❗TW: Attempted Sexual Assault❗
Music had been the very foundation that Penelope and Colin's friendship was built on. When they met, it was at a college party, Penelope's first college party that her friend Eloise invited her to. They weren't technically supposed to be there considering they were only seventeen, and they definitely weren't supposed to be drinking. But saying no never stopped Eloise, and Penelope never learned how to say no, so she went along with it, expecting to crawl away to a corner and hide for most of the night. That was the plan.
Two drinks in, she found herself actually letting loose and having fun, a rare occasion judging by the home she grew up in. She even met Daphne and Benedict, Eloise's older brother and sister, and hit it off. It was turning out to be one of the best times she'd had in a while.
It all came to a turning point when Reggie Fife, an apparent classmate of Daphne and Benedict, started chatting Penelope up and dragged her away so he could 'get to know her better'. Eloise and the others were too sloshed to notice, and as I said, Penelope was not good at saying no. Not that it justifies the events. So, she went, and as they entered the dark abandoned bedroom, she regretted it instantly.
"I um...I think I should go find my friend," Penelope mumbled, attempting to pull herself from his grip, quite poorly since she was new to drinking and a lightweight.
Reggie didn't let go, merely moved his hands and began massaging her arms, her shoulders, then her neck. "Your friend is fine, sweetheart. Just relax."
"No, I want to go back," she slurred, quickly panicking as she realized this was not at all what she wanted, where she wanted to be, or who she wanted to be with. "Please, let go," Penelope begged when he only drew closer to her, his hot, beer soaked breath on her neck.
"I thought fat girls were supposed to be easy," he purred in her ear, squeezing her hips almost painfully.
As if a miracle was sent from the heavens, the door was thrown open and a dark haired man, who sort of resembled Eloise and her siblings, came stumbling in.
"Whoops, my bad!" He said with a belly laugh, then stopped when he took in the scene in front of him. "Hey, are you okay?" The man asked Penelope, who could feel the tears welling in her eyes.
Reggie gripped her tighter, silencing her thoughts and movements. "Bridgerton, get the hell out!" Reggie yelled. "Can't you see we're trying to have a good time here?"
Penelope winced when his hand moved lower. She barely registered in her head that Reggie called the man Bridgerton, which meant he was one of Eloise's siblings. What a great first impression.
Eloise's brother frowned, and Penelope gasped at how intimidating and out of place it looked on his face. "She doesn't seem like she's having a good time, Fife. She hardly looks eighteen. How old are you?"
"I'm seventeen," Penelope barely managed before Reggie yanked her back towards him.
"Mind your business, Bridgerton," he snapped.
The Bridgerton's face darkened and he loomed over them. Unlike with Reggie, it made Penelope feel protected. "Let the girl go, Fife. Now," he demanded.
Reluctantly, and to Penelope's relief, he did. "Whatever," Reggie scoffed. "She's a fuckin' prude anyway," he spat before storming past them back to the party.
Penelope immediately wrapped her arms around herself, hoping that the man in front of her would leave so she could cry in peace. She still had some dignity. "Thanks," she whispered, not trusting herself to say anything else.
"Don't thank me. I'm glad I got here when I did. Stay away from Fife and his friends, okay?" Penelope nodded, staring at the floor. "What's your name?"
"Penelope Featherington."
"Ah, you're El's friend. Well, this is definitely not how I wanted to meet you," he said with an uncomfortable laugh.
"Yeah, no shit," she blurted, clearly still intoxicated. She slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry."
The man grinned at her. It was then she realized that he was incredibly handsome, unfairly attractive just like the rest of his family. "I'm Colin."
"I'm gonna go find Eloise to take me home. Bye, Colin."
"Yeah, good luck with that," Colin said, scratching at his neck. She snapped her head to him. "She was totally sloshed. Ben took her and Daphne back already." Tears welled in her eyes again. She'd have to ask her mother, or one of her sisters, and she really didn't want to have to deal with that particular phone call. "I can take you," he offered. "I only had a couple beers and that was like two hours ago."
"Okay," she agreed, probably too quickly, but she felt like she could trust him. If he was related to Eloise, he had to be good.
Colin smiled, then took her hand carefully so as not to frighten her. "Don't leave my side," he whispered before pulling them through the crowd of drunk people. When they finally reached his car and climbed in, she felt like she could breathe again. "Are you okay, Pen?" He asked, the new nickname comforting her.
She nodded. "I am now. Thank you, really. This means a lot."
"Any friend of El's is a friend of mine," he said cheerily before starting the car.
The silence was almost unbearable. The drive to her house was at least fifteen minutes, and that was without traffic. She was stuck replaying the events of the night in her head, terrified at the thought of what might have happened had Colin not been there. When she went over the moment a fifth time, she asked suddenly, "Can we play some music?"
Colin looked slightly startled at her outburst, then flashed her that gorgeous smile. "Sure. Wanna pick?"
She shook her head. "You can." After scrolling through his playlist, he found a song, and Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran started to play. "I love this song," she and Colin said at the same time. They both laughed and Penelope blushed. "Do you ever wonder if you'll find something like that?" She asked, allowing the soft timbre of the singer's voice to wash over her.
"My parents did. Their love was like the stuff out of a romance novel. I've always wanted to find somebody to share that sort of relationship with," he confessed.
Penelope nodded along, wondering what it was like to be a Bridgerton. She bet it was magical. "Me too," she admitted. They listened to the rest of the song, humming and singing along to the lyrics until they got to her house.
"I'll see you around, Pen," he said, walking her to her door to make sure she got back safely.
A tense cloud of emotion hung above them, but she didn't dare name it. It was stupid to think that something could happen between them. Men like Colin Bridgerton didn't fall in love with girls like Penelope Featherington. They didn't.
"See you around, Colin."
Years later, when she asked him, Colin explained that for him, their love was slow, almost painfully so. Like holding his hand above a flame and watching as his skin melted to bone. It was like being awakened by the sun on his face when he had been searching for thunderbolts in the rain. She swore in that moment, she fell for him all over again.
It was six years after that fateful night, and that same song played at Colin and Penelope's wedding. The two danced together for what seemed like the thousandth time since they'd known each other, but this one was undoubtedly different. Colin brushed away a stray curl from his wife's cheek and sang along to the words, hoping they conveyed the gratitude he felt for having stumbled into her life.
Take me into your loving arms
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars
Oh darling, place your head on my beating heart
I'm thinking out loud
That maybe we found love right where we are
