Torn

You and Me Forevermore

Courtney squirms in the chair as Hayden brings the needle closer to her skin.

"Try not to move. It doesn't hurt that bad." He hesitates before speaking again. "Are you sure you want to do this? No offense, but you don't look like the tattoo type."

"I'm sure. Just do it."

Hayden carefully tattoos Courtney. The process takes only a few minutes, since the tattoo she selected is minimalistic and simple. When it's done, Courtney turns to Hayden.

"Do you know where I can find Duncan?"

He lets out a sigh. "Well. I think he's at our friend's house playing video games but you should probably text him to be sure."

Courtney smiles. "Thanks."

She pays and leaves shortly after.

Courtney texts Duncan from her PDA as she enters her apartment. She changes into a black long-sleeve shirt and waits for him to respond. Duncan sends her an address and Courtney heads over in her car.

Once she arrives, a stranger answers the door.
"Duncan, your girlfriend is here!" The guy standing in front of her yells.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Duncan shouts back.

Not yet, Courtney thinks.

Courtney enters the room Duncan is in a little apprehensively. The whole house was new to her, and she wasn't sure what to expect. Duncan is sitting on a long leather couch, leaning forward with an Xbox controller in his hands. There are two guys next to him, and the guy who answered the door goes to sit next to them.

"Are you fucking kidding me, man? C'mon!" Duncan yells.

Courtney giggles and goes to sit next to him. She leans closer to him and rests her head on his shoulder.

"What's up, princess?" He asks, not moving his eyes from the flatscreen T.V. mounted onto the wall.

"I went to the shop but you weren't there. I wanted to see you."

"You wanna grab dinner again?" Duncan asks nonchalantly.
Courtney smiles. "That's definitely a possibility."

"You good with Chinese?"

"Sure."

Courtney watches Duncan play before trying it out herself. He laughs at her gameplay multiple times, and she yells "Shut up! This is harder than it looks!" quite often.

Duncan and Courtney meet a few hours later for dinner. The Chinese place they chose is a quaint, family-owned business. Its won multiple awards due to its popularity within the community. Duncan holds the door open for Courtney as they both step inside.

Once they sit down, Duncan initiates conversation.

"So why were you looking for me at the shop?" He inquires.

"I kind of wanted to surprise you," she responds. Courtney reaches out and grabs Duncan's arms. She puts his hands on the table and interlocks her fingers with his. "Look."

She pulls one hand away from Duncan and reaches out to pull some of her sleeve back; she pulled back just enough for Duncan to see the tattoo on her wrist. The tattoo is an infinity sign with the letters "C" and "D" inside the loops.

Duncan's eyes widen. "Princess..." He pauses for a moment. "Is this real?"

She smiles nervously. "This is my way of showing you that I won't break your heart again. This will stay on as long as we date, and even longer than that. It stays on forever, you know?" She pauses. "I'm assuming you will take me back, right?"

He smiles softly at her and takes both of her hands in his.

"Yeah. I'll date you again, princess."

Suddenly, his eyes get wide and he begins to ramble. "You know what? I'll get one to match, but instead it'll be two skulls with our initials." Courtney laughs.

"What?"

"Nothing. You were saying?"

"Oh, or what if I get an arrow heart with your name inside it?"

Courtney smiles. "I'd like that. But it's not exactly matching." Duncan shrugs.

"Look princess, I can't go around having an infinity sign on myself. It's not manly."

"Do you have any other tattoos I should know about?"

He smirks. "You'll see them soon enough."

Courtney gasps before bursting out into laughter. "Duncan!"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"I love you too, babe. Now let's eat, I'm starving."

After that moment, the cycle of dating started again. It was months and months of two lovers enjoying each other's company. Traveling together, getting drunk together, binge-watching shows together, eating breakfast and lunch and dinner together. Every moment was spent together.

In the end, Courtney was able to stay amicable with both Scott and Gwen. They're not as close as they once were, but they were close enough to keep Courtney satisfied. Elise would be proud of the progress she made in her interpersonal relationships.

Duncan managed to stay out of any more legal trouble. In addition to running Skull Signature, Duncan opens a bicycle shop that gains a fair amount of traction. Courtney couldn't be more proud of Duncan being a successful business owner. She even helps out at Skull Signature from time to time, saying: "If they're getting something that stays on them forever, I should at least make sure that what they're putting on themselves is meaningful."

Courtney went from being a Junior Partner to being a Senior Partner within her law firm. She worked restlessly until she could reach it. The average age for this position is 45. Her age? 20. Her coworkers have mixed feelings about Courtney's success, but she pays it no mind. Although Courtney is a lawyer, she decided not to take over the case of herself against Biscon County Prison because she believed business should never be mixed with pleasure. And, as she learned all too well, being with Duncan meant lots of pleasure. Courtney also follows a strict budget and this limits what she eats when she goes out.

And life happened, as it does. Before they knew it, Duncan and Courtney moved into one apartment together. Chaos ensued, but it was welcomed with open arms. There were fights that ended up in angry sex; there were moments where they felt they shouldn't be together anymore; there were moments where they found themselves longing for someone else. All of these obstacles were overcome. Falling in love doesn't happen once. It's a steady, culminating process, and it takes a lot of effort on both sides in order to remain in love, to live in it and with it. Courtney and Duncan found themselves falling in love with different parts of each other every day. And isn't that what relationships are really about? A never ending, persistent love of another's presence? Seeking to be with someone that fascinates you and surprises you in new ways? Courtney and Duncan never imagined that they would find this in each other, but they did. That was the beautiful thing: they did.

[[ THE END ]]