AN: I can just imagine poor Callum sitting in the corner constantly squeezing a stress ball :D And yeah, who knew when we met that policeman who seemed a bit too young and was potetially a reporter that we'd be given the life ruining perfection that is Stephen Dene 3 Anywho, the surprise mentioned at the end of this chapter is revealed in the next one and sets up series 4. So many feels...
Young
When Rory Deveaux was 16, her parents told her that they'd be doing a years worth of work at the university of Bristol. They said she could finish her last year of school in England. Rory was excited and she had started planning immediately. She decided on a school in London called Wexford and began watching English tv and preparing for her year across the pond. She spent countless days in her hammock with her laptop open, reading about England.
When she was 17, the time finally came to go to Wexford. She couldn't get the same plane as her parents so she went on one by herself a couple of weeks early. She was nervous about that and excited all the same. She was still young, travelling alone, and about to spend a year in a country she had never been to before. It was frightening but thrilling. She could never have expected her life to go in the direction it did.
She was young. She was only 17 and was being hunted by the Ripper. The ghost Ripper no less. She knew what the fear of death felt like though she was still just a teenager. Her life lay in the hands of the ghost hunting squad of London. They were young too. The leader was also a teenager. She should've been worrying about schoolwork and dating. Normal teenage things. But her life was far from normal now. She was only 17. She was too young to die.
She lived. She recovered. She was only 17 but she fought hard and survived. And now she was back at school. But something strange was happening nearby. She knew it. She could've gone back to having a normal life but she couldn't let go of the Shades. They knew the truth and were the only ones who did. She needed them. She need him. Their leader. That other teenager who really was too young to be dealing with the responsibilities he held. He always made her feel like everything would be ok. Even after she was expelled from Wexford and kidnapped by her therapist, he got her back and promised that everything would be ok. She had kissed him. He had kissed her back. This was the kind of thing you did at 17. You kissed people. You liked people. You experienced what love was for the first time. She knew then what love was. But things just got worse. She was only 17. She was too young to lose the man she loved. He was only 19. He was too young to die.
But she had no time to mourn. She was only 17 and had to find his ghost. She would never be able to touch him again. She would never hold his hand, hug him, hear his heartbeat or kiss him again but at least she could talk to him. At least he'd still be there. She was too young to deal with this. She should've been worrying about exams, not crazy therapists and magic twins who had killed ten people and searching for the ghost of the man she had loved and lost and magic stones protecting London. She was too young for that stuff. They all were. But then she had found him and she could bring him back. She knew that it might kill her but she didn't care. She was only 17 and willing to die to be with him. She was too young to die but she wouldn't be alone if she did.
She lived. And so did he. She brought him back. They had saved London. They were only teenagers but they had done it. But things were awkward. Yes, they loved each other but they could never quite get things back to the way they were in his fathers bedroom.
When she was 18, she was still training for the squad. She was probably too young to be leaving the rest of her old life behind but she wanted to be on the team officially. It wasn't like life what be normal again anyway. But things between her and Stephen were still difficult. Yes, they talked and hung out and he protected her lovingly but she wanted to be with him properly. She was still young but she knew she was in love. And she knew that he was too. Because he had told her. By accident. In an argument. And that was it. Neither of them had had sex before. There were giggles, both nervous ones and embarrassed ones, but mostly there were gasps, moans, and declarations of love. They came together that day. And they had been together since.
She was only 19 when he proposed to her. He was only 21. But they both knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. She had said yes. She didn't even hesitate. They may have seemed young to outside eyes, and they were, but they knew more about life and death and everything in between than most others.
She was only 20 now. He was only 22. They were married, had their own home, and were decorating for Christmas. They had had some close calls this year. He had been stabbed by a ghost a couple of months before and she had nearly been stabbed by one, another one, a couple of weeks before. She ran her hand over her stomach as she thought about Newman and the scar he had left. But as she did so, her mind turned to a more pleasant thing.
The surprise she had for Stephen. But that could wait until Christmas Day. It was only a week away. She had it planned. She would bring him in here, to the kitchen, away from the rest, and surprise him. She wondered how he would react. She smiled. They were young but life was good and it was about to get better. This was going to be the best Christmas yet.