Thursday's Child
tofoolsomeone
She sighs and dangles her feet out of the window. A cigarette sits between her lips but its end isn't lit. She can't find her lighter but she can't get herself to move from where she is sat to find it. There's light muffled talking from beneath her bedroom floor and that's the real reason she's in her room. She had woken up too late to escape her parent's cheerful friends. In her opinion they were a little too cheerful, especially for a Saturday morning.
The person she didn't want to see was the same person who was climbing the stairs to her room. The same person who hadn't stopped pestering her for the last three years. One thousand and ninety five fucking days she's had to endure him for. She couldn't even tell him to sling his hook because her parents refuse to let her be rude to a family friend.
A knock at the door startles the girl for a moment and the cigarette drops from her lips and to the ground two floors away. She lets a curse slip from her mouth at the same moment the door opened without her allowing the person to enter the room. Figures, she thinks, no one respects my privacy but I damn well have to respect theirs.
"You shouldn't sit like that. You could fall," a male voice says. It makes her shoulders tense. Out of all the people it could have been, it had to be him.
"I appreciate your concern, Taylor, but I'm a big girl," she says dryly. In her head she curses her parents out for ever letting him come into the house.
She hears his footsteps and knows that he's heading towards her. A hand on her shoulder confirms what she knew. "I want to talk to you, Piper," he says and she knows what this is going to be about. She just fucking knows it. Nevertheless, she shrugs his hand off her shoulder and pulls herself back in the room. She stalls a bit by making sure she shuts the window and arranges her curtains so that they sit like they did before. But she finishes quicker than she wants and has to force herself to face him. He's not near her, however. He's sitting on her bed and by the look on his face, she knows he expects her to join him on it for the talk.
Her fingers clench by themselves as she walks over to it and sits next to him. He breathes deeply for a moment and wills himself for what he's about to say. She's hoping that he loses the courage. "I know we... we haven't known each other for that long, Piper," he begins and she can't help but think no shit, "but over the time that we have... well, I've enjoyed that time so much and I'm sure you've enjoyed it just as much-" she gives him a tight lip smile at this "-and I've thought long and hard about this. I almost drove my mother mad with it, but she fully supports this decision. And, well, will you marry me, Piper Clinton?" He finally concludes his speech and Piper feels her breath disappear. That was not what she was expecting. She thought it was going to be, well, something that wasn't... that.
"Oh, um, wow," she mutters and then wishes she didn't say it when he draws a ring out of his pocket. He's serious. He's actually fucking serious.
"I know; it's beautiful, isn't it? My mum gave it to me when I told her. She said it's her mother's old ring that she was given when she got married for her first son to marry," he explains in an admirable tone. He looks between the ring and her, a look of hope on his face. She didn't even know why he thought that he should propose to her. Just... why. She didn't understand it, or was it that she was too good with acting that she didn't realise what was happening?
She pulls a smile on her face to hide everything that she's feeling beneath the surface. "I... I'd love to marry you, Taylor," she says, the only hesitation in her voice is mistaken for being overwhelmed. He beams at her, picks her hand up and slides the ring onto her finger. Their fingers lace together and she swallows nervously. He never knows the difference.
The person she didn't want to see was the same person who was climbing the stairs to her room. The same person who hadn't stopped pestering her for the last three years. One thousand and ninety five fucking days she's had to endure him for. She couldn't even tell him to sling his hook because her parents refuse to let her be rude to a family friend.
A knock at the door startles the girl for a moment and the cigarette drops from her lips and to the ground two floors away. She lets a curse slip from her mouth at the same moment the door opened without her allowing the person to enter the room. Figures, she thinks, no one respects my privacy but I damn well have to respect theirs.
"You shouldn't sit like that. You could fall," a male voice says. It makes her shoulders tense. Out of all the people it could have been, it had to be him.
"I appreciate your concern, Taylor, but I'm a big girl," she says dryly. In her head she curses her parents out for ever letting him come into the house.
She hears his footsteps and knows that he's heading towards her. A hand on her shoulder confirms what she knew. "I want to talk to you, Piper," he says and she knows what this is going to be about. She just fucking knows it. Nevertheless, she shrugs his hand off her shoulder and pulls herself back in the room. She stalls a bit by making sure she shuts the window and arranges her curtains so that they sit like they did before. But she finishes quicker than she wants and has to force herself to face him. He's not near her, however. He's sitting on her bed and by the look on his face, she knows he expects her to join him on it for the talk.
Her fingers clench by themselves as she walks over to it and sits next to him. He breathes deeply for a moment and wills himself for what he's about to say. She's hoping that he loses the courage. "I know we... we haven't known each other for that long, Piper," he begins and she can't help but think no shit, "but over the time that we have... well, I've enjoyed that time so much and I'm sure you've enjoyed it just as much-" she gives him a tight lip smile at this "-and I've thought long and hard about this. I almost drove my mother mad with it, but she fully supports this decision. And, well, will you marry me, Piper Clinton?" He finally concludes his speech and Piper feels her breath disappear. That was not what she was expecting. She thought it was going to be, well, something that wasn't... that.
"Oh, um, wow," she mutters and then wishes she didn't say it when he draws a ring out of his pocket. He's serious. He's actually fucking serious.
"I know; it's beautiful, isn't it? My mum gave it to me when I told her. She said it's her mother's old ring that she was given when she got married for her first son to marry," he explains in an admirable tone. He looks between the ring and her, a look of hope on his face. She didn't even know why he thought that he should propose to her. Just... why. She didn't understand it, or was it that she was too good with acting that she didn't realise what was happening?
She pulls a smile on her face to hide everything that she's feeling beneath the surface. "I... I'd love to marry you, Taylor," she says, the only hesitation in her voice is mistaken for being overwhelmed. He beams at her, picks her hand up and slides the ring onto her finger. Their fingers lace together and she swallows nervously. He never knows the difference.