.
.
Plots and Weavings
.
.
Naked limbs and torsos entangled on the couch, they lie on their sides embracing face to face as they recovered. A bit of time passed spent exchanging soft kisses and touches as they grew accustom to one another until Sarah broke the comfortable silence.
"How did your interview go?"
"Quite well, actually." He combed a tendril of her hair behind her ear. "The mayor was impressed and is passing my designs onto the 9-11 Memorial Board as a finalist."
"That's great!" Her smile nearly burned him with radioactivity and his breath caught for a moment. She looked happy for him, perhaps even proud? Melinda never even
acted proud of his accomplishments, stuffy bint.
"Yes, and the best part," he kissed her nose, "I'll be required to stay on for at least an additional week."
Sarah's eyes widened and she bit her lip, "You're not leaving in a week?"
"No, luv, you'll have to tolerate me for at least a fortnight longer." His eyes narrowed on her teeth teasing her lower lip; what titillation!
"Oh...that's..."
"You're not pleased?" he asked, his body suddenly tense, his voice flat. He urged his eyes from her lips. Had he misread her again?
"No, I am, really, I just...I'm just..." Sarah blushed, afraid to look overeager, but neither did she want to appear disinterested.
'God, this is so hard! Too many rules, Kathy!' Her mind seized up like a broken transmission; she could hear her mental gears rev without catching, anxiety swirled and her palms sweated.
"Sarah?"
Taking a deep breath, she compelled herself to relax putting herself into a calmer state of mind. She cupped his face and kissed him. "I'm very happy you're staying another week, and that reminds me. My best friend Kathy and her husband Todd want to meet you."
"Meet me?" A shy smile curled one side of his mouth, "Really, luv?"
"Really, she suggested a double date. You interested?"
Gerard hugged her until she squeaked, "Meeting your mates? Bloody hell, yes, I'm interested!"
"Well...good..." she said, gasping for breath until he loosened his hold and shifted her on top of him.
"When is this double date?"
"Would...would tomorrow night be too soon?" she asked, tracing a pattern on his chest with her finger, unable to meet his eyes.
'He'll probably think I'm too forward, trying to trap him, ohGodohGodohGod...' "Perfect," he answered, gently tipping her head up by her chin, "seems I've got a spot of free time for the near future, Sarah."
"Oh." She smiled, "Okay then." Excitement danced through Sarah's heart.
He wanted to meet her friends. He wanted to meet her
friends! He
wanted to meet her
friends! Holy shit...
.
.
jsjsjsjsjsjsj
.
.
Her overtime shift ended, Cassie rode the subway home partially lost in her thoughts and plans regarding her brother and this woman, Sarah. She'd already requested her next two shifts off knowing events must move quickly if she hoped to meet her before the week finished and Gerard returned to England. Of course, she doubted he'd be eager to depart, and knowing her brother's resourcefulness and professional reputation, somehow he'd figure a way to extend his business trip. Oh, no...This
thing with Sarah Williams likely wouldn't end in a week, and Cassie was determined to peel her layers in any manner possible. There would be no Melinda rerun.
The subway came to a halt; Cassie disembarked and exited to street level. For the millionth time, she thanked the New York housing gods that she snagged an apartment only a couple blocks from the subway entrance so her walks to and from home were short. Especially wonderful since she worked the night shift, but Cassie was a self-confident woman, well-trained in kick-boxing and other forms of self-defense by Gerard, so no major worries. Always a model older brother, he wanted to protect his little sister by making sure she could kick anyone's ass when he couldn't do it for her.
Letting herself into her home, Cassie called out for Gerard expecting him to be home, and was disappointed when she received no answer. His interview ended hours ago, where the hell was he? Cassie checked the fridge and found his handwritten note:
Cassie, Off to see Sarah, interview went smashing, will be here at least another fortnight -love, Jer "Son-of-bitch, he went straight there!" she said, aggravated she missed out on another day of quality sibling time, and she didn't even know where this Sarah lived so she couldn't barge in. "Jer, you'd better not move in with this girl for the next two weeks." She gritted her teeth and wished her brother owned an international cell phone that she could bombard with irate calls.
'
That'll be his Christmas present, dammit,' she thought, crumpling the note in her fist and pitching it into the trash. Having planned on cooking dinner for the two of them, instead, Cassie dug through her collection of take-away menus finding her favorite Italian restaurant.
"Guess it's just me tonight." She sighed and plopped on the couch to watch television until she zoned out.
.
.
jsjsjsjsjsjsj
.
.
Todd Evans rode the bus home from work, as he did every evening, to be enthusiastically greeted by his wife, Kathy, with the thrilling news of a double date planned for the next evening.
"You're kiddin' me, right hon?"
"We're doing Sarah a huge favor. She's needs us."
"But a double date? We haven't done this since college." Todd slipped his jacket off hanging it in the coat closet as he gave his wife a skeptical glare, "You sure Sarah's seeing this as a favor?"
"Of course she is," Kathy hovered in the entryway next to him and lowered her voice so their two young daughters wouldn't hear. "She's met someone and I've never seen her act this way; he might be the one. We have to support her." Todd rolled his eyes when she air quoted-the one.
Todd scowled, "You're as bad as her." Having met his wife in their senior year of college, Todd knew Sarah almost as long as he had known Kathy. Meddling—not one of Sarah's preferred modes of communication from her friends and family. Sarah was the control freak and Kathy the yenta.
"I'm just helping my friend."
"You're being a busy body."
"She needs me!"
"I'm sure she doesn't, not over this."
"You gonna do this or not?"
"Do I have a choice?" His wife gave him her gold medal, frost bitten glare. "Fine, fine, when is it?" Better to given in now rather than suffer connubial anarchy, not like he was going to win this anyhow.
"Tomorrow night, we'll start with dinner and see how it goes." Kathy did her happy dance and Todd scowled harder to repress his grin. The joys and benefits of a pleased spouse far outweighed a cranky one.
"And the kids?"
"Your mother has already agreed to babysit."
"You've just taken care of everything haven't you?" In her glee, she didn't seem to notice his sarcasm.
"It'll be great, you'll see," Kathy waved nonchalantly at him as she walked away then stopped and faced him again, "and, hon. Could you...maybe...find out how serious this guy is about Sarah?"
"
What?" Todd halted, one foot raised. She wouldn't.
"You know...do that thing..."
"You want me to scare the guy off? I thought you wanted to support her."
"Don't scare him," she said, wheedling. "Just you know, use your old work story on him and see how he reacts; see if you can get one of your vibes about him. I just want to know how serious he is. I don't want Sarah getting hurt again. She's had it rough the last few years with men who keep breaking her heart, and I don't think she could take another disappointment." Lucky in cards or lucky in love they say, well her best friend got dealt an unlucky hand several times.
He nodded, "Oh...right, the story about the treatment plant...hmm," he looked thoughtful, "yeah, that might be fun. Haven't used that on anyone for awhile and the girls are too young date yet..."he grinned, suddenly loving the idea, "Sure, hon, I'll scare this guy a bit. For Sarah, but I kinda feel bad for the guy now though. I just hope my feelers are working enough to get a sense about this guy."
Kathy gave a tiny shriek and jumped into her husband's arms, "Thank you, baby! It'll be fun, I promise!"
"Uh-huh," he mumbled into her ear, hugging her. "You owe me. I say...our usual?" Kathy's brows arched and her eyes widened as Todd grabbed her butt grinding his wife's pelvis into his. God, she loved this man.
"Oh, ba-by...I think I can manage that."
.
.
jsjsjsjsjsjsj
.
.
"I still cannot believe
this is your favorite movie."
"Hush." Sarah lightly elbowed Gerard embracing her from behind. Fully reclined side to side on her couch, they watched a video of "Legend" while eating buttered popcorn. Oh, and they were resplendently naked with only a throw blanket as a nod to decency, their legs tangling as they unconsciously played footsie. The bowl of popcorn rested at Sarah's stomach and every few seconds he dipped his hand over her side and around her fingers to grab a handful, their digits becoming coated with salty grease.
"If you wish me to hush you must devise a better method than this movie."
"Fine," she said draping her popcorn eating hand back over her shoulder miraculously locating his mouth and working her fingers between his lips. Getting the memo, Gerard ignored the film concentrating instead on laving Sarah's fingery salty goodness for the next few minutes. A much improve option in his opinion. One that she apparently enjoyed as well as her buttocks squirmed, pressing firmly to his groin. Said bare bottom was the main reason he willingly suffered through "Legend" presently.
As a young boy, he recalled being dragged against his will to see the odious film by a group of friends and suffering throughout from intense, paralyzing boredom. He detested fantasy films. Give him a good comedy, sci-fi, action, war, or spy film any day; even a romance served better than fantasy. However, as long as she continued pressing herself to his mostly rigid manhood, him tucked and warm while she wiggled enticingly. Well, the things a man would do...and yet the need to voice his opinion never quite abated.
"This is silly tale about a stupid girl, luv," he said finishing off her fingers.
"It's not silly and she's not stupid. She's just innocent. She makes a terrible decision, one in which she wasn't fully informed and much badness ensues. But she faces her deed and fixes her mistake."
Gerard snorted. "One should always make sure to be fully informed regarding such life-altering decisions. The results can be disastrous."
"Oh, and I suppose you've never made a bad decision in your life? Things always work out perfectly?"
Gerard preened as Sarah looked over her shoulder. "I may not be perfect, luv, but I've striven to limit any poor decisions in my life as may be."
"Oh brother..." she said, rolling her eyes and turning back to the movie. "Humble much?"
Ignoring her barb, Gerard instead goaded her, "And, you, Sarah," he whispered into her ear, "Does art truly imitate your life? Is that why the movie speaks to you?"
"Maybe...you never know when you'll experience the magical. Like normal opportunities, you have to be ready to accept magic when it finds you," she said thinking of the Goblin King's last words to her, the question she refused, the second life-altering decision during her quest she always wondered what if, what if she'd said yes?...
'Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave.' "Fairies and unicorns, goblins and demons,
really, Sarah, you're a modern woman. How can you allow yourself to believe in such fanciful tales?" Gerard said as he reached over her torso for more popcorn.
"
What?" She slapped his seeking hand from the bowl, "This from the man whom I told about the Goblin King?" God, he sounded so...so arrogant, so derisive!
"But you don't
actually believe in this Goblin King?" He sat up and grasped her shoulder, turning to her back to face him in the late afternoon light. "Do you, Sarah?"
"How can you ask me that?"
"But that was just a story, something you imagined in your childhood. He isn't real."
She sat up next to him, the bowl of popcorn dropping to the carpet and spilling unnoticed. "You said you didn't think I was crazy."
"I don't."
"But you still don't believe me."
"How can I?"
Sarah pushed off the couch, the blanket trailing behind her. With wary eyes, he watched her separate from him, her back to him. "Sarah, I'm a man of science, and engineer and architect for god's sake," he said to her retreating body. "I can't just accept that these things exist, magical beings," he said scoffing, it sounded harsh to Sarah's ears, "It's rubbish!" he added, emphatic, his hand slicing the air between them which she didn't witness but sensed.
She spun to face him, "You can at least respect my right to believe!" He opened his mouth to speak then snapped it shut with a loud click of his teeth since no polite response came to mind. Better to cut his losses early.
"Maybe you'd better leave, Gerard. I don't think I can stand to look at you right now." She turned away from him again, arms crossed, presenting her bare backside; the same one which shortly before had nestled him so enticingly.
"You can't mean that." He sounded shocked, she resisted the urge to face him.
"Get out, Gerard." Approximately ten seconds of silence followed her ultimatum then she heard the squeak of her couch, Gerard's heated muttering, and rustling of clothing as he dressed. Remaining turned away from him made listening more acute and painful as he prepared to depart; her hearing picking out minute signs of him. She felt him approach, the heat from his body radiating to her naked skin.
"
Sarah," he said, his voice pitched sotto voco. She swore later he sounded almost plaintive. She thought his hand might have hovered near her shoulder then heard him curse, his stomping footsteps moving away, and the slamming of her front door announcing his departure. She released the breath she held, a hitching sob trailing it.
"Oh, shit...what just happened?" She crumpled to her knees, curled to a foetal position on her living room floor and cried.
.
.
jsjsjsjsjsjsj
.
.
Long passed sunset and several drinks later, Gerard returned to his sister's flat a bedraggled, depressed man. After leaving Sarah's he entered the first bar flashing its neon happy hour specials, and drank steadily hoping to forget his reason for imbibing. No such luck. Only his raven haired, sharp-tongued beauty drowned his thoughts and her last words to him. Well, her next to last words rather...
respect my right to believe...not the part where she kicked him out. Those reverberated in his mind as well, just not as stridently. Besides, once a few fingers of single malt scotch chased by several pints saturated his anger, he progressively comprehended that he deserved to be evicted.
'Was that what I was doing? Disrespecting her?' he asked himself later as he unlocked Cassie's front door. Forgoing attempts at futile stealthiness due to his inebriated state, Gerard staggered inside with a spinning head, unsteady vision, and an urgent need to be sick. Ugh...too much alcohol and not enough water with only greasy, salty popcorn backstroking in the bitter mix.
"Cassie," he said stopping short. His sister sat up and turned to look at him over the back of the couch, rubbing her eyes. The television played late night programming in the semi-darkness, and Cassie's nursing scrubs appeared wrinkled.
"Jer, hey, I didn't expect you home tonight."
"Yeah." He plopped next to her on the couch, his head lolling back on the cushions.
"What happened?" She sniffed, "You're drunk."
"I've had a few pints, luv."
"I'd say more than a few, you reek. What happened?"
"Yeah, I'm right pissed." He sighed dramatically, "Oh, Cassie, I completely cocked it up with Sarah."
"You've only known her two days..." Gerard rolled his head to stare at her, "Oh, geez, what'd you do?"
"Have you ever heard of the Goblin King?"
"The Goblin
what?" Okay, what sort of non-sequitur did he toss at her?
He sighed, if anyone understood his perspective it would be Cassie, and so he proceeded to tell her Sarah's fantastical story of her adventure through the Labyrinth and meeting its king. He explained their conversation during the movie "Legend" and the rapidly, and ridiculously, escalated argument. Still spun, he barely understood how fast they altered from cuddling to rejection.
"She says she wished her brother away to the goblins?" she asked, incredulous.
"Yeah."
"And she really believes this happened?" He nodded. "That's crazy, Jer. This Sarah of yours is nuts." –
'What has he gotten himself into now? From an Antarctica cold, stuck up, selfish bitch to a loony-toons woman?' "Perhaps," he shrugged, "perhaps not."
"You can't
really believe her?"
"It's not important whether I believe her or not. It's about believing in her, I think. I'm making her sound all barmy and she's not really like that," he said thinking about his jaunt through hallucination land at the Mayor's Bullpen...chickens, really? Would Cassie think him sane by comparison?
'
Just stress,' he told himself for the hundredth time since this morning.
'No worries.' "How would you know? You've known her two days, Jer...
Two days." Cassie held up two fingers to emphasize.
"Cassie, please." He rubbed his eyes. God, he felt bloody awful.
'Damn, he looks so tired, so stressed. I can't push so hard, not now.' She instantly regretted her stern attitude. The last thing he needed was 'Cassie-professional nurse and lecturer'.
"Do you want to see her again?" she asked gently, "Do you?" She pressed when he didn't answer. What would he say? What should she say?
'Be supportive, Cassie, whatever's going on he needs you right now.' "Yeah, I do, Cassie. I really, really do." She heard pain in his voice, pain and regret. "It's only been a few hours and already I feel like I can't breathe without her."
'Oh, hell,' she thought. "Then you have to apologize and hope she accepts it."
"Thanks, luv, I rather figured that out already. Looks like I'll be up early tomorrow to catch her at the café again."
"In that case I'm for bed. My extra shift earlier wiped me out." Cassie stood, stretched then leaned down to kiss her brother goodnight. "Get some sleep, Jer."
"Night, luv, I'll see you tomorrow." He patted her thigh, watched her walk to her bedroom, and shut the door before resting his head back to the cushions again. Staring at the television, Gerard allowed the boring program to lull him to a state of repose.
.
.
jsjsjsjsjsjsj
.
.
Her bedroom door squeaked, waking her in the early morning hours. She kept forgetting to oil the hinges. Cassie rolled over in bed to see a shadow silhouetted in her doorway framed by the lighter gray background.
"Jer?" she asked. She blinked, groggy, trying to clear her eyes and her mind. The person shaped blackness moved towards her bed; her heart sped up, made her vision sharper and her breathing tight.
"Jer, is that you?" The figure stopped next to her bed and she lunged for her nightstand lamp. A strong grip circled her wrist stopping her at the edge of the lampshade.
"The world," said a deep voice from the darkness.
"
What?" Cassie asked in a tense voice which partially froze in her throat, tried tugging her wrist free without success. The shadow's grip was steadfast.
"The world is falling down." The voice stated emphatically.
Suddenly her wrist was freed and the dark figure collapsed; Cassie heard the thud of a body. She took a deep, shaky breath as the adrenalin dump into her bloodstream made her lightheaded and a little nauseous. Then she snapped on her lamp to see her brother unconscious at her bedside.
"Oh my God, Jer!" Throwing back her covers, she leapt out of bed to his side and slapped his face then rubbed her knuckles on his sternum. "Gerard, wake up!"
His eyes popped open and he gasped, "Cassie!" He sat up abruptly grabbing her shoulders, his eyes wild and darting. "Cassie, you're okay!"
"I'm fine." She hugged him. "You were sleepwalking and obviously having a nightmare. Are
you okay?"
"Yeah," he released her and scooted back. "Yeah, I'm alright." His head pounded and he pinched the bridge of his nose to help the pressure. Acid churned his stomach making him gag.
"Pardon," he blurted out scrambling up from the floor and into the bathroom, slamming and locking the door behind him. Barely lifting the toilet lid up in time, Gerard offered the remaining scotch, beer, and popcorn to the porcelain god in repeated, profoundly painful heaves.
"Jer?" His sister politely knocked at the bathroom door, "Are you okay?"
"Fine," he managed to say between gasping bouts, his head face first over the seat edge.
"You don't sound fine."
"Cassie," more retching, "please just," painful bout, "leave be." He heard her sigh theatrically through the wood door, could practically see her hen-like hovering and clucking. "Too much..." he paused again, "scotch..."
"Well, okay, I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything."
"Yeah." Resting his cheek on the seat and closing his eyes, Gerard flushed the revolting contents and waited. Several minutes later, once no more episodes followed, he risked standing on wobbly legs using the countertop to help support his weight.
"Bloody hell," he mumbled checking his appearance by the glow of the nightlight. What the devil happened? Vague tendrils of another nightmare clung to his mind. Searching, he was searching for Cassie, but he wasn't himself. No memory of himself, but he knew he had a sister. Everything was gone, destroyed, his entire world obliterated and he
could not remember why! Blast, his head hurt all the time this week! He dug through the medicine cabinet for more aspirin and swallowed two with water from the sink cupped in his hand after rinsing his mouth and spitting several times. When he looked back to his reflection in the mirror a faint image of a small translucent orb traveled directly towards him from a distance. Moving at an incredible speed, it flung itself from the glass at his face, he yelped and stepped back, throwing his arms up in protection but nothing struck. Lowering his arms, he realized the orb rested in his right palm. Mesmerized, he stared at the strange, fragile orb before closing his hand into a fist. His fingers passed completely through the insubstantial orb without shifting it.
"
Oh God." He dashed back to the toilet retching anew as his headache and nausea doubled. After the sickness faded, he checked his right hand—
empty. The orb vanished as if never existent. Gerard feared telling anyone of his second hallucination not wishing to be probed and prodded by physicians. Meanwhile his analytical mind assessed the possibilities, none pleasant or reassuring.
.
.
jsjsjsjsjsjsj
.
.
"What trickery is this?" Lachesis, the allotter of the threads of life, exclaimed as she witnessed the warping of a special thread on the Great Loom of Lives. Long had this thread been manipulated, the damage only now increasing in severity until it glowed, begging Lachesis for correction. How had she overlooked this damage for long? She touched the thread in question and gasped, a being's fate altered by other god's will and cloaked for added measure. This would take much to undo.
"Zeus, what has awakened you from your eons old slumber that you tamper with that which lies outside your purview." Lachesis grimaced at the result of Zeus's meddling. "A fate so distorted cannot be lived well, or in true happiness. How dare he interfere with our work!" She dropped the spider-silk, thin thread, watching as it snapped back into the Loom, and 'tsked'.
"Sisters, dread treachery is afoot which we must resolve." Clotho and Atropos raised their heads from their own work at their sister's call. Clotho continued spinning while Atropos snipped threads selected earlier by Lachesis from the Great Loom.
"What is it, sister?" they asked in unison.
"Zeus, the great oaf, intrudes again. This time he destroys true love as well. We must inform Aphrodite, she will be displeased and we will need her assistance to correct that which Zeus deforms."
.
ERO S: LOL, Thanks! I'm happy to feed your addiction and thanks for reading my original, too! You're compliment is extremely flattering! :o) *blushes* MOIRA: OW! Sorry about your tongue! Perhaps I should put smut alerts before certain chapters, lol! But if you think the lap dance was hot...well, there's chaps coming up later on that will blow that away. Seriously, when laby fics are concerned one should always been on tongue alerts. Pun intended.
