For the Sake of Saving Us

Poppy sits and waits for the sun to rise, the sky already having lightened and the temperature risen, in the twenty minutes she had been sat outside, her legs curled up under her as she sketches in the dim garden, the world around her slowly waking up.

One of Travis and Danny's neighbours had already set out for work, offering a polite wave before they got in their car, ready for another day in their life.

This week feels like a pause for Poppy - a pause for her to collect herself again, to pull herself back together, pick up the pieces.
She wondered if she'd ever feel 'whole' again, if there was such a thing, if the gaps missed by the metaphorical duct tape and glue would close up with time.

When she'd flown out here, she was torn apart, felt like she barely hanging on at the edges, was sure one more little piece of bad would have her hurtling to a darker place than the one she was already in.
Now, it was like Florida and Travis and Danny had pulled her back to the surface, aided in healing the wounds and planted her feet back on solid ground.

She knew things weren't great with Alex, maybe they never would be now, maybe this had been the final straw for them, but she'd never forget him.

"You want breakfast, flower?" Travis keeps his voice quiet for once as he pokes his head out the back door, Poppy turning her head to face him with a smile, nodding as she collects her things and walks back into the silent house.

"You're up early, Trav."

"I heard you get up, started to get worried when I didn't hear you move around. Get some thinking done?"

"Yeah. It's nice here. No noise."

"Suppose you don't get much calm in New York?"

"Not outside anyway."

They cook and then eat in almost silence, Danny joining them after a little while, and it's then that Poppy decides to break the news.

"I'm going to go back to New York. Tomorrow."

"What? You're supposed to be here for another week yet. Poppy-."

"I feel so much better, Trav. I think I need to get back into work - Warped tour starts soon so I want to get ready for that, and I hate that I've left Mark to deal with low staff numbers, again."

"Marky sent you here."

"To help me cheer up. Look at me, I know I feel better than when I got here, do I look better?"

"Much." Danny chimes in with a smile, always the reasonable one, "If going back to the city is what you want, then go for it."

"We haven't done half the things I wanted us too." Travis pouts, slumping over the counter, "Will you come out tonight then? We can go eat in Tampa and have a few drinks."

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

-----

Poppy spends the majority of the afternoon re-packing her bag, surprised just how scattered her belongings have become over the space of a week, finally giving up over finding that last pair of socks before she finally zips up the case and slings it by the door to the guest room.

She'd pulled out her outfit for the night, a pair of leather-look shorts, an Aztec print bandeau and a blue blazer to tie it all together - she hoped Travis wasn't planning on anything too posh for dinner because the outfit would not go down well.

It was Florida after all, and Poppy wasn't used to the heat and it sure wasn't going to be any cooler when they, in Travis' words 'hit the club'.
That part, she wasn't sure she was looking forward too.

It'd had been a long while since she last went out with the sole purpose of getting drunk and being reckless, and the thought of doing it without someone responsible like Rian watching over her was a tad daunting.

They end up at a Cheesecake Factory, and it's a great idea to begin with, until Poppy feels so satisfyingly full that she would much rather go take a nap than go dance the night away.
Travis is insistent though, and foots the bill before dragging her to his favourite club in Tampa, immediately plying her with promises of Champagne cocktails and Skittle Bombs, both sounding great due to the sudden rise in temperature that had occurred as they entered the busy club.

Now, there is dancing, and sure, some of it isn't exactly PG, but with the alcohol and the closeness of being packed onto the dance floor, it doesn't seem all the inappropriate to be dancing with Travis.

It's when Poppy realizes she's inadvertently grinding up against him, that she takes a step back to clear her head, shouting in his ear and over the music that she's going to grab some air.
Travis follows her without being asked, and sits next to her as she leans against the outside wall of the brick building, watching as she takes small sips of the water he'd grabbed her on the way out.

"You OK?"

"I think it was just the heat and the drink." She mutters, "Got to my head."

She glances over and offers him a smile as he shuffles closer and slings an arm around her shoulder, letting the girl lean her head on his collarbone.

"Just as long as you don't pass out on me. People will think I've roofied you."

"Of course not, Trav." She laughs, looking up at him as he looks down and smirks.

And that's pretty much where things go wrong, because Travis leans down and for whatever reason, Poppy leans up and there's a kiss that is definitely not just a brush of lips, but is most likely the actions of two slightly inebriated people who will regret the action in the morning.