25 Days with Mister Arrogant

Things That Go 'Bump' In The Night

Author's Chapter Notes:

don't forget to vote in the TH fiction awards.. this is up for three categories: best het, best characterization, and most original. VOOOOOOOTE! (enjoy the chapter and merry xmas/happy holidays.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


My date should have been wonderful.

Nate picked me up in his modest car – even jumped out of the driver’s seat to quickly open my door for me. He bashfully smiled down at me while I slid into the car’s comforting warmth and it was so gentlemanly, so genuine, that I nearly had no idea how to react. I laughed and murmured a quiet ‘thank you’ while he closed the door and hopped back into his own side.

The car ride wasn’t uncomfortable. It wasn’t awkward or tense – it wasn’t anything, really. A relatively short trip into the bustling downtown area filled with relaxed small talk and light laughter between the two of us.
He opened my door for me again when we arrived to the restaurant and held his arm out to me, inviting me to slide my own through his as we walked into the quaint Italian bistro we’d agreed on. The wool of his deep grey pea coat provided some sense of security as we walked in-step together towards the glowing front doors. The security of his arm was foreign to me – I hadn’t felt at ease with another male in years. Not with Cole, even in our short relationship and certainly not with Tom.

The air of the restaurant was wafting aromas of rich foods around us and carried the quiet sounds of intimate conversations of other diners and the soft tinkling of glassware as people enjoyed their meals. It was a lovely change to be given the opportunity to eat at such an establishment – especially when I’d been used to living off of generic corn flakes and cups of instant noodles. And especially because the last time I’d been in a restaurant, although much more affluent, I’d been served a small serving of chilled fruit.

The realization that my date wasn’t a wonderful event was brought upon the memory of the fruit cup. The memory of Tom, more so. Because as we sat at our table, ordering a generous appetizer of breadsticks and stuffed portabella mushrooms, the thought of Tom – his voice, his face, the way his mouth curled when he was smirking at me or the scent of cigarette smoke in his clothes and cinnamon on his breath – everything about him was distracting me from the wonderfully kind young man situated before me.

Nate ordered a plate of fettuccini with a side of garlic bread. And although I laughed and commented on how delicious it looked or how I was going to sneak a little bite when he wasn’t looking, the thought that his dish looked so similar to Tom’s that fateful first meal we had together was running through my mind wildly. And when my eyes fell to his hands, which would reach for another breadstick or grasp his fork as he twirled the noodles around the ends, Tom’s hands came into my mind. Tom’s hands were much longer, stronger looking and stronger feeling than Nate’s. I knew the feeling, especially after the circumstances hours prior to the date when his hands had gripped my arms. When his lips, much fuller than Nate’s and decorated with a gleaming black bar, had crushed themselves against mine in a desperate, violent kiss.

I was sure that I was losing my mind.

I felt awful as we left the restaurant. It had been a wonderful dinner, with easy conversations floating between the two of us and little flirtatious jokes appearing at appropriate times. Nate looked handsome in his fitted sweater and jeans, but the entire time the thought of Tom’s body swallowed in the grotesquely large t-shirts and hoodies and jeans flashed through my mind.
The entire time it was Tom on my mind, not Nate. And I felt absolutely despicable for being such a terrible person. I allowed this nice boy who genuinely took interest in me and paid for a lovely dinner to take me out – yet the entire time, another person, a much crueler, callous boy was burned into my thoughts.

Nate walked me to my doorstep. He smiled at me as we stopped together, and I wasn’t sure if it was the biting cold air that tinted his cheeks a light pink color or the timid nature he exhibited. It was cute, almost, and I felt for the first time nervous.

“So – “ he paused, laughing awkwardly under his breath and ducking his head down. “I had, um – fun, with you. Tonight.”

“I had fun, too,” I replied in a shaky breath, the cold air whipping at my exposed face. It wasn’t a complete lie, at least. I looked up and smiled at him, his green eyes glimmering as they locked on mine. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he teased, nudging me playfully. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”

“Why wouldn’t I come?”

He sighed, shrugging his shoulders and pushing his hands deeper into the pockets of his jacket. “I don’t know,” he inhaled sharply, looking back at the quiet streets below. “You’re just – different. I don’t know.”

I chewed my lower lip, anxiety flooding me. “I’m different - ?”

He seemed to notice the hesitation and uneasiness in my voice and immediately withdrew a hand from his pocket, pressing it reassuringly to my arm. “No! Not like – not like that, it’s – “ he sighed, struggling over his words. “It’s a good thing. You’re different in a good way.”

I laughed quietly, looking down at the ground and shifting from one foot to the other. “I wasn’t aware there was a difference."

Nate sighed heavily, his hand still on my arm. “You’re not like other girls, Anna. That’s what I meant.”

“Oh, I know I’m not,” I laughed almost sarcastically under my breath, biting my lower lip gently. “I walk around half the time looking like a homeless girl, I know I’m not – “

He cut me off by swiftly ducking his head down and pressing his lips against mine in the softest of kisses. I tensed up for a moment but slowly relaxed after a few tentative moments, slowly but surely responding to the gentle movements of his lips. He smiled against my mouth and brought both arms up to wrap around me, bringing me forward into his body. It was nice, I admitted to myself. His mouth was warm and soft and tasted pleasant and his arms were comforting around my chilly body.

But his kiss wasn’t Tom’s.

Tom’s was passionate, rough, insistent. Tom’s mouth almost burned mine and his tongue had stroked against mine in a desperate manner. And while Nate’s lips felt nice – I couldn’t help but notice the absence of the pressure of a piercing pressed into my lower lip with each movement.

The kiss ended after a few moments, thankfully, breaking me of my thoughts of Tom’s kiss earlier in the evening. Nate pulled back, a smile decorating his lips, and looked me in the eye.

“You’re an amazing girl,” he murmured, his voice slightly thick and his lips tinged a rosy color. “I’m a lucky guy.”

I stared back into his eyes, a slow smile appearing my own mouth. It felt so nice to be whispered these sweet nothings, and I welcomed the newness to the situation. “I’m a lucky girl,” I echoed quietly, my cheeks flushing.

He brought a gloved hand up to my cheek, stroking the flesh there gently. “I hope I’ll get to see you again soon.”

I covered his hand with my own, leaning slightly into the comforting pressure. “You will.”

He leaned forward and pressed one last whisper-soft kiss to my lips before retreating down the cold steps and to his car. I inhaled shakily as he drove off with a wave of his hand, curling my arms around my body to shield it from the bitterly cold winds.

I missed Tom.

My eyes fluttered closed and I swallowed thickly.

I really was losing my mind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was relatively late when I walked into the apartment, later than I’d anticipated, and the quietness of the apartment was something welcomed. I yawned as I locked the door behind me, dropping my purse onto the table near the door and tossing my keys next to it. I shrugged off my jacket, taking slow strides through the apartment and draping it over the back of a kitchen chair.

“Oh.”

My head jerked up at the sound of a female voice and I frowned. Taking a couple of hesitant steps forward, I listened intently to hear the noise again, and stopped when it floated through the air into my ears once more.

“Oh, yes.”

My eyebrows furrowed. It was definitely female – definitely Paige; but why was she home? She was going over to her ex Lukas’ apartment to stay the night after Tom the ‘foreign fucker’ had rejected her – so why was she here?

I cleared my throat, standing only a few feet away from her door.

“Paige?” I called out, cocking my head to listen for a response.

It was silent for a moment until a few breathy moans filled my ears. The sound of the mattress squeaking followed and my eyes squeezed shut.

“Jesus,” I whispered to myself, bringing both hands up to cup my ears as I walked into my bedroom. “Perfect, just perfect, Paige,” I murmured to myself, closing the door behind me with the kick of my foot.

I collapsed onto my bed, letting my eyes remain closed for a moment. I was annoyed that she’d brought Lukas home here – I couldn’t stand the tool as it was, but the fact that she’d dragged him over into our apartment to play doctor with all night was disgusting to me.

“Fuck, right there – yes, yes, yes.”

Her voice was muffled but held a certain clarity even through our wall that brought a cringe to my face. I reached over my body for my pillow, dragging it over my face and pressing it there in a desperate attempt to drown out her little sounds of pleasure.

His voice followed. It wasn’t nearly as distinguishable as Paige’s, but his groans and moans were still fairly audible and only became louder as the moments passed. And then the sound of the bed creaking came. It was something I’d heard quite a few times – Paige had brought home her fair share of partners to share her bed with in the night, but it had been so long that the memories nearly escaped my memory. It was a horrid sound, the thumping and bumping and squeaking, all on top of the moans and groans and screams and repulsive dirty talk.

“I can’t believe this,” I breathed into the soft fabric of my pillowcase, exhaling slowly. And I couldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t sleep that night, that was certain. But after the way she’d spoken to me earlier in the day, how the hell did she come off bringing her little jackass ex-boyfriend to our place to roll around with and keep me sleepless all night?

“God, harder – “

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

“Fuck, fuck, yes, fuck – “

Bump, bump, bump.

“Oh – oh!”

Thump, thump, thump.

I groaned deeper into my pillow before pulling it off my face and chucking it beside me. Sitting up slowly, I sighed, my eyes immediately searching for my music player. It had come to that. I would have to plug my headphones in for the remainder of the night just to get a couple of hours of sleep. As I stood up, my eyes lighting up at the sight of the music player lying on my desk, the noises stopped. I cocked my head up, looking towards the wall that I shared with Paige, and listened attentively for any further indications that Paige was being thoroughly ravished. A minute passed – silence.

I sighed in relief, leaning against my wall. “Thank you, God.”

I swallowed hard, my throat dry, and decided that a glass of water was necessary. Pulling my hair into a messy ponytail, I yanked on a zip-up hoodie and moved towards my door, opening it with a slow creak and shutting it behind me. I took slow, careful strides to the kitchen, retrieving a clean glass from the cupboard and running the faucet for a few moments. The sound of Paige’s bedroom door opening echoed behind me and I didn’t bother turning around. The following sound of footsteps padding against the hardwood floor didn’t grab my attention, either.

“Anna?”

Paige’s voice floated through the air and I lifted my head just a millimeter, indicating I was listening.

“Did you just get in?” she asked quietly.

I nodded, dipping my glass under the stream of cold water and filling it half-way. I turned the faucet off, turning around to lean against the counter casually and took a deep drink from the glass. And there she was, miss princess in all of her glory. She was standing in her usual classy fashion, her powder pink sheet wrapped around her tan frame tightly and her blonde hair tousled about her shoulders.

“Where were you?”

I licked at my lips, taking another small sip. “On a date.”

Her eyes widened slightly, the outer edges of them smudged with dark makeup. “A date? With who?”

“You don’t know him.”

A slow smile erupted across her full, pink lips and her eyes gleamed in approval. “I can’t believe this,” she grinned, baring rows of bleach-white teeth. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone! When did this happen?”

“Just recently,” I shrugged.

She shifted between her feet, reaching up to re-tuck the corners of her sheet into a tighter fit. “I knew that person you were going to do projects with was more than a friend,” she wriggled her eyebrows. “You sly little cat, Anna.”

“It’s nothing, really,” I sighed, setting my glass down beside me. “I thought you were going to his place tonight.”

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it immediately, looking down and laughing under her breath. “Oh,” she cleared her throat gently. “Yeah, um – my plans changed. I hope we weren’t too loud.”

I swallowed, my gaze cool on hers. “Not at all.”

“I am so excited to tell you about this,” she took a step forward, her face beaming ecstatically and her voice hushed much quieter than moments ago. “The most incredible thing happened tonight – “

“Look, if you’re back with Lukas, I don’t want to hear it,” I interrupted wryly, bringing a hand up to rub at my temple. “You know how I feel about him.”

“No!” she shook her head immediately, shaking some blonde curls around her shoulders and taking another step forward. “No, it’s not that, it’s – “

She didn’t have to answer.

The sound of her door reopening broke her sentence and we both turned our attentions on the door, where Lukas would be presumably emerging, more than likely wearing nothing but a pair of his disgustingly tight boxer briefs and having a cocky grin plastered on his tanned face.

But he never appeared.

My eyes trailed up from the bare feet and the long legs covered in light hair, up to the silky dark boxers and toned torso and the familiar lean arms, lightly muscled and covered in the same light hair. My eyes continued their journey up to his face and – and it wasn’t Lukas.

Because Lukas didn’t have black cornrows. Lukas didn’t have dark eyebrows and cold brown eyes and he certainly did not have a bar pierced through the fleshy portion of his lower lip.

My mouth gaped as my eyes locked on the brown gaze across the room.

No…

“Anna,” Paige spoke up with a slight smile. “You remember Tom?”

I couldn’t move.

I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t move.

The realization that Tom was standing half-naked in my living room after emerging out of Paige’s bedroom hit me terribly. And then Paige’s voice echoed through my mind, her moans and groans and the sound of her bed ramming into her wall repeating through my head over and over and over again.

Tom fucked Paige.

My mouth gaped and I struggled to find words but I felt as if I were going to vomit and I needed to get the fuck out of there. Paige took a step forward, a frown etched onto her mouth.

“Anna? You okay?”

“I – “ the room was spinning and I couldn’t meet his gaze. I stumbled over my feet, reaching almost blindly for my jacket and pulling it on with frenzied, shaky movements. “I need – I need … I don’t – “

I wasn’t making sense. I didn’t care. I didn’t to get out of there. Stumbling over my feet again, I reached for my keys, my vision blurred and my chest feeling as if it were ripping in half and falling onto the floor below me.

“Where are you going?” her voice floated through the air.

I looked up, my eyes burning. I needed to escape. My eyes fell to Paige, who stood motionless, confusion written on her features, and then to Tom, who’s dark, cold gaze challenged mine. I ripped my eyes from his and shook my head, fumbling with my keys.

“I have – I have to… I have to go.”

And I shut the door behind me without another word. My legs carried me down the steps onto the street quicker than I’d ever expected, and I don’t know how long it took and I know my body was numb from the cold and from the realization that Tom had slept with Paige while I was in the room next door but I didn’t care. I kept walking.
I made it to Tom’s hotel within half an hour and immediately went for Bill’s room, knocking rapidly on the door. After a few moments, the sounds of footsteps were heard on the other side of the heavy oak door and the sound of the lock turning met my ears. He opened the door slowly, yawning and staring in confusion down into my face. He was in wrinkled bed clothes, his hair messy and his eyes free of makeup.

Narrowing his eyes as he stared at me, he took a step forward. “Anna? What – “

I looked up, my eyes burning and surely lined with tears. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, but what time – “ he paused, his eyes searching mine quickly and his mouth pulling downward. “Anna, are you crying?”

I pushed past him, blinking quickly and curling my arms around my body protectively. Bill closed the door and moved slowly in front of me, putting a hand on my shoulder as he stared into my face. “Anna, Anna – what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I forced a smile to my face, keeping my eyes closed in an attempt to avoid any tears from escaping. “I just wanted to see you.”

He glanced over his shoulder at a clock on the kitchen counter. “It’s nearly one thirty in the morning – “

“I’m – “ I paused, my voice breaking. “I’m sorry, I’ll – I’ll go – “

“No,” he put a hand to my shoulder, his sleepy gaze locked intensely on mine. “No, tell me what’s wrong.”

I inhaled shakily, my eyes fluttering open and the inevitable tears slowly running from their lining. Bill’s eyes widened and then I broke.

The tears came quicker than I’d expected and my knees gave out. I was dying. My heart was exploded in my chest and my stomach was on the floor and my body was coming apart because I had never experienced such pain in my life. I fell to the floor, my arms still wrapped around my body, and the sobs escaped my throat loudly.

“Oh, Jesus,” Bill’s hushed voice came above me. He kneeled down next to me, his arms coming to wrap themselves around me. “What the hell happened, Anna? Tell me.”

I pressed my face into his chest, shaking my head against the shirt. My tears were coming out quicker now, staining his shirt, and the sobs escaping my throat shook my entire body.

“I – I c-can’t believe – “ I sobbed brokenly, curling into his body. “I’m s-so stupid – “

His hand came to stroke at my hair as he made little comforting hushing noises into the strands. “Tell me what’s wrong, please…” he whispered with concern.

I sobbed harder, pressing my body closer to his. “I h-hate him.”

“Hate wh – “ his body tensed for a moment, his words broken off and leaving us in silence. After a few seconds, I could feel him swallow. His voice spoke up again, firmer and much softer. “What did he do?”

I inhaled shakily, a hiccuped sob erupting from my mouth. “It doesn’t m-matter,” I sobbed helplessly into Bill’s chest. “N-nothing matters – “

Bill sighed heavily, pulling me closer to him, his stroking motions firming against my hair. He continued to whisper little ‘shh’s’ into my hair and rocked me gently with him as I cried, soaking the front of his shirt with my warm, salty tears.

As the image of Tom, standing in his silky boxers in my apartment continued to haunt my vision, Bill sighed against me.

“My brother is an idiot,” he whispered into my hair.

We remained there for God knows how long, but soon my sobs and hiccups deteriorated and I was left sniffling with runny eyes into the front of his slim chest. He never stopped rocking me, his hand never stopped moving, and in that moment, I was never happier to have Bill.



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter End Notes:

i know it's shorter than usual but i think it packs a punch. i'm sorry about the late update, i had finals and bullshit but i'm on xmas break now so updates should be quicker. anyway thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed.