Childlike Eyes ~A Monkees Fanfiction~

Chapter 8

TIME SKIP: 15 MONTHS LATER>>>

Clementine bent down to pick up her discarded coat from the floor, and placed it on the coat rack. She took a deep breath and indulged in the sweet air coming through the open windows. It was spring time, the air was pure, the sky was blue, and anything and everything seemed to be happy about it- including her. Clementine was currently partaking in a thorough spring cleaning of her apartment. The small beat-up radio was on, and the voice of her boyfriend of 14 months was streaming through it.

Her tranquil state was suddenly interrupted by the annoying ringing of the wall phone. Clementine was contemplating just letting it ring, but the persistent ringing drove her wild; she had to silence the phone. She picked it up and pushed her hair behind her ear before holding up the phone.

"Hello?" She sniffled a little at the spring air, heavy with pollen.

"Hey, babe." Clementine's face lit up as she heard Mike's voice on the other end. Mike chuckled at the excited and audible gasp that crackled over the phone.

"Mike!" She exclaimed. "How are you? Where are you?"

"We're back from tour-"

"But you had another few days to go, I thought?" Clementine cut him off.

"We did, but I needed to see you." He said matter-of-factly. She smiled at this, for Mike and the boys had been away on tour for a good few months now and she wanted nothing more than to see them. "Babe, I need you to do something for me." He told her.

"Yeah?" She put the phone in the crook of her neck and bit her lip eagerly. "And what might that be?" He chuckled again, and Clementine giggled as well. Her beloved Texan's laugh was infectious, and that couldn't be helped.

"Meet me at the ocean right behind the Daybird, 6:45 sharp." Clementine raised an eyebrow in skeptic pleasure.

"Sure thing, cowboy." She replied, trying to contain her excitement. "What's the dress code?" On the other end of the line, Mike beamed. He loved Clementine to pieces, and tonight was going to be a special night for both him and her.

"Hun, we're gonna be on a beach, in the near dark, not to mention you look beautiful in anything- so, I don't really think there is a 'dress code'." Even over the phone, Mike knew Clementine was blushing, and she was. She subconsciously covered her cheeks with her free hand.

"I love you Mike." She told him. Now it was Mike's turn to blush slightly, and he smiled for the millionth time.

"I love you too, darlin'. See ya tonight."

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Clementine was having the hardest time she'd ever had trying to put together an outfit. She had been staring at her small closet or pulling out random clothes that she knew she'd never wear for the past hour. Her frustration was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Coming!" She yelled, gladly dropping the clothes that she held in her hands. She opened the red wooden door and behind it was the beaming face of her brother. "Cliff!" Clementine tackled him into a bear hug, which he returned with the same amount of, if not more enthusiasm.

"Clem, it's so good to see you!" He laughed out of pure joy; this was the first time seeing his sister in seven months.

"What are you doing here? And how did you know where I lived?" She asked, taking a deep breath before inviting Cliff in.

"Can't a brother visit his favorite sister without a reason?" Clementine smirked at her brother, who returned it- the feature was almost identical on the siblings' faces. "As for your address, Charlie gave it to me. I visited him this morning, I'm going to hang out with him later tonight- wanna come along, Clem?" Clementine smiled and looked at the ground.

"I'd love to, Cliff, but I...well, I have a date." She chuckled nervously.

"We can do something later Clem, this is important!" He laughed and hugged her again. Cliff couldn't be happier that her sister had finally found someone who he and everyone else (and, more importantly, Clementine herself) approved of and liked. "Do you have something to wear?" He asked.

"See for yourself..." She pushed open the door to her bedroom, and Cliff had to contain his laughter as he saw the scattered clothes and imagined his sister losing her temper.

"Come on, Cliff's got this." Cliff told Clementine.

"Oh?" She laughed. "Since when do you know anything about clothes, Cliff?"

"I worked with Felice for like, five years. And you and I know better than anyone, that rarely was she talking about something that wasn't fashion-related." Clementine shrugged, it was true. She led him to her closet, which had less clothes in it than her floor had clothes scattered on it, and he pored over the articles of clothing for a minute. He turned to Clementine, who sat with arms crossed on the only part of her bed not buried under dresses. "Close you eyes," he told her. She did as he told her, and soon the cool touch of metal indicated that he had placed a hanger in her hand. She opened her eyes, and there was the most beautiful blue dress that Clementine had ever seen. She had buried it in the back of her closet, where it was long forgotten, because she never had any occasion to wear it- it made her think about how she didn't have a special someone who would take her out and tell her how stunning she looked in it. Now that she did, the dress made her twice as excited about going out to meet Mike.

"Cliff, you're the best! I forgot I owned this." Clementine wrapped her arms around her brother, whose face was glowing with pride.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know." He joked, and Clementine swatted his arm.

"As much as I love you, you're gonna need to hit the road. I have to change and then drive down to the beach. Mike is probably waiting." Cliff grinned, knowing how anxious his sister was to see her boyfriend. He waved goodbye and, on his way out the door he yelled:

"Maybe I'll go see Charlie! At least he won't kick me out of his house for a guy!" Clementine laughed audibly and started to change.

At the beach, Mike waited for Clementine, letting the rolling waves and light breeze calm his nerves. He hadn't seen Clementine in so long, and he had waited weeks to see her, but he just couldn't wait another minute. The faint sound of a car engine and the glow of headlights made him nervous all over again, undoing the affect of the calming ambiance. Clementine had arrived, finally, and he was so glad.

"Mike!" From where Mike was sitting, high up on a rock overlooking the ocean, he could hear Clementine calling to him- she sounded just as excited as he felt. He ran down the side of the sandy hill, and leapt from a rock down to the ground where his girlfriend was.

They collided in an almost painful crash, but neither of them cared. Tears of joy ran down Clementine's face as their lips connected. They kissed passionately, only taking seconds aside from that to take a breath.

"I have missed you, so, so much." Mike mumbled into Clementine's ear as he held her close. Clementine was so overwhelmed that she could only nod. Mike put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. He almost got distracted looking at them. "And I can't wait another moment."

"For what, Mike?" Clementine asked, so close to Mike that she could hear his breathing and smell his wonderful scent.

"To make you mine," Mike got down on one knee, and Clementine gasped. "Clementine Grace Allen, will you make me the happiest Monkee alive and marry me?"