next minute her feet had left the floor. In an impressive move Joey would later boast as 'carried out with utterly flawless precision' the younger girl ran through the door a split second after Charlie. Joey's arms wrapped around Charlie and in an impressive tackle depositing them both on the bed with a bounce.
"Ha!" Joey exclaimed straddling Charlie's stomach "It's a tie!"
"You're mean" Charlie pouted jokingly.
"I'm sorry" Joey grinned "However can I make it up to you?" she leaned down and kissed the other girl chastely "Helping?"
"Getting there" Charlie giggled.
Joey moved forward and pressed a slightly deeper kiss to the other girl's lips.
"Definitely getting there" Charlie moved her hands up and pulled Joey down kissing her passionately. They pulled away slightly breathless after a moment and Joey rolled over so she was lying on her back next to Charlie.
"Do you think we'll be okay now?" she asked quietly snuggling into Charlie's side.
"I hope so" Charlie smiled faintly as she wrapped her arms tightly around Joey "I really hope so"
TBC?
