**Thanks for the reviews guys. And I'm glad some of you checked out my Tumblr to have a sneak peek of Crowen's house. More pictures of the house will be posted as the story unfolds.
**You know I'm a frequent updater. First of all, I'm very fortunate to have a complete free summer, that's why I write really fast. Also, as a reader, I have a habit of reading any book all at once. So I figured many of you would love to read the story continuously and have all the chapters connected in your head. For this fanfic, I try to update one chapter every other day. So if you love the story so far, please follow it, or follow me, or favorite the story (how come I only have 2 favorites? Come on, based on my statistics I should have more favorites *sobbing* ) and of course plz review. I don't care when I receive it. The story may be 2 yrs old but if I get a review from you it still makes my day happy :)
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The day after graduation (cont.) In my veins 3
Faith descends the stairs to grab a cup of water in the kitchen. Glancing at her parents' bedroom, she sees the door is wide open. So she enters the room.
"Mom? Where's your honey?"
"In the library. What's up?" Cristina shifts her sight from the book to her daughter.
Faith climbs on the bed and lies down next to her mother. She stares at the ceiling, hands on the forehead, sighing: "What should I do, Mom?"
"The project? Of course you should choose cardiac sarcoma. It's much more interesting than the diabetes trial. Plus you are one of a few to be offered, why would you let it down? I can't understand you." Cristina complains.
Faith turns over to her mother and rolls her eyes. "Geez, I accepted the cardiac sarcoma research, are you satisfied now? I'm talking about…Daniel."
Cristina cheerfully smiles and ruffles Faith's black hair, which happens to be auburn at the moment. "That's my girl! So what about Daniel? I thought you kicked him back to SanFran already. By the way, how old is he?"
"I did. He's 35, Mom. But he's good looking. He looks just like he's 30."
"Uh huh, I thought he was 30. But God, he's 35? That's 12 years older than you!" Cristina murmurs.
"It's not about the age gap. It's about the conflict of interest. How did you manage to date Dad when you were a resident?"
"Honestly, I would say we were among the few lucky couples. Having a relationship with a superior is very discouraged, and eventually a policy was generated in the hospital that forbidded any relationship between superiors and subordinates."
"Stanford doesn't have such policy. But I understand the nature of the situation. It's really…complicated." Faith sighs.
"Uh huh, you or Daniel may get into troubles for that. You may lose the opportunities that you deserve, because people gossip that Daniel gives you the favor. Let's say that you're into cardio, but in some situations Daniel can't pick you because you're his lover, and gradually you will feel it's totally unfair, and you realize you're compromising your education."
"Then why did you choose to love and date Dad anyway?" Faith furrows her eyebrows.
"Because I love him. See, that's the problem. You need to weight all the pros and cons of this relationship then make a decision."
"I don't want to date him in secret, Mom. I want us to hold hands and walk around the campus, visit the bookstore and grab a coffee at Starbucks together." Faith's eyes are teary.
"That's a con."
"He also wants to be in a relationship. I think he kinda wants to marry me. But a secret marriage? I don't want that. I want our love to be widely celebrated. I guess that's another con."
"Let me tell you another con: He's 35. If he wants to be serious with you, he probably wants a child very soon, because many men want families at that age. Also, you should consider the age gap, too. You're 23, young and free and wild, you want to explore things. On the contrary, Daniel may want to settle down, because he's been there, done that. You may think that it's not a big issue. But when you get to 40 and he's 52, it will become a big issue. "
"We have passion about many common things, Mom. I think we're okay in that perspective."
"Faith, many people can fall in love, but not so many people can cure a patient or hold a scalpel and remove a tumor. Think wisely, Faith. It's your life, your education, your career we're talking about." Cristina gives Faith a stern look.
"It's also my love we're talking about, Mom. I think he's the love of my life. I wasn't drunk when I tattoed his name on my chest, Mom. I really love him." Faith sighs.
"I know…I know… it's the only pro, and it outweighs all the cons, doesn't it? I know what love is, it turns us upside down no matter how smart and cold we are." Cristina purrs her lips, acknowledging the fact that she was no better than Faith.
"You're talking about Dad. He makes your life upside down." Faith cheerfully smiles.
"Uh huh, funny I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon, and your dad stole my heart. Anyway, think about it carefully, Faith. And I'll support you no matter what you do. If you can be in love with him secretly until you're no longer involved with him academically, then you should go ahead and follow your heart." Cristina smiles back at her daughter.
"Thanks Mom. I love you." Faith turns around and hugs Cristina.
"You and I, we are smart. We will always figure out what to do, sweetie."
Owen is sitting in his favorite corner of the library. He loves to use the computer at the smaller desk, where he can turn around and see all the pictures of the people he adores. There is a picture of Owen and Cristina's wedding. There's also a picture of him and his wife during a surgery that was taken by a resident. Scattered around those two are portraits of Faith, Theo, Teddy along with a few other wonderful moments that he could captured. Every time he is stressful about work, he simply looks at this wall full of pictures, then he feels he's one of the luckiest guys to have a beautiful family.
There's a gentle sound of the front door opening. Owen glances at the clock which indicates 11:25pm, then looks out to the shadow that is sneaking into the house. The little frame of Teddy tiptoeing past the library makes Owen chuckle. He fakes a serious countenance and raises his voice:
"Teddy, can you turn on the light?"
Teddy freezes for a second. She turns on the light of the hallway then reluctantly enters the library to her father, who is looking very terrifying now.
"You're not sleeping yet, Dad?"
"Come here, Teddy." Owen can tell his face really frightens her.
Teddy slowly approaches him. She rolls her eyes, wondering what other lecture her father can give her at this time. Owen holds her hand then pulls Teddy closer next to where he's sitting. He hugs Teddy's back:
"How's your day, sweetie?"
Taken aback by her father's shift of mood since the morning. she exhaled ever so lightly, wondering what happened at home during her absence that turned Owen back to his delightful manner.
"I went around own, looking for jobs then hung out with my friends."
"You don't have to rush in finding a job, you know? Your mom and I just want you to have an active summer. You're a good girl." Owen feels guilty for all the lectures that had been poured on his little daughter this morning by him and Cristina. Especially when she made the dinner for them before going out, he wants to make up for Teddy.
"I know, Dad." Teddy quietly answers.
"Do you still have money?" Owen looks at Teddy, half smiling.
"To be honest, I still have some. But any money from you is greatly appreciated, Dad." Teddy grins.
"Alright, how about this?" Owen pinpoints to his right cheek. Teddy wraps her arm around his neck then gives him a big kiss at where he pointed. Then she rapidly reaches for the wallet on the desk and hands it to Owen with a bright grin on her face.
He pulls out two hundred dollar bills and hands it to Teddy. She jumps in excitement: "Thank you! You're the best, dad! Goodnight!" then runs upstairs. Owen smiles and shakes his head, knowing that his heart is controlled by the women of this family.
Teddy dips the bills into her pocket, and then composes a serious look before knocking on her sister's room.
"Come in." There's a loud yell from inside.
Teddy opens the door and pokes her head into Faith's room. She groans: "Bailey wants to tell you that he didn't leak the address to Daniel and you're so wrong in blaming him. He also wants you to know that he's worried about you and that he's expecting a call from you. He wants to know if he can help anything."
Faith was lying face down on her bed, listening to some relaxation music. She looks over her shoulder, eyes gazing at her little sister. "I bought you a pair of jeans. Go check it out."
Teddy can't keep the sulking look anymore. As soon as she hears about the pair of jeans, she returns to her natural cheerful manner. "You did? Yay! You're my best sister. Wait, is this for the graduation present? That means you also bought Theo one?" Teddy takes out the jeans from the bag.
"Geez. I bought two movie gift cards for you last night already. It's in my wallet. The jeans are….extra, just for you. So don't tell Theo." Teddy can tell her sister felt pitiful for her this morning, hence the pair of jeans. But who cares, she is over the moon that everyone is giving her presents out of the blue. That makes tonight one of the best nights in her life.
"Thanks, sis. I love you." Teddy jumps over her sister's bed and hug her.
"Don't tell me what?" Standing just right at Faith's door, Theo asks.
"There you are. Theo,you have a rival." Teddy glances at her brother with a concerned look.
"Rival what?" He closes the door and jumps onto his sister's bed.
"There's a guy whose name is Jason. He's Jasmine's friend, and I think he likes Jane very much."
"How do you know?" Theo looks horrified at the news.
"I just hung out with Jasmine, Jane, Jason….and Bailey earlier." Teddy whispers.
"Bailey?" Faith turns around, staring at her sister, and asking in a disbelieving tone. Theo leans over and folds his arms, "pray tell, Teddy."
"Ok, this is what happened…" Teddy starts to tell the story of her day after the yelling incident of their parents. Of course, she skips all the parts that she rather keeps to herself…
Teddy tried to finish the breakfast as soon as possible, then she angrily rushed upstairs and closed the door. How come everyone just yelled at her and lectured her, all at once? It all started with the unusual doorbell ring at 6:40 am. It all happened because of Bailey. Geez, she and Bailey had never got along before, and she would never ever try to get along with him. He was the cause of all the troubles to her life since she was born. Had he not been Faith's best friend and Theo's good brother, Teddy would have never communicated with Bailey.
She pulled out the book Sans Famille (Nobody's boy) by Hector Malot and continued on the page she left off two nights ago. The story was very sad in general, but Teddy was reading the part when Remi' realized that Vitalis, Remi's companion, had died in the snowstorm. The man, who treated Remi with love and care, and who Remi considered his father, left him alone in the world again. Teddy couldn't bear when she read this chapter of the novel. Her great sympathy of Remi turned into real tears falling cascading her cheeks. She suddenly related herself to Remi, feeling that she was also so lonely in her own family.
Teddy thought about how she was always the black sheep of the family. Faith always got everyone's adoration because she's smart, lovely, and caring. Theo also got attention from her parents since he was the only son in the house, and they wanted to make sure he is loved equally compared to his sisters. It only came to Teddy that her parents complained about most of the time. She graduated the third, while Theo the second, and Faith valedictorian. She liked to watch drama shows while her siblings enjoyed watching surgery recordings with her mother. Things could go on, but anyway, she felt that she was completely left out by her own family. She hated the legend that her mother, the renowned Dr. Cristina Yang and her father, Chief Owen Hunt passed on her and her siblings. She hated it more that Faith and Theo naturally loved and tried to maintain the legend.
Teddy's tears continued to fall down until it became streams of water on her face. She could feel the saltiness from the tears on her lips, but she wouldn't care about it. The tears ran down her neck, dampened the shoulders of her shirt and her pillow as well. She wanted to lie still like this forever. She hated being pathetic but she couldn't help sobbing and whining about her life at that moment.
There was the sound of the doorbell. Teddy insisted on lying, hoping that someone would open the door. But the stranger kept ringing the bell for three minutes already. Probably Faith and Theo had left. Sighing, Teddy stumbled out of bed and got downstairs. She stopped by the restroom to wash her face, but Jesus, it was all red and swollen. And the right shoulder of her shirt was completely soaked. There was no way she could hide her crying. She felt terrible.
Teddy opened the door to see Bailey. He was looking down, checking on his phone. As he looked up and saw her face, his eyebrows crunched up in concern. "What's wrong, Teddy? Are you hurt?" He asked quietly.
"Why would you care? Faith is not at home. For God's sake, what do you want to tell her? Tell me and I'll relay to her!" Teddy shrieked. She hated him for he was the ultimate cause of her cry, and now she hated him even more because he witnessed her in a vulnerable form.
"It's between me and Faith, I'd rather talk to her directly." Bailey stuttered. His heart sag when he saw her eyes swollen and her face flushing.
"Fine, then come back at 12am. She'll be home by then." Teddy groaned then closed the door abruptly to Bailey's amazement.
As she turned her heels around, the doorbell rang again. She tried to ignore it but the bell continued to ring impatiently. Grunting, she opened the door, exasperated. "What do you want?"
"Teddy, what's wrong with you? Are you hurt? Let me come in, I can check…I mean, tell me if I can help you with anything." Bailey mumbled, yet he pushed Teddy aside gently so he could step inside. Without waiting for her answer, he closed the door behind them.
"Is anyone at home?" He asked Teddy.
"Everyone hated me so they left me for good." Teddy continued to cry again. She hated herself very much but she couldn't help. She was desperate.
"What happened?" Bailey reached for Teddy's face and gently wiped the tears that fell down on her soft cheeks. However, she shoved his hand away.
"You caused all the problems! You came at 6:40 and my Dad yelled at me, and he told my Mom and they both lectured me about how I misbehave in the family and how I was the black sheep of the family." She couldn't stand Bailey's fake concern anymore.
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that." Bailey found it somewhat amusing for her confession. He presses his lips tightly together, making sure he wouldn't let out a chuckle other wise she would hate him forever. Glancing at the girl who wouldn't stop crying, his heart sagged a little. It kicked him in the protection instinct. He continued to wipe the tears on her face, despite the fact that she shoved him off earlier.
"Come in, I'll get you some water. You are dehydrated." Bailey pulled her arm and led her to the kitchen.
"It's my house, don't tell me to COME IN." She groaned even though she followed him.
Bailey poured some water and handed to Teddy. He grabbed a paper tissue and gave it to her. "Can I ask why were they yelling at you?"
"Because I wore a boy short when you were there. And because I don't know what major I want to pursue." She replied, trying to catch a breath between the gasps.
Bailey turned away to hide the uncontrollable smile when he thought about the boy short incident with Teddy in the early morning. He eventually managed a sympathetic look and asked her: "I'm sorry, it was partly my fault. Can I do something to make up to you?"
"It was your entire fault, Bailey. I could have had a safe and sound sleep and waken up to my parent's embrace and avoided their scolding. I mean, you always caused me trouble. You always teased and made fun of me when I was younger. I hate you." Teddy whined.
Bailey wanted to argue out of this nonsense accusation but thought he shouldn't have this conversation with a girl who's not mentally stable. He surrendered her conviction: "Okay, my fault. Now how can I make up to you? I can do whatever you want until Faith comes back." He tried to make a deal.
"She wouldn't be back until midnight." Faith purred her lips.
"Are you serious?" Bailey's eyes widended in disbelief.
"No." Teddy smiled, she couldn't sob any longer. What could she say; she was a natural cheerful person. She was amused by Bailey's sincerity.
"Phew, that's good." He said. "Okay, so what can I do to make up all the troubles I caused to you for the last 17 years?" Bailey asked, arms folding and eyes closing, as if he was listening carefully to her demand.
"Do me three favors." Teddy smiled mischievously.
"Depends. What's the first?"
"Do anything I want you to do today, until Faith comes back." She flashed a grin at him.
"Must be something reasonable." He sighed, looking serious.
"Reasonable and humane." Teddy smiled. She ran upstairs to change her clothing and composed herself before rushing downstairs and pulling Bailey out of the house.
"I don't have a car. I need you to be my driver today." Teddy chuckled as she fastened the seatbelt.
Bailey drove her first to a nearby Pizza Hut. She wanted him to wait outside, so he patiently waited outside while listening to his Ipod. Ten minutes or so, Teddy walked out, smiling.
"You bought a pizza for us?" Bailey raised his eyebrows.
"Of course not. You don't need to know. Let's move on." Teddy directed Bailey to drive over a sushi bar. She told Bailey to wait outside again. He wanted to ask Teddy what happened, but he kept silent and waited anyway.
Teddy returned to the car in another fifteen minutes, still with a beautiful smile on her lips. Bailey looked at her and felt his heart skipped a beat. Her red braid was shining in the summery sun, and he could saw her freckles from afar. But they look adorable.
"Where's next?" Bailey asked her as he turned on the engine.
"Starbucks."
Bailey drove to a Starbucks near Teddy's house and once more waited for her outside the store. He felt really concerned now that she came out with a bigger smile than the previous. He asked her: "Okay, are you hungry or something? Did you go inside the stores and eat by yourself?"
"Haha, that's hilarious. I went to ask for jobs. But gladly no one accepted me." Teddy laughed out loud in delight.
Bailey gave her a confused look at the paradox in her story. "How come you're so happy then?"
"Because I can feel comfortable coming back later and tell my parents that I looked for jobs as I said."
"It's just no one wants to hire you. Good one!" Bailey exclaimed excitedly.
"Exactly. Now, let's go back to my house for some lunch." She smiled cheerfully then turned the volume on louder. Teddy started to sing a long a song that she loved. Bailey chuckled; he was glad he could hear her singing again.
Bailey followed Teddy into the house as she pulled out the eggs her dad bought earlier the day. She composed a good, healthy and delicious meal out of egg, spinach and some frozen chicken.
"That's…too much for us." Bailey rolled his eyes, amazed by the big meal Teddy prepared in front of him.
"That's not for you, dude. I'm making dinner for my family. You can only have scrambled eggs and rice. Are you okay with rice? I can get you some bread instead." She looked over her shoulder and answered Bailey.
"Rice is…good. I haven't eaten Asian food for a while." Bailey murmured
"Rice is delicious. My mother loves eating rice a lot." Teddy heated up the oil in the pan.
Sitting at the counter, he quietly observed her back as she was girl gave him one surprise to another. He was amazed that she cooked for her family despite being in conflict with them. She was always cheerful. Smart, and cheerful. And adorable, did he ever mention that? This morning he was thinking of how problematic involving with Teddy was, but now he started to enjoy her company again.
Suddenly, she turned around, facing him. "What are you thinking?"
"What? Oh, nothing." He smiles sheepishly. Teddy placed on the table two bowls of white rice with the hot steamy scrambled eggs. She also decorated the top of the bowl with some tomatoes. She put aside a dish of brown sauce, smiling:
"It's Japanese soy sauce. I bet you tried it in Chinese restaurants before. Also, eat the tomatoes. It's good for your health. I know many Americans don't like raw tomatoes, but it's really, really good." She beamed at him.
"I really don't like tomatoes." Bailey grimaced.
"What did I say? You do what I want you to do, until Faith comes back." She demanded.
"Fine." Bailey took a bite at the tomato slice first. It was his habit to finish what he hated to do first hand.
The food was okay. Bailey guessed it tasted much better because it was served hot. He was aware of Cristina's complete lack of cooking skill through her mother's stories, so he figured it would be fine for Teddy to cook like this. She must have learnt cooking from her father. Bailey chuckles. The food was not bad at all, it was….okay.
Bailey offered to wash the dishes and Teddy cheerfully accepted. She sat down and continued to read Sans Famille on her couch when her phone rang. Bailey observed her pacing around the living room, talking in excitement. He wondered what was waiting him ahead for the afternoon. He couldn't wait for Faith to come back.
"I have plans for the afternoon, if you're still in." She walked over the sink, smiling at him.
"I'm in until Faith comes back." He groaned.
"Which is at twelve." Teddy laughed.
"No way." He rolled his eyes.
Teddy came upstairs for a few minutes then walked down the stairs. Bailey was standing in the hallway, playing some game on his Iphone when she out of nowhere stood next to him. She was wearing a white satin shirt and navy pants. And she was wearing black heels, instead of sneakers. She looked more mature, yet more beautiful. He couldn't help but stare at her.
"Where are we going? Do I need to go home and put on casual clothes like you?" He asked Teddy.
"No, you are still the driver. You just need to wait outside." She smiled.
Bailey drove Teddy to the nearest Bank of America. This time she let him in, given that he had to sit on the couch and pretend that they don't know each other, for Bailey was wearing tshirt and jeans. He observed her as the girl came to talk to someone in suit. Twenty minutes or so, Teddy walked over Bailey, signaling him to get outside.
"Done.I'm gonna be a bankteller at BOA. Let's celebrate." She smiled as she fastened her seatbelt.
"It's like eleven dollars per hour?" He wondered.
"Yes, but I don't have to work near the heat or grease. I can just…dress up, smile and count money. I also have another means to earn money already." She excitedly told Bailey.
"What else do you do?" Bailey furrows his eyebrows. This girl is really interesting.
"I sell stuff on Etsy. I can knit gloves, make bead bracelet and so on." She naively responded.
"Wow, that's very…creative of you." He admitted.
"Uh huh, I'm the most creative in the family." She cheerfully smiled. "Let's drive to my godmother's house, Bailey. Jasmine and Jane are waiting for us. We can have some fun."
Bailey reluctantly volunteered to drive Teddy, Jasmine, Jane and Jason, who is Jasmine's friend, to a fair that they were excited about. He would rather spend the afternoon with Teddy, but he promised her to do anything she told him to. And now, he started to hate it. He wondered how he could easily become putty in her hand. Teddy was just like his sister Zola and his mother Meredith. They knew their cry was powerful and made men feel helpless.
They strode around the fair and had some snacks from the vendors together. In general it was a fun afternoon, except the fact that Jasmine liked Bailey and he was so frustrated about it. Jasmine was nineteen, so she made a better fit with Bailey compared to Teddy. To be honest, he thought she was even more beautiful than Teddy, but he didn't like her. The half Asian, half Scottish descent gene in Teddy made her…not beautifully beautiful, but strangely mesmerizingly pretty, in his opinion.
Bailey wished the boy Jason was interested in Jasmine instead so that the situation would be easier. In fact, Bailey could tell Jason was into Jane, Jasmine's little sister. So Teddy kept matchmaking him with Jasmine, and he was not very comfortable about that.
Jason and the girls decided to go on a roller coaster. Bailey queued up at the ticket booth. He was about to buy five tickets when Teddy walked over to him and whispered:
"Just buy four tickets, Bailey."
"Why? Is Jane scared?" He asked her.
"No, I don't like going on roller coaster. I'll wait down here." Teddy blushed.
"Oh, I can wait down here with you." He smiled.
"No, you need to be with one of the girls. It's a roller coaster and no girl would want to sit with a stranger." She grimaced.
"Okay, are you matchmaking me with Jasmine again? I'm sorry but I don't like her, Teddy. I mean, it's not that I don't like her, I don't have feelings for her." Bailey stared at Teddy, he was upset this time.
"What's wrong? She's a nice girl. She's a very nice sister to me. Just come and talk to her and be her friend. For God's sake we've known each other since diapers and you try to avoid her." Teddy rolled her eyes.
"Fine, I'll ride with her this time. But just because I promised you I'd do what you want. To be honest, this is…inhumane, to me." He sighed.
"Bailey, she's a wonderful sister, just like you're a wonderful brother to me. Don't think of this as an order. You should talk to her more and you'll find her adorable. Plus, because you feel she likes you so you've always tried to avoid her. Everyone can see that, and that's mean. Just act normal." She groaned.
"I know she's nice. I like her as a friend, okay? Anyway, I'll buy four tickets." He turned around and paid for the tickets. His heart tenderly sagged as Teddy considered him a brother.
Teddy found a bench to sit down, waiting for the other four to ride the roller coaster. She looked around, enjoying all the people walking past her eyes. She felt thankful that Bailey came and drove her to find jobs and help her have a joyful afternoon.
Her friends came down finally after the fifteen minute ride. Teddy saw Jasmine wrapped her arm around Bailey's shoulder as he helped her walk to the bench. She looked terribly pale, and Teddy knew the ride scared the crap out of Jasmine. She smiled at Bailey's secret grimace to her. What she didn't like was Jason helping Jane walking towards the bench.
As they sat down and caught their breaths, Teddy asked Jason.
"Hey Jason, which school are you going to?"
"University of Washington. I'm in the same Calculus class with Jasmine. We're sort of…close friends." Jason smiled cheerfully.
"U of W. Hm, so he is around Jane while my brother is off to another state. That's not good." Teddy thought to herself.
"Does anyone want to see a movie?" Jason smiled. Bailey turned around to look at Teddy, exchanging a disappointment. She cheerfully responded: "Great idea! Let's go to see a movie."
They came pretty late for the upcoming show of Dawn of the planet of the apes, so they bought the remaining five tickets available. There were three seats in row I and two other seats in row J, but it would be awkward for the two guys to sit together, so they decided that Jasmine, Jane and Jason could sit in front while Teddy and Bailey would sit in the back. Bailey couldn't feel happier for the outcome.
"Do you all want anything to eat? My treat." Jason glanced at Jane and grinned.
"I'm good, thanks. If I eat popcorn, it will be finished within ten minutes. You don't want to see me eating popcorn." Teddy sincerely confessed.
Jason bought some snacks for the group and they entered the theatre. Bailey visited the restroom so they didn't wait for him. When he returned to the screen and looked for the seat next to Teddy, he bought a huge bag of popcorn.
"Extra butter." Bailey whispered to Teddy's ears as he grabbed the popcorn and put in his mouth.
"You're seducing me with popcorn." She cast a sidelong glance at Bailey.
"Nope. I'm enjoying this, all by myself." Bailey smirked in the dark.
As Teddy looked forward to the screen, she noticed Jason kept bending his head toward Jane and whispered to her ears. It made her really upset, she was thinking what she could do to help her brother.
However, fifteen minutes or so and Teddy couldn't focus on the movie because Bailey was making small but tempting gulping sounds next to her ear. She resisted until half of the movie but the smell of the butter was so good, and she glanced at him once more. Bailey knew Teddy couldn't stand not eating popcorn anymore. He bent the popcorn bag towards her and invited: "Have some."
"You'll regret that I eat your popcorn so fast." She murmurs.
"Go on." He chuckled.
Teddy started to insert her hand into the huge bag and grabbed small fists of popcorn. She acknowledged that the movie was much more exciting with the buttery popcorn. She couldn't care less about Bailey judging her eating like an elephant, because the popcorn was so good. So she kept inserting her hand into the bag and he kept bending the bag's opening towards her for easy grabbing. The popcorn quickly dissipated. Suddenly, Teddy inserted her hand inside the bag again, but it was completely empty. Bailey abruptly held her hand through the thin paper bag.
Teddy was surprised at first. It was hot and lack of air inside the bag, now that his hand gripped at the opening. She could feel her hand sweating. She shook her hand so Bailey could let go of it, but he insisted on holding her hand, outside the bag. She turned around and looked at him angrily, but he just smiled then turned his attention to the screen. She wanted to yell at him but she knew she couldn't. Teddy continued to shake her hand but Bailey was holding it tight, through the paper bag. She tried three minutes or so but eventually surrendered. She stopped resisting him, and he gradually loosened the grip. She could feel little air entering the bag, and it made she feel much better. She tried to shake her hand and withdraw it from the bag again, and Bailey tighten the grip at the opening again. So she just sat still, with her hand in his hand, through a paper bag. They kept holding hand for the rest of the movie.
Bailey eventually drove Teddy home that night after dropping Jasmine, Jane and Jason at Jasmine's house. Teddy stayed silent during the drive. She lowered the window glass and looked out to the dark night.
"Why are you so quiet?" Bailey asked her.
"What was that hand holding thing? It was so uncomfortable. I washed my hand for ten minutes and can still smell the popcorn now." She turned around, snapped at him angrily.
"That was one-one. You matchmade me with Jasmine all day so I thought I would make you feel uncomfortable in return." He tried to hide a smile and kept a serious face.
"You keep score? You're mean, Bailey. Jasmine is nice and you are mean, Bailey." Teddy grimaced.
"Okay, you can't say I'm mean when I spent all day do everything that you wanted." He continued to tease her.
"Fine. You still owe me two other things. You promised me to do three things for me, and today I just asked you one, Bailey. Keep that in mind." She smiled victoriously.
"What do you want now?" He groaned.
"Not now, I haven't had anything in mind yet. But I'll tell you when I do."
Bailey stopped by an eatery with drive through lane. He ordered a burger. "What do you want to eat, Teddy?" Bailey asked her.
"I'm good. The popcorn made me full. Well, maybe a chocolate almond ice cream cone." She beamed at him.
Bailey ordered through the monitor. As he drove forward the window, he asked her: "Ice cream again? You just had ice cream this morning."
"What can I say, I'm so in love with chocolate almond ice cream."
"I was right when I made fun of you losing your front teeth because of eating too much ice cream." Bailey laughed, rubbing his chin.
"My dad took care of our orals very good. There's no way I got caries, Bailey." She shook her head.
"So any other flavor besides chocolate almond?"
"I like chocolate almond, pistachio almond and tiramisu flavors from Paciugo. I also like rum raisin and rasperry and white chocolate truffles from Hagan Daaz. The ones into carton cups. All I wished was a birthday cake composed of those five flavors, but none ever granted me that wish." Teddy laughed.
"Sophisticated taste." Bailey murmured.
Teddy enjoyed her ice cream while Bailey ate his burger on the way home. They didn't talk much anymore because the music being played in the dark night was so good.
Bailey stopped the car in front of Owen's house. He was about to enter, but Teddy stopped him.
"It's late. What do you want to tell her, I'll pass the message to her."
"Let me in." Bailey insisted.
"Look, I know you want to talk to her, but I think it's better if you don't come in….with me." She sighed.
"You said I can come at 12?" Bailey's eyebrows crunched up.
"Yes, you can come in at twelve, but not…with me. My dad would misunderstand that we have something going on, and I don't want that. I have enough lectures for the day. I'm happy now. Please don't make me cry again." Teddy showered Bailey's ears with a series of reasons. He finally nodded.
"Fine, just tell Faith that I don't give the address to Daniel like she assumed. And whatever is going on, a man that makes her cry and rant crazily like that doesn't deserve her. Also tell her that I'm all ears if she wants to talk to me." Bailey said in a monotonous tone.
"She cried and ranted crazily at you? That Daniel really caused her big troubles." Faith sighed.
"Uh huh, she called and texted me at 3 am like I told you. And yes, seems like Daniel made Faith miserable. But hey, it's between them. Don't pry into their problem….like you did to me and Jasmine." The last few words Bailey lowered his voice more and more. He started to regret what he said for he may cause another dilemma at the end of the day.
"Fine, Bailey. I was trying to help. But since it makes you uncomfortable, I won't do it again." She acknowledged.
"Thank you." He smiled gently and looked at her.
"Thank you for a great day, Bailey. And thank you for being a good friend to my sister. You make me hate you less." Teddy grinned.
"I did everything just to make you hate me less? I thought you were about to….like me."
Bailey intended to say "I thought you were about to love me", but he stopped before he let the words out. He could destroy the friendship that he built between them.
"Uh huh, I just hate you less. I mean, think about what you did to me during the last seven teen years." She raised her voice.
Bailey chuckled. Teddy said as if he mistreated her and discriminated her during all those times. He just nodded: "Fine. Goodnight, Teddy."
"Good night, Bailey. Remember you still owe me two favors." As she walked out of the car, she waved her hand.
"I remember." He smiled. Bailey looked at Teddy slowly walking into the house. Her curly thick hair scattered in the air as the evening breeze blew up.
**How do you like it? Hanging in there, we'll get back to Crowen soon. Enjoy these fluffiness while you can, you will hate it when you get to the drama. Hahaha.
**Bonus: Check out Cristina and Owen's kitchen by using the tag #gaucung89 on tumblr. AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW PLEASE.