Pop Tarts, Brand, and Her

Chapter 6: My Secret Place

Chapter 6: My Secret Place

Noel sat out in the garden at the back of Freddie’s excessively large home, staring into the ripples in the pond as he rested under the rose covered shelter a little way from the house. He sighed as threw his bread crusts at the ducks on the pond and wondered how he’d gotten to this point.

“Hey…” Noel jumped, even though the voice had been soft and gentle. She held her hands up in surrender as he spun to look at…Shannon!

“Hi…” he smiled back, maybe his luck was turning around.

“I’m sorry if I startled you…” Shannon looked down at her feet, wringing her hands somewhat nervously and peeking at him through dark eyelashes shyly. “I just wondered if you’d mind my hiding out here with you… Russell’s a bit… full on…”

“Yeah, he is a bit that way.” Noel patted the seat beside him and gave her a coy smile. “Sit ye down and feed the ducks with me!”

Shannon smiled brightly as she made her way over and sat close to Noel. “I used to love feeding the ducks at a park near my house in Bathurst.”

“Bathurst?” Noel raised a confused brow at her.

“It’s a place in Australia,” Shannon explained, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “It’s where I went to university. In winter it got so cold one year that the pond completely froze over! The ducks and swans that stayed, God knows why, had no place to swim.”

“What did you study?” Noel asked, unable to make out what kind of profession someone like her would have chosen. ‘A journalist, perhaps? A writer of some kind, surely?’

“Psychology. And, boy! Was it full on!” Shannon grinned. “It was an amazing time. I love learning how to do new things. I’m not exactly sure why I picked psychology, but I’m bloody glad I did.” She paused, smirking slightly as she continued. “Especially with Russell giving me a run for my money back there.”

“He does that.” Noel frowned and looked back at the ducks on the pond.

“I’m sorry…I talk too much…” Shannon rested her hand on his shoulder for a moment before placing it back in her lap. “When I’m nervous I just say whatever I think…I’m sorry if I upset you. I’ll leave you and the ducks be…”

She stood and turned to leave, but Noel took hold of her hand. “No, that’s not… I mean, no, I’m not upset or anything. And speaking what comes to mind isn’t bad…it’s just honest…”

“Not everyone likes honest…” Shannon replied, a half smile tiptoeing across her face.

“I do…” Noel smiled up at her. “And I’d love to hear more of your honest remarks-”

“Shan?!” they both heard Russell call out from the rear of the house.

Shannon looked over her shoulder and then at Noel, a wicked smile playing about her lips. “C’mon!” She took his hand in hers again and pulled him along behind her stopping every once in a while to conceal them both from view behind sections of hedge.

Eventually, they came upon a very large, bushy, plant and Shannon stopped , looked around and lifted one of the lower branches. She held a finger to her lips then pointed to the gap under the branch.

“What?” Noel asked, exasperated.

“Go under it and along the tunnel!” Shannon whispered franticly. “Hurry!”

Noel looked at her for a moment curiously, then complied. He bent down and crawled under the low branch she held up for him. Inside, there was indeed a tunnel…a built tunnel! The kind you might expect a hobbit to have made under a hill. And, along the tunnel, was a rather comfortable room. To be comfortable you had to be crawling or seated, but it was properly built and concealed by the large, bushy plant!

As Noel looked about himself he saw soft cushions and a lush rug covering the floor, a bean bag, and paintings obviously done by her thumb-tacked to the walls. He looked up to find the roof of the hobbit-sized room was made of some kind of clear Perspex.

‘You’d be able to sit and hide out here even when it was raining!’ Noel smiled to himself.

He heard Shannon coming along the tunnel behind him, so he scooted over and plonked himself into the bean bag opposite the tunnel entrance just as she crawled into the room, grinning.

“So,” Shannon began as she closed the little door behind her and flopped onto the nearest pile of cushions. “Whataya think?”

“What do I think?” Noel smirked as he realised he really was asking himself the question. “I think it’s fantastic! Does Freddie know it’s here?”

“Yeah, he knows.” Shannon replied casually. “When I first came out here I was poking around and found that his plant was all hollow underneath it, so I asked him if I could build a cubby under it where no one could see.”

“Well,” Noel looked around, feeling about five again. “He quite obviously said yes!”

Shannon laughed. “I’ve never shown it to anyone…it’s…my special place…I come here to think.”

“Is that often?” Noel cocked his head to one side and smirked.

“More often than I care to admit…” Shannon replied as she rummaged around in a container in front of her.

“What are you doing?” Noel crawled forward a little to see what she was up to.

“Well,” She looked up at him shyly now. “I was thinking of painting…”

“Painting what?” Noel looked inside the container at her different colours and brushes as she set up a small easel off to one side.

When he looked up at her, she smiled sweetly. “I was thinking…you…”

Noel grinned mischievously, sat back on the bean bag, and winked. “How do you want me?”

Yes, another chapter...I'm begging you guys now...please comment and let me know what you think!!

Much love,

        Shan~Leigh