Hey girls! This is my second fic going, so if I don't update all that often, I'm really sorry, but sometimes, there's only so much I can do. Unfortunately, this does not mean dropping out of school to be able to write for my lovely ladies (although I would like to), but often means practicing my music, doing homework, or helping around the house. Ugh. <_<

This story will be PG-13 for a while, with maybe a little R or even some NC-17. Lucky you.

I do not (unfortunately) own Elijah Wood, apart from that, all these characters, scenarios, etc. belong solely to ME (as in Felonaz) and I will be most displeased to see them appear anywhere else.

Just as a heads up, Elijah is NOT a famous movie star in this story. He is just your Average Joe.

Now, without further ado, I present to you...I Should Have Known Better!

Chapter One

Ophelia flung herself down on the couch, exhausted. The children had finally been put to bed; they had had their final drink of water, final bedtime story, final lullaby, final goodnight kiss, etc., and were actually staying in their rooms. It had been a long day for Ophelia, and she was so relieved to be able to sit down and relax. She looked around her surroundings, taking in the opulent drapery, the heavily brocaded sofas, the glittering chandelier above her head, the designer magazines displayed prominently on the glass coffee table. This was so different from her native England.

Ophelia was an au pere, a sort of live-in babysitter for Bob and Amy Pritchett of Southern Barbados. Their three children were Mary, 12, Sarah, 7, and Brian, 2. Since the children were also home schooled, she was also their impromptu teacher. It was not something that was written in her contract, and she resented having to do it. However, she was not able to return to England, because her grandmother had died a few years ago, and she was all the family Ophelia had left.

Ophelia was just about to drift off to sleep when she heard a car pull up to the house. Peeking out the window, she recognized it as the Pritchetts returning from the wedding up in New Jersey they had been at all weekend. She jumped off the couch and ran up the stairs in record time, taking them two at a time. Struggling out of her jeans as she pulled her T-shirt over her head, she caught her foot in the leg of her pants and nearly toppled to the floor. Recovering her balance (her dignity long flown out the window), she scrambled into a plain, button-up white blouse and a below-the-knee gray wool skirt. She slipped her feet into a pair of sensible black close-toed shoes and twisted her long blonde hair into a bun, skewering it with a few pins to keep it up. Smoothing away any imaginary wrinkles on her skirt, she descended the stairs with a little more decorum than she ascended them, and arrived in the living room just as the door was opening.

In first came Bob Pritchett, struggling with two heavy suitcases. Short and balding, Bob was a rotund little man with thick glasses. He was the manager/owner of an electrical engineering company back in the States, so he was only home now because he took a few weeks off to spend with his family in their 'other home' in the Bahamas. After him came his trophy wife (for there was no other real description that Ophelia could giver her), Amy, carrying her handbag that was large enough to hold a small immigrant family. Ophelia was sure of it. It was utterly ridiculous. Amy was a giraffe. Well, not really: she wasn’t spotty and didn’t have a ridiculously long neck (although it was creepily thin and a little too long), but she was at least a foot, if not more, taller than her husband. She had waist-length platinum hair and vapid blue eyes. Ophelia swore she had never seen her actually eat anything, even after spending three years working for them.

Ophelia was about to offer to help with the luggage when another person walked in the door, carrying his own beat up suitcase. Amy had never seen him before, and she had no idea who he could be. He didn’t look at all like either Pritchett. A little on the short side (Ophelia had only really dated athletes who tend to breed six foot or more), his dark brown hair was just long enough to get in his eyes, and he had to constantly give his head a shake to get it out of the way. Muscular (but not creepily so), he nicely filled out the heather gray T-shirt he was wearing. Nice, clean, presentable jeans and a pair of well-worn Converse All-Stars completed the outfit. Dropping his suitcase just inside the door, he looked around, taking in all the scenery. He nearly jumped when he noticed Ophelia standing there with her hands folded in front of her, looking about twenty years older than her natural twenty one. He stared at her, and she found herself staring back. He had incredibly wide blue eyes the color of the summer sky at dusk, and a strong jaw line. When he smiled, Ophelia caught a glimpse of two rows of incredibly straight, incredibly white teeth.

As soon as she noticed her new arrival staring at her au pere, Amy went into a flurry of activity. “Oh dear,” she said, her high-pitched voice sounding childish and fake with her obviously adult frame. “I completely forgot that you two don’t know each other. Take those upstairs, dear.” she said to her husband, gesturing imperiously up the stairs. “Ophelia, this is Elijah Wood, Emily’s cousin, you know?, my friend who’s wedding we attended this weekend?”

Ophelia nodded coolly.

“He was going to stay in the hotel on the other island, silly boy.” She turned to him and gave him a cheery smile, batting him on his wide shoulders playfully. “I told him he simply had to stay with us, I mean, think of that horrid little hotel!”

Ophelia did think about it. She had always like it. Sure, it definitely wasn’t five star, but it was painted a cheery white with green shutters. It looked very cozy.

Amy dragged Elijah forward a few steps. “Elijah, this is our au pere, Ophelia McGinty.”

Ophelia dutifully held out her hand, and, instead of shaking it like she had expected him to, he bent down and brushed his lips against her knuckles.

“What can I call you?” he asked, still holding on to her hand. “Lia? Phee? O?”

She stared at him, her eyes cold. “You may call me Miss McGinty,” she replied, pulling her hand out of his grasp. “Like everyone else.”

His brilliant smile faltered, then faded completely. Amy tittered a silly little laugh. “Ophelia’s always doing that,” she claimed. “Constantly correcting people’s grammar and such. It’s so good for the children, to have such a strict influence around them. I’m just not a good disciplinarian.” She laughed again, fluttering her thin fingers before her mouth.

Ophelia was suddenly glad that she had forced herself to clean up the kitchen before retiring, otherwise Amy would have seen the cookie cake they had made, and the dirty ice cream bowls littering the marble counter. Strict influence indeed. Still, it was what they paid her for, and she had no intention of losing her job just because she couldn’t play her part. Then again, her English accent really helped cinch the deal. Amy was just so proud to have her own personal Super Nanny living in her house. All of her ‘friends’ we so jealous.

“If you will excuse me, Missus Pritchett, I am afraid I must retire to my room. The children were quite a handful today.” She inclined her head in something that was almost a bow, then began her ascent up the stairs. Once she was safely behind her bedroom door, she sagged against the wall, suddenly more weary than before. Shaking her head to try to rid her mind of the memory of the hurt deep in his cerulean eyes, She began to undress again, this time at a more reasonable pace. Slipping under the covers of her queen-sized bed, she sighed, snuggled deeper under her duvet, and turned off the lights.

Sleep was a long time in coming. She pounded her pillow in frustration, angry at letting this stupid American get under her skin like that, after knowing him for only a few minutes. She just couldn’t forget the way he looked at her after she had corrected him like that, and the way he rubbed his palm on the leg of his jeans as if he had touched something distasteful. ‘It’s your own bloody fault,’ she told herself. ‘Now, go to sleep for Christ’s sake!’

Finally, when she did manage to drift off into slumber, she dreamed of the statue of Pan in the garden. He was capering about the flowers, when it suddenly turned into a huge stone bat and flew straight towards her. It began to yell at her in a strange language, and, when she looked in it’s face, it’s eyes were of the deepest blue.

:yahoo: Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so so sooooooo happy you posted this up, Feebus! Oh, the wonders of nice, warm showers, eh?

I'm really excited about this. [/sing-song voice]

Write more soon you insomniac, you.

Okay, so I couldn't help myself. I was planning scenes for this the entire day at school: I don't think I paid attention once. Oh well. ^_^

Chapter Two

The next morning, Ophelia awoke and padded barefoot down the stairs in her dressing gown to find Bob leaving for the airport (he was going back to his apartment by his job) and everyone else still asleep. Shrugging, she went over to the stove and put a kettle of water on a burner. Bustling around preparing tea for herself, coffee for Amy (probably Elijah as well), and getting the children’s breakfast cereals down, she once again lost herself in routine. Enjoying the feel of air-conditioned tile beneath her feet, she took her time going over to the singing kettle. Pouring herself her tea, she added milk (but no sugar) and flung open the French doors that led to the patio. She went and retrieved her lap top from where she had left it charging the night before, and settled down to check her email.

Besides the typical bubbly email from Lilliana, there really wasn’t anything that she felt like dealing with at the moment. Instead, she set her playlist setting onto “BEATLES” and began to type away furiously. She spent every morning doing this: sipping a cup of hot tea, looking out over the ocean, and writing whatever came into her head. One of her favorites songs came on, and she smiled contentedly.

I should have known better with a girl like you,
That I would love everything that you do,
And I do, hey, hey, hey, And I do!

She began to sing along, her writing forgotten.

Whoa, oh, I never realized what a kiss could be
This could only happen to me
Can't you see, can't you see…

That when I tell you that I love you, oh
You're gonna say you love me too, oh
And when I ask you to be mine
You're gonna say you love me too

Without any warning, a baritone voice joined in with hers. She suddenly stopped, snapping shut her computer, and turned around to see Elijah standing in the doorway, a small smile playing around his lips. She frowned at him, and he raised an eyebrow. Deciding to take the initiative, Ophelia carefully placed her computer on the little table beside her, picked up her mug, and walked over to the motionless figure in the doorway. He still stood there, waiting for her to do something.

She tapped her bare foot against the wood grain of the patio floor. “Mr. Wood, it is impossible for me to go through the doorway if you insist on standing right there.”

He simply smiled. Leaning in closer, he whispered in her ear, “Come now, do you really want me to move? I think you might like it if I tried to do this…” and he placed his hand on the small of her back, drawing her into his arms. Giving him an exasperated shove that pushed him back into the house (Ophelia was stronger than she looked), she walked past him and said over her shoulder, “Actually, I don’t really think I would.”

The look on his face was priceless. Ophelia didn’t think he’d ever been turned down by a woman before. Mentally shrugging to herself and giving him up as a lost cause, she went to wake the children. They had to pack, as their mother was taking them to visit their grandparents in Texas for two or three weeks, then going on to meet Bob for some charity event.

Which would leave Ophelia and Elijah at home alone. With no one else to run interference. Ophelia sighed. This was going to be a long summer.

Sorry it's kinda short, but I just wanted to get it up here to see what people would think, and to explain the title. As you might have guessed, I am a Beatles maniac. FREAKIN' LOVE THEM!!! :wub:

Song credit: BEATLES -- Should have know better

Whoa. Love it!
Ehehe, I love how cocky Elijah is, it's awesome!! And Ophelia seems like she's going to be a really brilliant lead female character :)
And buahahahah, I wonder what shall happen with Elijah and Ophelia being the only occupants of the house....

Looking forward to the next chapter ^_^

Woah!
I really liked this. Your writing is great. I was very amused by Ophelia.

You go girl! Kick him where it hurts!
:box:

^_^

Makes two of us.
I actually took a History of Rock class in college and The Beatles were dedicated to an entire week. I've been hooked ever since and I'm convinced if I grew up in the 60's I'd have been one of the biggest fan girls to ever have encountered Beatlemania!!

I'll be back to check out the next chap!!!

:hug:
~Stacy~

Chapter Three

Shepherding the children out the doorway, Ophelia knelt down and picked up a stray toy dropped by Sarah. Handing it to the little girl, she allowed the little brunette to wrap her arms around Ophelia’s neck and give her a big kiss on the cheek. She ruffled Sarah’s curls as she stepped back and allowed little Brian to toddle over to her on sturdy little legs. He copied his sister, and gave Ophelia a sloppy kiss. She just smiled and kissed the top of his head, then disentangled herself from his strong little arms to give serious little Mary a good-bye hug. Mary was such a quiet twelve year old. She was also kind of small for her age, and that served only to heighten her shyness. She whispered an “I’ll miss you!” in Ophelia’s ear, then stepped back to say goodbye to Elijah. Solemnly shaking his hand, she looked up at him from her dirty blonde fringe with wide brown eyes.

Finally the children were all set, strapped into their respective seats, and Amy came over to air-kiss Ophelia’s cheek. Ophelia hated that, but she was really in no position to say anything about it. Forcing herself to smile (for the children’s sake, of course), she managed a relatively believable “Have a nice time!” to Amy, then watched as she attacked Elijah. Actually kissing his cheek, she said something entirely stupid and obviously false, then tittered her silly little laugh again. Ophelia could see Elijah grimace as Amy kissed his other cheek, and Ophelia felt a little bubble of resentful satisfaction form inside her.

See how he likes it, having that silly woman hanging all over him all the time. Then he’ll change his cocky little tune. Humph. Serves him right. Narcissistic bastard. Ophelia had walked past him rearranging his hair at least twice, if not three times. Honestly, he was worse than Lilliana.

Waving at the little faces in the back window of the car, watching it as it speed down the street, Ophelia heaved a sigh. They were finally gone. As soon as they were out of sight, Ophelia reached up and took out the few pins holding her hair in the tight bun she always wore when the Pritchett adults were home. Allowing it to fall down her back in a curtain of blonde waves, she stretched in contentment.

She gave Elijah a small, self-satisfied smile as she walked past him, and she untucked her white blouse and began to undo the buttons as she walked up the stairs, completely oblivious to the obvious male presence in the house with her. Flinging the offending garment on her bed, she rifled through her closet and pulled out a new outfit. Stepping out of her plain wool skirt, she braided her hair in a thick cable over her left shoulder and got dressed again.

Examining her reflection in the full-length hall mirror, Ophelia decided that she liked this side of her better than her customary Victorian school-marm act. As she put on mascara, she examined her facial features. Green eyes (that often reflected more blue or even some gray, depending on what she was wearing and the weather) and a rosebud mouth gave her heart-shaped face a china doll-like look. She traced her eyes with a little eyeliner, and applied some lipgloss to her normally bare lips. Adjusting the strap of her white tank top, she swished her flowery skirt around her knees and smiled. Yes, this Ophelia was much better than the other one. She was suddenly glad that the Pritchetts would be gone for most of the summer. They were so stifling when they were around.

As she walked down the stairs, she heard Elijah moving about the kitchen. Turning to her right, she entered the living room and sauntered over to the stereo. She loved the way this skirt clung to her curves in all the right way, and fluttered as she walked. Her customary gray wool was so drab, and it made her look as interesting as a plank of wood. It was so good to wear something different for a change.

Pressing play, and cranking up the volume, she smiled as the opening chords of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen blasted through the house. She waited for a few seconds, and, sure enough, a very confused Elijah poked his head through the door and stared at the woman in front of him. He seemed taken aback by her change in appearance. He examined her from head to toe (something she always hated), and seemed at a loss for words. Ophelia smiled smugly.

“What’s up?” she asked, dropping her dictionary-like speech patterns.

He simply stared at her.

She shrugged, then walked past him into the kitchen, allowing herself to dance a little on her way past. She could feel him watching her. It was a gratifying feeling. Opening the fridge door, she rummaged through the contents, trying to find something to drink. Finding nothing that looked edible, she poked her head around the dividing wall into the living room, finding Elijah looking through the collection of records she had managed to accumulate.

“You want anything to drink?” she asked him.

He looked up, startled. “Beer would be nice, I guess.” he said. Ophelia grimaced. She hated beer. “What kind?” She might as well be polite to him, they did have to spend the entire summer alone together.

“Whatever you want.” he replied.

She sighed. “I don’t drink beer,” she said. “What kind?”

He shrugged. “Yuengling?”

“Okay.” she said, an amused smile playing about her lips at the way he was watching her like she had suddenly sprouted a second head.

She sauntered out to the garage where she kept her bicycle (she had never learned to drive, and she didn’t really need a car on this tiny island), she hopped on and pedaled down the street to the local store.

Returning with a six-pack of Yuengling dangling off one handlebar and a carton of Smirnoff Twisters on the other, she pulled into the driveway and collected her booty. Letting her bicycle fall to the ground, she made her way into the house. Dropping the beer onto the couch beside Elijah, she extracted a drink for herself and twisted off the top with practiced ease. Yet again, Elijah stared at her as if she had grown the proverbial second head. She giggled to herself as she commandeered the remote from him and pushed play.

It was the Exorcist. She grinned wickedly and plopped down on the couch, trying hard not to laugh at the expression on Elijah’s face. This was too much fun.



Chapter Four

It was a lazy summer midmorning. Alright, so it’s not quite as poetic as a lazy summer afternoon, but the fact was that it was around ten thirty am. Which most definitely made it morning. The children were away at their grandparent’s house, and Bob and Amy were off at some charity event or something or other which would keep them away from the house for the entire week, then they were returning to their parent's house to spend time with them and their children. This left Ophelia and Elijah as the only people left in the house. However, Ophelia was the only person actually awake, seeing as Elijah was too engrossed in his beauty sleep to come keep her company. Sitting at the kitchen counter, Ophelia munched away at her breakfast cereal all alone. Well, not all alone, as the phone rang shrilly right at that moment. Swallowing her indecently large mouthful of cereal, Ophelia quickly snatched the phone off the cradle.

“Hey girly!” the cheery voice at the other end of the line exclaimed.

It was Lilliana (Lilly or Lill for short), one of her closest friends. They had first been introduced over the internet by a mutual friend, Tianna Salvary. Tianna had been staying with her uncle in London, and had happened upon Ophelia at the local football (or soccer, to those silly Americans) stadium. Ophelia was dating a football/soccer player at the time, and Tianna wanted to train professionally. They had quickly set up a strong friendship. However, as is wont to happen, their lives branched rather extremely: Tianna went off to be a professional football/soccer player, and Ophelia was stuck as an au pere.

“Hey yourself,” Ophelia replied, a small smile playing about her features. She missed Lilly a lot, even though they had only met in the flesh once. They had so much in common and were frequent lurkers on online forums. “How’s life?” she asked, jumping off her stool and walking out onto the back porch.

“Alright, how ‘bout yours?”

“Alright,” Ophelia smilingly replied, stretching contentedly in the warm Barbados sunshine. “Oh! I forgot to tell you,” she continued, her expression instantly more serious. “They brought home ‘another one’ the other day.” The words ‘another one’ referred to what Ophelia and Lilliana cattily described as “narcissistic bastards”. The term could be male or female, depending on your mood.

“Is it a man?” No matter how narcissistic, Lilly couldn’t turn down eye candy.

“Yes…” Ophelia replied, knowing (and dreading the fact) that the inevitable question would soon follow.

“…Is he attractive?” Sure enough, Lilly followed through and asked it. She always asked it. Didn’t matter if he was an ass, as long as he was attractive, he could (and would) be tolerated.

Ophelia shrugged, even though she knew Lilly couldn’t see her. “Attractive enough.”

There was an exasperated silence on the other end of the phone. “That is not a sufficient reply, young lady! What does he look like? Is he nice? ‘Attractive enough’ is not an answer!”

“Jesus Christ, Lill! What the hell do you want me to say? That’s he’s drop-dead gorgeous and has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen?!” Ophelia suddenly went still, shocked at her outburst. It was so out of character.

“Well, that’s a start…” Lilly replied, her amusement obviously coloring her voice.

~~~

Usually, if Elijah heard someone on the other end of the line, he would hang up, and try again in a few minutes. Which is exactly what he would have done, until he realized they were talking about him.

“Oh! I forgot to tell you,” a young woman’s voice said. He recognized it as Ophelia’s. “They brought home ‘another one’ the other day.” Apparently, the words ‘another one’ had some sort of significant meaning for them, because he heard the other woman on the end of the line make one of those noises of comprehension.

“Is it a man?” The other woman was obviously pulling Ophelia’s leg.

“Yes…” Ophelia sounded both resigned and apprehensive at the same time. Elijah wondered how someone could do that.

“…Is he attractive?” Elijah raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t expecting that question. Although, he should have, he was listening into a conversation between two girlfriends.

“Attractive enough.” came the reply. His brows shot up to his hair line. He definitely wasn’t expecting that answer.

“That is not a sufficient reply, young lady! What does he look like? Is he nice? ‘Attractive enough’ is not an answer!” Elijah found himself agreeing with her.

“Jesus Christ, Lill! What the hell do you want me to say? That’s he’s drop-dead gorgeous and has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen?!” Elijah had to fight hard not to make some sort of noise at that pronouncement. Ophelia thought he was drop-dead gorgeous? He was amazed. He had always though she hated him!

“Well, that’s a start…” the other woman said, obviously trying hard not to laugh.

“I’ve got to go.” Ophelia quickly replied. “Love ya, babe.”

“You too hon.” said the other woman (Lill, apparently).

The sound of the receiver hitting the cradle marked the end of Elijah’s foray into the inner workings of Ophelia’s mind. Suddenly, he realized that he really wasn’t all that interested in calling whoever it was he was going to call, and sat down rather abruptly, turning the event over and over in his head.


There you go! Two whole chapters for my favorite ladies! :hug:
Hope you like them; I spent most of my free time at school planning out the whole thing. It's so much fun when I don't have to pay attention. ^_^

Hey! <_< I resent that!

Thank you, my goddess divine, for those two wonderful chapters. :bow: This will definitely be interesting now that she's.. I guess the word would be "looser", and definitely now that he "knows".

:wacko: <------ I sense this coming on. :yes:

So, yes yes. You are an odd one. Going from McGonagol to.. whatever that second part was. I'm sure Elijah's face was equivalent to: :eek:

Post more soon. If you continue with these multiple chapter things, we'll be asking for 5-chapter posts. ;)

:hug:
"Lill"

Don't worry, I won't make it a habit. ^_^
Oh, and you're narcissistic in a GOOD way. lol.
I'm way totally kidding, you aren't narcissistic at all. I just needed something to say.
:heartbeat:

:getdown: :yahoo Yay!! Two whole chapters!!! *feels spoiled*
And what awesome chapters they were!! buahahah I especially enjoyed the second one. Tsktsktsk to Elijah for listening in... he's probbaly going to be even more unbearably arrogant because of it *sighs*
I'm sensing some :heartbeat: to come. :)

Sorry it's so short, I've been writing out of sequence... ^_^

Chapter 5

Raking his fingers through his hair, Elijah made his way down the stairs to the living room, completely confused. He had come to Barbados to take a break from his normal hectic life, fraught with confusing women who (while never able to resist his charms) seemed to constantly want him to pay attention to them. His answering machine was always full of complaints from his girlfriend, Amanda, claiming that he never spent enough time with her. He was always being ‘distant’.

He had first met Amanda right after her boyfriend dumped her because he found out that she was pregnant, and the baby wasn't his. Of course, Elijah hadn't been told that. Now that she had the baby, Elijah realized that, while the little critter was sweet, she was only using it as a means to keep him tied to her. Which was part of the reason that he had decided to come to Barbados. He needed to get away from her. He finally realized that he didn't love her anymore (if he ever did), and he needed a way to break things off without making a horrible scene. He hated drama.

The fact that Ophelia seemed utterly impervious to his charms worried him. She seemed perfectly content to just tease him and give no compensation at all, not even a kiss or anything. So the fact that she thought he was ‘drop-dead gorgeous’ was very strange. Usually, when women felt that way, they would throw themselves at him, practically begging him to take them in a manly fashion. It was disconcerting to have a woman ignore him when he tried, and to have her seem to find it amusing.

He shook his head. Women were confusing.

He walked into the living room, looking around for Ophelia. Not that he cared, of course, just that he couldn’t find her, and was wondering where she might have gone. Making his way out onto the patio, he scanned the stretch of beach that the Pritchetts owned. Sure enough, there was a tiny figure of a woman running out into the waves. From this distance, it seemed almost as if she wasn’t wearing a swim suit, and Elijah felt his pulse jump strangely in his throat. Blushing furiously for thinking indecent thoughts about a woman he swore he would make miserable for treating him the way she did, he walked back inside.

Strangely, he found his feet taking him up to his room and over to his suitcase. Coincidentally, his swimming trunks were right on the top. Elijah wondered if God was having a good laugh about all this, and decided that he himself was not amused. However, this sentiment did not stop him from stripping off his jeans and stepping into his trunks. He left the T-shirt on, just because it was too much of a bother to take the stupid thing off. Grabbing a towel out of the bathroom at the end of the hall, he began to walk down to the beach.

On his way down, he grabbed a beer for himself and a Twister for Ophelia. The fact that he actually thought about bringing her a drink completely passed him by at the time. Later, however, he would wonder just what his subconscious what trying to tell him.

Why yes, he is arrogant. How did you know? :lol:

Interesting, his subconscious is. I wonder how she'll recieve it. :unsure:

Ugh. I don't really like this one...I didn't really know what to write to fill in the gaps between the sections which I've already worked on...Sorry if it sucks. :unsure:

Chapter Six

Nabbing some chopsticks off of the table, Ophelia twisted her hair into a chignon on the back of her head and jabbed the utensils in. She continued to eat her food with her fork, then looked up when she noticed Elijah staring at her.

“What?” she asked, grinning.

He shook his head. “I’ve never been able to figure out how girls can do that,” he said, sounding thoughtful. A shrug soon followed. “Whatever.”

Ophelia looked down at her plate, decided she was finished, threw down her napkin and bounded to her feet. “Come on, I have the best place to show you,” she said. She grabbed his arm, and tried to drag him out of his seat.

“What about the bill?” he asked, starting to fish out his wallet.

She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. “Lance owes me a favor.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Lance?”

She rolled her eyes. “The owner.” She turned around to look behind the counter. Sure enough, a tall, well muscled local was standing there, tallying up orders on a slip of paper before writing them in a little book at his elbow. His dark, dread locked hair hung in front of his eyes, and he was fiddling with a charm on a chain around his neck.

She strode over to the counter and tapped the table before him. He looked up, surprised. A wide grin split his dark face. “Hey you! I didn’t see you there.” He gently punched her arm.

She leaned in an affected a conspiratorial whisper. “Can we chalk this meal up to the huge list of favors you owe me? I forgot my wallet.” She grinned sheepishly.

He rolled his eyes, but continued smiling anyway. “Anything for you, Lee.” He shook his head. Looking behind her, he frowned. “Who’s that?” he asked, nodding in Elijah’s direction.

Ophelia turned around, smiled at Elijah, then turned back to Lance. “Some distant relative of the Pritchetts.” She shook her head. “He’s pretty arrogant, but there are times when he can be okay.” She shrugged, a rueful smile on her pale face. “I have to keep him amused for the entire summer.”

He laughed, the deep sound reverberating around the small restaurant. “Are you going to take him to Dead Man’s Bluff?” Dead Man’s Bluff was a place that Lance and her had lovingly named for the fact that if you didn’t watch your footing, there was an almost one hundred percent chance of falling to your death. Ophelia loved it there. The view was beautiful.

“But of course!” she said, her laughter answering his own. They stood there for a minute, Lance still fiddling with the charm around his neck, Ophelia looking dreamily off into space, until Elijah came up and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped, surprised.

“Huh?” she asked, her green eyes wide.

“Are we going to go or what?”

She smiled and rolled her eyes, then began to walk out of the restaurant. Turning back to Lance, she shouted across the room, “Are we still on for later?”

He grinned, the whites of his teeth contrasting sharply with his dark skin. “But of course!”

She countered his grin with one of her own, and headed out of the small shop.

But of course! ^_^ Enchante, mon ami. Its kinda nice seeing that she's actually a NORMAL HUMAN BEING!!!

Hem. :blush: Sorry.

Anyways, so when are these new characters being introduced? Huh? Huh? :tsk: Yeah, no pressure or anything. :)

:heartbeat:
Sammy

Later, honey. Later. Don't worry, you'll make your grand entrance at the right moment, I assure you. ^_^

Loved the chapters! Sorry I missed one :blush: school's been a little hectic lately *le sigh* But they were brilliant! I especially liked the chapter that gave us a little sneak peak into Elijah's thoughts. And indeed: what is his subconcious trying to tell him? I'll have to ponder that for a while. :shine:
I like Lance!! And I'd like to know more about him ^_^ Fab chappitys! Can't wait for more!

Alrighty, well, I can't really think of anything else for lead up, so here it is! :lol:

TWO WEEKS LATER

Chapter Seven

Ophelia stretched lazily as she leaned against the railing. The sun was just setting, and she loved to watch as the bright red orb slowly sank behind the watery horizon. Her drying hair was spread out over her shoulders, the salty breeze fanning it back from her face and arms. Her faint sunburn was still radiating heat from earlier that day, and the cool breeze felt divine against her warm skin. She was starting to get tired of dragging Elijah all around the island; she had showed him her favourite places over the past two weeks, hide-aways that she didn't really show anyone else. She didn't know why she had showed him places like the little mini-cave in the cliff face where she liked to sit and watch the gulls circling the fishing boats dotting the tranquil sea, or the gnarly oak that was perfect for climbing and napping in the upper branches. There was just something about him that made her want to tell him her secrets. Maybe it was the way that his eyes twinkled whenever he looked at her.

She heard the French doors opening, but didn't turn around to see who it was. There was only one person it could be: Elijah. She was amazed at how they had actually begun to form a friendship, something that she hadn't expected them to do. He was so arrogant when she first met him, and she had been her usual ice princess. But now, her usual frosty exterior had cracked, and he was beginning to be an actual nice guy. She hadn't expected that.

"Like sunsets, do you?" he asked, leaning his elbows on the railing beside her. He had put on a button up blue shirt overtop of his sun-crisped chest, and his habitual jeans once again covered his lower half.

She turned to look at him. He was staring out to sea, and she examined his profile in the fading light. He really was gorgeous, she thought. Of course, she wouldn't tell him that, it might inflate his ego. But she would admit that he was highly attractive. She self-consciously reached up to smooth her hair, and the motion made him look at her. He smiled, his bright blue eyes reflecting the dying light of the sun. She smiled back, the skin around her eyes crinkling with delight. He turned around to lean his back against the railing, then shot up with an exasperated sigh.

"I left the stupid doors open." He walked over to close them to keep the precious cold air inside, and Ophelia turned back to the setting sun. It had sunk considerably in the few minutes they had stood there, and it had almost completely disappeared. She heard Elijah come up behind her again, but this time, he put his hands down on the railing on either side of hers, conveniently trapping her between his arms. He leaned forward, his breath tickling the little hairs behind her ear.

"Can I ask you something?"

She nodded, trying to suppress a shiver induced by the way his torso was pressed up against her spine, and the way every time he spoke the warm breath of air ruffled her hair.

"What the hell is your problem?"

She frowned, not sure that she had heard him correctly. "Excuse me?" she asked, turning around in the circle of his arms to face him.

"You heard me: What the hell is your problem?" When she still didn't respond beyond raising her eyebrows, he sighed and elaborated. "One minute you're all Ms. I-Have-Perfect-Grammar, and I-Dress-Like-I'm-Eighty, and the next you're one of the least girly girls I know, nearly drinking me under the table, and cheering on the locals at impromptu wrestling matches." He shrugged, his face very close to hers. "I'd just like to know what the hell is going on."

For a long minute, they stood there, their faces a mere three inches or so apart. Ophelia couldn't see his face very well, as the sun was almost completely vanished, and the only light to be had was from indoors. She sighed, and crossed her arms against his chest. It was a weird feeling. "Listen," she began. "I only live with these idiots because I have no where else to go. I am paid to be someone who they want me to be, and I will be damned if I will lose my job just because I'm unable to play my part."

He looked at her, the expression in his eyes unfathomable. "How can you live like that?" he asked. "Spending your entire life pretending to be someone you're not?"

She shrugged. "Actors do it all the time. They just get paid more than I do." She glared at him, her glance belligerent. How dare he question the way she chose to live?

He continued to stare at her. A sudden gust of wind blew a strand of her sun-kissed hair across her face, and he reached up a tentative hand to brush it away, his fingers lightly brushing across her cheek. This time, she was unable to suppress the shiver that ran down her spine, and she involuntarily leaned into his touch.

She licked her lips (not because she was trying to be sexy, they were dry! Honest!), and he leaned forward half an inch, and then the phone rang. Elijah jerked back in surprise, and the moment was lost. As he apologetically went to answer, Ophelia went and turned on the white Christmas lights that the Pritchetts leave on their porch all-year-round. Making her way back to the railing, she hitched her backside up on the little bit where the two sections formed a V, where there was much more support, and leaned her head back. Staring up at the stars that were just starting to come out, she could hear Elijah talking to someone who sounded like Amy, to judge from his responses. With a resigned shake of her head, she sighed. No matter what she had told him, she was not perfectly content with her role. She searched the skies, wishing that her life was as easy at it seemed to be. It is a blessing as well as a curse, she thought, to spend your life pretending to be someone else. It's intoxicating. Child actors often say so years later, as adults. You are what the crowd demands, you need to be everything they want you to be, to reach them somehow. You spend so much of your life becoming a thousand other people with dreams, and passions, and vices, and gestures all their own, that those dark nights, alone in empty studio apartments, become desperate struggles to remember who you are; struggles not to lose yourself...She had played the part of whatever people had wanted her to be, ever since she was a little child. She was the progeny for her parents; the quiet, solicitous girl-scout-type for her grandmother, the Victorian school-marm for her employers. It was exhausting. Sometimes, especially at times like these, she didn't even know is this person was who she was. Was she really that devil-may-care wild child who stood at the edge of cliffs, relishing the knowledge that one misplaced step would send her hurtling to her death? Was she really the one-of-the-guys girl who was able to down drinks with the best of them and cheer on half-naked men trying to beat each other senseless? Was she really the carefree, bubbly, flower-power girl who dragged others into fields, only to collapse in the flowers and lie on her back, finding pictures in the clouds?

Feeling suddenly weary, she jumped down and headed inside. Waving and mouthing "Goodnight," to Elijah, she ignored his curious glance, and made her way up to her room.

:anger: The phone rang!?!? WHY!!?? Why would it do that!! They were about to kiss!!!!!!!!! *dies* :faint:

Seems all is not boding well with Ophelia. I bet Elijah can help her figure out who she is :tsk: ehehehe

Loved the chapitre!! ^_^ Keep up the fab fabity fab work!

I know exactly what Ophelia means. -_- Ugh. Why can't we just get a little handbook about us, telling our personality and all that? <_< It sucks.

And OMG THE PHONE!!!! :bat: I KEEL you!!! Gooood, the moment! :wacko:

*sigh* But I suppose the tension will just rise too high for them to ignore, huh? :lol: I just luff that, don't you?

Post more soon, babe. I was glad to see this one up. It's sooner than I expected, but hey! I got a chapter. :yes:

:x
Samma

Sorry its taken so long! But I'm here and I'm loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooving it! and I'll let you love the beatles if you let me love Elvis Presley lol.

I can't wait for more! You know, the phone call thing is so cliche, but you did it so great I forgot how cliche it was! lol. so much angsty love/hate stuff! I love!

And ooooooooooooooooh since I signed up to be in this, could I perchance be Lance's girlfriend? I can't resist sexy dark men....*drools, dies and shimmies*

:heartbeat: Pat

haha...Sure. Just PM me your info. I was looking for a girl for him anyways. ^_^

hehe...I know, I just couldn't help it... :lol:

Oh, I'm sure he will! ;-) Haha. :shine:

Right, sorry this took so long, but I've been going through some problems lately.

Chapter 8

Ophelia woke up, feeling especially groggy. Walking over to the bathroom, she examined her face in the mirror, noting the bruise-colored circles under her eyes and the downward curve of her mouth. As she brushed her teeth, she tried to fix that, but just ended up looking like she had swallowed something extremely distasteful. She started to walk down the stairs, then paused, feeling confused. She could swear she could smell something like...pancakes? Who was here to make pancakes? It couldn't be Elijah, she had passed his room on her way to brush her teeth.

Continuing her journey down the stairs, she turned to her left and stopped dead in her tracks.

Standing at the stove, with her back to Ophelia, was a tallish young woman with flaming red hair pulled out of her face in a messy bun on the back of her head. She was wearing a pair of heavily worn-in men's jeans and a vintage Rolling Stones T-shirt backwards. A silver arm-band circled the flesh of her left bicep, and matching bangles jingled on her wrists whenever she moved. She did a little dance as she flipped the golden circles of happiness from one side of the griddle to the other, and Ophelia suddenly found her voice.

"Oh my God! Lilly!" she screeched, flinging herself at her best friend.

Lilly turned around just in time to catch Ophelia as she hurtled towards her. Wrapping her arms around the smaller woman, she lifted Ophelia off her feet and spun her around in a circle. “Oh my God!” she echoed, and the two girls dissolved into giggles. They continued hug and dance around the kitchen, until Lilliana suddenly dove for the stove. She quickly flipped the pancakes, and, sure enough, she had caught them just before they burnt. Ophelia laughed.

“Darlin’, you’re incredible.” she said, leaning her head on Lilly’s shoulder.

“I tell her that every day, but she never listens to me,” a deep voice said from behind them, and they both jumped like guilty school children. Lilly smiled, and the unknown entity smiled back, showing straight white teeth and cute little dimples.

“Pheelia, this is my boyfriend George.” George snaked his arm around Lilly’s waist and gave her a kiss on her nose. She grinned and ruffled his curly brown hair.

“Ahem! Let’s talk about me, here, okay?” Ophelia said, grinning at her friend and her love interest.

Lilly and George laughed. Lilly turned back to her pancakes, and flipped the last batch onto the plate on which she had them piled. “Right, that’s it. If you want to go wake up your house guest, we can eat.”

Ophelia caught the little wink Lilly gave George, and glared at her. “There is absolutely nothing going on between Elijah and me, thankyouverymuch, young lady.” She flung her hair over her shoulder and stomped off, pretending to be angry. Lilliana’s laughter followed her up the stairs.

Ophelia stopped and stood in the doorway of Elijah’s room. He hadn’t moved since she had last been by, and he looked strangely vulnerable, lying sprawled out, somehow managing to take up the entirety of the queen-sized bed he had been given, the sheet twisted around his waist, one arm flung out with the fingers curled. Ophelia smiled. He had looked so much like the children did when they slept. She crept closer to the bed and examined his sleeping face. His brown hair was tousled by his sleep and stuck up funny in the back. The pale skin on his face had darkened slightly with his constant exposure to the Caribbean sun, and his lashes lay like dark fans across his cheeks. His mouth was curved in a small smile. Ophelia felt herself getting weird butterfly-ish feeling in her stomach, and backed away suddenly. She walked over to the window.

"Good morning!" she chirped as she ripped back the curtains.

He groaned and rolled over, trying to block out the sunlight by pulling his covers over his head.

"Oh, no you don't!" Ophelia said, jumping on the bed beside him and grabbing the top of the sheet with both hands. "I'm going to take this off on three. Ready?" She shifted to get a better grip on the slippery cotton. "Three!" With a tremendous heave, she managed to yank the sheet out of Elijah's protesting hands. He quickly dove to retrieve it, and, somehow, in the tussle, she ended up sprawling over his bare chest, her face mere inches from his.

There was an awkward silence, then she laughed. "We're going to visit some of my friends today!" she said, sitting up beside him. She pushed her curtain of blond hair out of her eyes, and looked at him squinting up at her.

"You don't play fair," he complained, his voice gravely from sleep. "I wasn't ready for that."

She laughed again. "That was the point, stupid!" She clambered off the bed. "Breakfast is already prepared, I'd like to leave in forty-five minutes, so get your ass out of bed."

He sat up, the sheets tangled around his waist. "What? Where are we going?"

The only answer he got was a small wave as she sauntered out of his room.

Sorry it's short and kinda weird, but whatever. Let's see what y'all think! ^_^

Awwww... that was so cute... comeon Me likesed it!!!
And woohoo for Lilly showing up ^_^ now things are really starting up *yay*
Not to mention a total heartattack when Ophy landed on Elijah's... bare chest!! omg! It was a near death-to-the-reader moment. *sigh* But they're still in denial about their feelings :doh:

That sucks that you've been going through some problems... I hope they've worked themselves out! ^_^ :crown: <---- there's a cool crown to make you feel better!! (it was either that or a donut, or some dice... but I thought the crown was pretty cool because now you can like... rule stuff... yeah...)

Haha! Just because I'm taller than you by like, what?, three inches maybe. :P

:huh: You make me seem so ..cool and ..punky. Awesome! :laugh:

OMG. I love that! "Golden circles of happiness." That's going in the books, babe. I swear! :bow:

Pssh. You know that never would have happened. What's a couple of burnt pancakes to hugging you?!

Teehee. The DIMPLES!!! Ahhh! :cloud#9:

Beautiful. Yeah, seriously. Guys shall not be reason to ignore friends, m'lady.

Right. And you actually want me to believe that, Mme.?

.. I don't think so. Seriously. As if I didn't catch the four words you strung together out of anger, not to mention you actually ended with 'young lady'? I'm OLDER THAN YOU!!! Hey. 3 days is a lot. Humph. <_<

Sorry, yes, long quote. But I couldn't help it. And, besides, I'm already quoting the whole damn thing. :lalala: But anyways, I really liked this imagery. The dark fans of eyelashes. The darker (for him at least lol) skin. The child-like vulnerablility. And then the next paragraph with her bugging him. :lmao:

I swear to God Almighty if you were do this to me, there will be Hell to pay. :noangel:

Totally not fair. You didn't even count!!

Karma.

Um, genius. You were suh-leeping!

Are you trying to be mysterious or something? :hug:


Yay! Fee feels important!!! I need an emotion/adjective that starts, or has 'fee' in it. That would be the coolest tongue-twister:

Fee feels [insertcoolemotionhere]. Haha.

:flush:

:heartbeat: :love: OMG I LOVE YOU!!! :love: :heartbeat:


And so what if you're older than me be three days? I say "young lady" (or man) to my brother's friends, and they're all in college... You're just jealous because you didn't think of it first. :hug:

You need to :mobile: me!!! (and PM me your adress, phone, etc. I've lost it. Oops. :blush: )

And yes, you DID quote the entire thing. Freeeeeeeaaaak... Haha. Just kidding, I love you. In case you hadn't gotten it yet. *points up to top of post*

:heartbeat:
-Feebs

Hey. You said YOU wanted to feel important. And you think I'm a freak? Pssh. -_- You are a sad, sad lady.

*gasp* :eek:

I am offended! Humph! :insertoffendedemoticonhere: Goodness gracious me. Honestly.

After all that I've done for you. Gosh.

I know, I know, I can't really think of any examples either, but that's not the point! The point is that you're a FUH-REAK!!! No matter what you say about me. Goodness.

:wub:

Meh! I wanna know what happens!!!!

Hi by the way! I am ur new devoted fan! lol! i love this story! its been keepin me on the egde of my seat for the past hour! (i just read it all now!)

Please please please post more of ur gr8 story when you can!

Piper
xxxx