I'll be there // Lisa Peterson x reader

04 ♪ This is NOT something you ask strangers to do

The end might've gotten a bit too corny my bad

You woke up to the sound of a kid crying, a sound possibly worse than the sound of your alarm waking you up for school after a long holiday. What was the time? You groan, reaching for your now fully charged phone, the bright light making you squint, 11.13. 11 AM already?

You think back to last night as you get ready. Had Alex been waiting for you outside? When did she arrive? Was she even there? Did she dump you off at the next best stop to not have to deal with you anymore? But she did say she'd ride you over? You hadn't known her long enough to really know her personality, but then again she didn't strike you as someone who'd dip at the first and best moment.

You pull out some clothes, not your favorite pieces of clothing that you packed, but good enough to not be shamed by your near family or friends had they seen it. You sat on your bed, cross-legged, checking your messages from last night before you lost service and eventually battery. The friend group had continued their conversation, not verbally acknowledging your sudden disappearance from the conversation. Putting your phone down, you pack the little stuff you had unpacked back into the bag and zipping it up, ready for a fast departure.  

Opening the door, you were thankful for the slight shade the roof's overhang gave you to the sharp sunlight. The course that had been sat up yesterday ready for cavaletti had now riders on it, all kids in various ages huddled around a screaming figure hidden in somewhere in the mass of children. 

"Good morning! Slept well?" A voice suddenly spoke beside you. "Jesus! Have you ever learnt not to sneak up on people?" Your voice pitched up half an octave, making you internally cringe at the sound. "Sorry, guess you didn't hear me coming." The strange guy next to you said. His hair was black and teased some small curls if only the hair had been longer, despite it being summer he still stood in a blue turtleneck and a brown vest.

"I'm Justin." He introduced, giving you a slightly askew smile, "You met my dad last night." "Oh." Is all you could say. "Sorry, I saw you come out so I thought I'd give you a welcome." "I'm gonna leave right now so.." Justin furrowed his brows ever so slightly, "Alex hasn't arrived yet, so you're good for a tour?" Great. "I guess" You mumble.

The tour could barely even start before a blonde girl in a pink jacket came over, smiling at Justin whilst also simultaneously sending you daggers with her eyes. "Justin! How are you doing?" She combed fingers loosely through her hair. "Hi Loretta, I'm good, just showing Y/N around the stables." He scratched his stubble. Loretta looked me up and down, "she one of the summer camp girls? Where's her horse?" She gasped before whispering loudly enough for anyone within a 3 meter radius could hear her, "She wasn't the one that fell off her horse was she? Poor you." She gave you a pitiful frown, moving to place a hand on your shoulder that you effectively dodge, "Out of the two of us I'm not the one who needs help staying on a horse."  Loretta scoffs, turning the conversation back onto Justin, giving you an effective opportunity to get away. 

"Y/N! Hey!" Thomas calls out. You give a small, straight-lipped smile. "Slept well?" He asks once you get close enough, you nod. "How much for the night?" You ask, hoping to slip back into your room and stay there until Alex comes and saves you from the busy hell that is Moorland Stables during the high season. "15" He says, gracefully accepting the money you handed him. "Do you know when Alex is gonna get here?" You ask, looking around for either her or her discernible horse. "No idea." He says, taking off his green newsboy hat and running a hand through whatever little hair was on his head, "She probably got caught up in something along the way, I'm sure she's right around the corner." You let out a low hum as a reply.

Thomas glanced around, "Could I ask a favour of you? Since you don't really have anything to do right now?" Great, is he gonna have you muck out his stables? "Can't one of the summer camp girls do it?" You ask, crossing your arms. "It's.. a bit unorthodox and I need someone who hasn't been written down to be here to do it." He scratches his chin. "... what is it?" You hesitated. "I own this stable, right?" He starts, leaning forward. "Uh-uh?" You lean back slightly. "Well the thing is I can't find my deed to the land, it's somewhere in my office, which isn't the cleanest place, and that's fine, but now there's a guy, Mr. Kembell, you might've seen his billboard up on the hill, anyways the guy kind of very much wants to build condos here but since he doesn't own the land he can't, and it would've been the end of the story right there if only I actually had my own deed which I swear was-" He rambled. "What do I need to do?" You interrupt him, just wanting him to speak less words per minute. "Turn off his GPS trackers placed between here and his building site. Please? I'll owe you big time if you do." 

"..." You blink a couple of times, digesting all the information, "This isn't the type of thing you ask strangers to do." He gives you a half smile, "What can I say? I'm on my last limb here." You'd never seen a man so desperate before, you were sure if you didn't reply in the next couple seconds he'd be getting on his knees. "What's in it for me?" You ask, clearly not up for doing something heavily illegal to fix a guy's problems. "The joy of saving a family driven stable?" He bargains.

Family driven stable. A business run by father and son, perhaps a mother too? How many generations had it been here? A part of their life? Their legacy was this place, the happy close family would be shook out of the dirt and cut off from its roots. The stress of money, relocation, and forced uprooting would without a doubt creating a tense bond between the once close family sooner rather than later. Justin, who couldn't be much older than you, he'd loose his dad to paperwork. Thomas, he'd try to connect with his son but it just couldn't work, it would never work. The once close family would drift apart, losing each other to stupid holiday condos.

"Sure, I guess." 

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