The Cast Mate

In the morning, Norman trudged down the hallway to her apartment. The shots were causing him a slight headache but thankfully that was all. He had a surprise for her and was a little excited about it. He knocked on her door and waited for a few seconds before she opened the door with a smile. He put his hands in his pockets and smiled in return.

" Hey, so how are you feeling?" She asked as she moved out of the way to let him in.

" My head hurts. You?" He asked. She grabbed her bag off the hook.

" I'm fine. I took some Motrin and drank some water before I went to bed so I'm good to go." She said. She dug out her keys before looking up at him. " Ready?" He smiled again.

" Ready." He said.

They chatted lightly as they rode the elevator down. They crossed the lobby of the apartment complex then walked outside. She looked up, then down the parking lot before she faced him. She had a confused look on her face which made him smile. He knew she was looking for his truck. But he hadn't brought his truck, he brought his bike.

" So where is your truck?" Silver asked.

" At home." Norman said.

" So how are we getting there?" She asked as he started towards his bike. He casually picked up a helmet off the seat, keeping his back to her.

" With my bike." When she didn't say anything, he turned around. " Silver, are you okay?" He asked when he took in her completely washed out face.

" You want me to ride that?" She asked softly. He glanced at his bike then back at her.

" Yeah." He said softly. Her eyes were glued to his bike. She was wring her hands together in front of her. " Holy shit, you're really scared, aren't you?" He asked in disbelief. She rubbed her lips together and nodded. "I...ah....I kind of thought you were just saying that. You know how some girls will just say that so guys will offer them rides on their bikes. I thought that was what you were doing." She shook her head.

" I'm not that type of girl." Silver said, still keeping her voice low and staring at the bike.

" I see that now. Fuck," He looked back at his bike. " I feel like a jackass right now. If there was more time, I'd go and get my truck but we don't have the time."

" No, it's okay." She said, pulling his eyes to her face. " I should have nailed down the details of the bet. It's really my fault."

" Look, I'm a good driver, alright? I took a class and everything. I'm not reckless or anything." Norman said.

" Yeah, okay. I can do this." She said, finally looking at him.

" I feel fucking stupid right now." He admitted.

" Don't. It's okay. Really, it will be fine." She said. He sighed and shook his head. He held out the helmet he had brought for her.

" I need you to wear my backpack for me. You can put your bag in it. I have this helmet for you." Wordless, she took the helmet from him. Her eyes went right back to the bike. He slipped his backpack off then opened it. She slipped her bag off and handed it to him. He noticed how slow and deep she was breathing. He reached out and touched her hand. " It's going to be fine." He said. She looked at him and nodded.

" I'm really trusting you right now, okay?" She said. Norman nodded.

" I'll get on the bike first, then you get behind me. Get comfortable then I'll start it up, alright?" She nodded.

He put her bag into his backpack then closed it up. After she took it from him, he faced his bike and slipped on his helmet. She put his pack on, adjusting the straps to fit her better. She shook her head then copied his example by putting the helmet on. He was waiting for her on the bike so she slipped on behind him. She brought her legs against his and he felt her small hands take a hold of his belt loops at his sides. When she stopped moving, he started the bike up.

The second it roared to life she jumped and threw her arms around his waist. He couldn't help but smile to himself. He let go of the handlebar with one hand and patted her arm, hoping it would relax her some. He felt the helmet come to rest against his back as she put her head down. Norman pushed away and they started down the road. Her entire body was tense against his back and he felt bad again. He couldn't tell if she was shaking from the bike or from fear. He decided to ask Sean to take her home after work so she won't have to worry about another ride.

Once they pulled into the studio parking lot, he parked in his usual spot, next to Sean's car. He shut the bike off and she was away from him and off the bike quickly. She pulled the helmet off as he took his off. She was still shaking and her lips were washing out. He kicked the kickstand on his bike and steadied it before he got off. Silver was staring it again and breathing slowly. He reached out and took her hands.

" Holy shit, Silver, your hands are freezing." He said. He brought them up and started rubbing them quickly.

" I'm okay." She said softly as she looked at him. " Can I make an amendment to the deal?"

" Sure." He said as he stepped closer to her. He had her hands up, chest level, and was still rubbing them.

" Can you pick me up in the truck? I mean, the bike was okay, and maybe you can take me for another ride some other time, but not this week." Silver said.

" Yeah, no problem. Look, I'll ask Sean to take you home tonight, alright?" Norman asked. She nodded as she took a deep breath.

" I'm not trying to be a baby. I'm not scared of a lot of things. Really, just two things, spiders and bikes." Silver said, making him smile.

" I don't think you're a baby." He said. " You sure you're okay? You're so pale and you're freezing." He said. He brought his hands to her forearms and started rubbing them.

" I'm okay. I think I just need a few minutes. My legs are shaky. Is that okay?" She asked.

" Yeah, it's fine. That happens until you get used to riding it. Come on, we need to head in." He said. He turned her and slipped his arm around her shoulders. " So you're really okay? You don't hate me or anything?" Norman asked as they walked. Silver laughed.

" I don't hate you. Although that was pretty tricking of you, I will give you that much." She said. He laughed and pulled away from her.

XXXXXX

By Thursday they were talking easily with each other as they rode to and from work. They laughed together, never running out of things to say. She made him laugh with the stories she told him about things she and her boys had done. They had been friends since high school so she had a lot of stories and almost all of them involved tricks they planned on each other. The tricks usually involved causing one another pain in some way.

" So how did you guys manage to stay friends for so long?" Norman asked her.

" Well, we started a...." Her mouth shut right away. He glanced at her as she stared staight ahead.

" Started a what?" He asked when she didn't speak.

" A baseball team?" She asked. She sighed loudly and closed her eyes. She shook her head as she sank back into his seat.

" You guys started a baseball team?" He asked, trying not to laugh. She shook her head and laughed, opening her eyes.

" I'm sorry, I can't think very fast. I tend to blank out and say the first thing that pops into my head when I'm nervous." She admitted, looking at him.

" What are you nervous for?" He knew what she was doing. She was changing the subject very gently. She was uncomfortable with talking about what her and the boys did so he, for a little while, was going to drop the subject.

" Are you kidding me? I feel like such a dumbass. You guys have all done this before but I haven't. I feel like I'm fucking up so bad. I know Troy is taking a big risk in bring me in and I don't want to disappoint you guys. I don't want you thinking, ' This stupid bitch is ruining everything.' And just so you know, that was me copying your voice." Silver said.

" Okay, first, I don't think you're a stupid bitch. Second, I don't think you are ruining everything. I think you are doing good actually. You're a natural at this. If you were sucking, I won't say you suck, I'd offer to help you but you don't need it. And three, your impression of my voice is horrible." Norman said, making Silver laugh.

" Should I do it more like Sean does it?" She asked. " ' Ah, hi. My name is Reedus and I'm the gayer version of Sean Patrick Flanery.' " She changed her voice to match Sean's Reedus voice. Norman burst into laughter, making her smile.

" You do his voice so well!" He explained. " You have to do that for him. He will get a kick out of it!" Silver laughed.

" Yeah, I'll do that." She said.