Look East | A Hozier Fanfiction |

4

When Andrew walked onto the train platform on Friday afternoon, he stopped in his tracks when he saw Molly. She was wearing a black mini skirt with an old Fleetwood Mac t-shirt tucked at her narrow waist. His gaze traveled south and he smiled when he saw the olive colored fringed booties. As he approached, he wondered if he was too under dressed in his black t-shirt and trousers, red flannel over shirt and hiking boots.

"Hey," he smiled, giving her a kiss. "You look good."

She smiled at him. "You do, too."

He looked around the platform. Their side was nearly empty, but the opposite was bustling with commuters returning from work in the city. The train hissed as it waited for passengers to disembark or get on. Their own train into the city would arrive in a few minutes.

"What are we doing again?" he asked, sitting on a bench next to her.

"Its a surprise," she answered.

"I know it has to do with poetry, right?"

She nodded. "It does. But that's all I'm telling you."

He sighed in annoyance. He hated not knowing. Even though he'd asked her a half dozen times since she set the date, the answer had been the same. But, the upside was that they were talking almost constantly now. In the wake of their carnal afternoon, a day hadn't passed where they hadn't spoken to each other. He gave up trying to avoid sounding desperate - there was no point to it now. He was 90% certain Molly knew he was utterly and completely entranced by her. There was no need for pretending anymore. At least, that was what he thought.

She still seemed kind of ambivalent toward him. Though, she still continued their conversations ardently and gave no indication of feeling negatively at all. Solving her was a Herculean effort, but he was glad for the work. Absently, she moved to stand next to him and her hand found his, their fingers intertwining.

The train pulled into the station a minute later and he stood, allowing Molly to pull him toward the edge of the platform. The doors opened and an elderly woman got off, shuffling along with a walker. Andrew shifted out of her way with a polite smile. When she was gone, he followed Molly into the train car. It smelled stale, like cigarettes and beer and the sweat of a thousand bodies.

Two teen boys sat at the back of the car, watching videos on their mobiles. A couple in their mid-forties was having an animated argument in Italian at the other end. He sat next to Molly on one side of the aisle while a young woman sat by herself opposite them, her bag hugged to her chest as if she was trying to take up as little room as possible. Just before the doors closed, a man came in and sat a few rows behind her, not taking his eyes away from the back of her head.

The train took off, heading toward Dublin. They stopped several times and each time, more people got on. Molly focused on the suburbs passing by outside the window, each one growing larger as they got closer to the city. It took three stops before he realized the man that had been staring at the young woman had shifted up two rows closer to her.

When they stopped at Dun Laoghaire, the man again moved toward the girl, this time sitting directly behind her. Andrew watched as he tapped the girl on the shoulder, making her jump, and proceeded to try to pick her up. Andrew'd had enough. He stood, crossed the aisle, and sat next to the girl. She was so startled that she nearly jumped out of her skin, no doubt thinking he was somehow associated with the other man.

"I thought that was you," he said, holding his hand out. "Andrew. Remember? We met at that mixer at Johnny's Pub back in March."

He prayed the girl had enough sense to catch on, otherwise it was going to be a big problem. After looking at him and then back at the man behind her apprehensively, she took his hand.