Hers Chapter 5
Title: Hers
Pairing(s): David Cook/David Archuleta
Rating: PG to NC-17
Genre: AU
Disclaimer: The real-life characters do not belong to me, and the story is fictional.
Summary: David falls in love with someone he can't have, but what happens when that person wants him back?
Author's Notes: This fic was originally posted at cookleta from July 2008 to September 2008. :)
5
I. David Archuleta.
It was a good thing that I really knew my way around the school because I couldn’t remember, for the life of me, how I made it out of the locker room and back to the field without running into something, considering that my vision was becoming blurrier by the second with tears. I roughly wiped them away with the back of my hand, extremely frustrated with myself. Why had I let David Cook kiss me? He hadn’t been forceful by any means. I just couldn’t help but follow his lead and it made me feel so utterly powerless, like I had no control of my own.
There was still awhile left until the end of the game, so I quietly sat in my spot on the bleachers next to Jazzy and tried not to draw attention to myself. Fortunately, Dan’s team was winning, and it kept my family too busily cheering to peer at my face and see the tear stains under the stadium lights. I heard Cook take his seat next to Jaidyn behind me, but I didn’t dare to react. I felt like merely glancing at him would open up the waterworks all over again and lead to mortifying embarrassment that I would have to explain later.
The ride home was easier to handle since David had gone with Jaidyn in her car. I contributed to the chorus of congratulations given to Dan for his victory and laughed along with the rest of my family when Amber made faces and complained about how sweaty Dan was. I could swear that I was getting better at hiding my issues, which was a necessary thing since it was only day two of David’s week in Murray and I had a long way to go.
In the commotion of everyone filing back into the house, I slipped out and silently returned to my room, my knees buckling as soon as I closed my door. My heart was beating madly again as the scenes in the locker room flashed through my mind. Without realizing it, I touched a finger to my lips where Cook’s had been, caressing and kissing them - just like in my dream. I shivered and shook my head as if that would make the images disappear like on an Etch-A-Sketch. It didn’t work, of course.
With my head still hurting with all the thoughts I could never express, I tiptoed to the bathroom to wash up before I had to put on another smile for whoever I ran into next. Back in my room, I all but collapsed onto my bed, sighing with relief that I didn’t have any homework to finish.
At least my life wasn’t being completely uncooperative.
+
I met Prescott in the parking lot after school the next day so he could come over and work on the bio lab write-up with me. Jaidyn had apparently made the executive decision to procrastinate on her work and had taken David out to Salt Lake City (dressed to be inconspicuous, of course). I wasn’t sure how much of the sightseeing would be new for David but, then again, Jaidyn had probably just wanted some time alone with him. I was telling myself to not get jealous over and over again like a mantra when Prescott tapped my shoulder. He raised an eyebrow when I jumped at his touch but tactfully didn’t say anything.
I lived close enough to my house that I could walk but since Prescott drove we took his car, and soon we were in my room with our lab books propped open, grumbling about Mr. Hadley and the gruesome memories of the dissection. Prescott mentioned that some girls in our class had named their pigs, which made me cringe even more.
“Did we ever find the spleen?” Prescott, sprawled across my bed, asked as he scanned the analysis questions.
“Um, I think that was when you pointed at the liver,” I giggled. He grinned and threw a cushion in my direction, which I caught all too easily.
“I think we need to Google it then. We need to figure out what the fetal function is.”
“How about we use the textbook for a change?”
“Why would we do that when Wikipedia is obviously the more reliable source?”
“Okay, whatever you say,” I gave in, laughing at his matter-of-fact voice and expression. Plopping down on my stomach on the carpet with my legs stretched out behind me, I searched for the answer that we needed on my laptop.
“What does Wikipedia say?” Prescott asked jokingly from on top of the bed.
“Hmm, I think this is it… producing red blood cells until the bone marrow develops?”
“Where?”
“Here, after the part about -”
It was when I was pointing my finger at a spot on the screen that Prescott leaned in too close and fell off the bed - onto me. I’d instinctively backed away but his fall happened more quickly, and he ended up landing in a sitting position on my stomach.
“Uh… um…” My face was burning.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean -”
“Hey David, are you in… Oh.”
Life tended to put people into crazy situations at times, but apparently this was happening to me a lot lately. Here I was, flat on my back underneath a guy who was straddling me, staring wide-eyed at David Cook who had poked his head in to see if I was in my room. Well, I was in my room alright - looking incredibly questionable. It didn’t help that Prescott scrambled to stand up like he had done something wrong.
“I’m here…” I replied rather stupidly. “Prescott and I were just, um, working on a lab…”
“Er, well I just wanted to tell you that Jaidyn and I got back early… I’ll… let you guys get back to your essay.”
“Lab.”
“Right. Your lab.”
It was so quiet that it practically echoed when David closed my door. Prescott stayed standing for a little bit before he carefully sat back down on the edge of the bed, making sure not to slide off again.
“Was that… David Cook?”
“Yes.” I buried my face in my hands. “He’s dating my sister.”
“Oh. Well… I won’t tell if you won’t.”
I lifted my head, the ends of my lips curling upward. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” he said, giving me a small wink. “And sorry about falling on you. I’m not usually so clumsy.”
“I guess I may beat you at running after all.”
He smiled wryly. “At this point, I would have to agree.”
We went back to working on our write-up, and I felt oddly at ease. It didn’t take long before I’d calmed down about the awkward encounter with David Cook and was laughing again at Prescott’s side comments about our class. Without the usual clamor of having other students around us, I noticed that his voice was low and warm; it comforted me to listen to it. There was something about Prescott that offered me a temporary release from feelings of hopelessness and uncertainty.
I began to wonder if Prescott was the one to save me from the confusion that David Cook had thrown me into.
II. David Cook.
I lay my head back against the cushion of the sofa and groaned quietly. I hadn’t known that my mind could react so quickly, but it had definitely freaked out the second I processed what I was seeing when I opened David’s door. What had been going on? What was his so-called lab partner doing on top of him? Why was I so insanely jealous? Oh yes, I had forgotten that I was infatuated beyond rescue.
I looked back toward the kitchen from which I’d just been expelled by Lupe after being stopped from putting salad dressing on the pasta and the bowl of diced vegetables in the freezer. Jaidyn was already upset that I’d asked to come home earlier than planned, so she didn’t look up as I mumbled a lame “sorry” and left to not make things worse. The aroma of Italian cooking flowed through the entire house, and soon everyone was coming down the stairs for dinner, including the guy I’d seen in David’s room. I took a seat at the table and watched glumly as David hurried to grab a chair for his friend and sat down next to him.
“So Prescott, you play soccer?” Jeff asked, gesturing at the team t-shirt the he had on.
“Yes, I play forward on varsity.”
“Prescott’s kind of the reason why the team goes to state,” David added.
Prescott said that wasn’t true but David just smiled, all dimples, chiding him for being modest. Dan began to ask questions about tryouts and the coaches, and soon everyone was looking impressed with the guy’s record and what he said to say. I drowned out the talking, but what got me was the way David was looking at him, with obvious admiration. The pain that I could see in his eyes when he was with me was gone. This difference hit me like a slap in the face. How did this eighteen-year-old make me feel so incompetent? Up until this point I’d thought that I had everything I’d ever dreamed of, but one David Archuleta proved otherwise.
I realized when everyone was getting up that I’d barely eaten my dinner. When I excused myself to turn in early, Jaidyn confronted me at the top of the stairs.
“David? Are you feeling okay?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Well you ate close to nothing, for one.”
“Jaidyn, I’m not an eight-year-old,” I countered, trying to keep my tone light. “I just wasn’t hungry.”
“You were spacing out during dinner too.”
“I’m tired. That’s why I wanted to come back early today -”
“Yes, about that,” she cut in, not missing a beat. “You were totally out of it after you checked in on David.”
“I… That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
“Jaidyn -”
“You fainted when you met him, David. Then there’s all this, this tense vibe between the two of you. I can’t explain it but it’s weird. And I want it to stop.”
“What do you want me to do, Jaidyn? I don’t even understand what you’re getting at.” I lied through my teeth.
“I just feel like…” she paused, trying to find the right words and failing to do so. “It’s as if you two… I don’t know.”
“Look, we’ve both had a long day. Let’s talk when I’m not about to fall asleep standing up.”
“… Fine,” Jaidyn obliged, clearly not convinced that I was as exhausted as I said I was.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” I said, walking past her to get to my room.
“David?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
I stood, rooted where I was, the conventional response caught in my throat. All I could do was nod. “Good night, Jaidyn.”
III. David Archuleta.
Prescott and I had ended up getting all of our homework done after finishing up the lab, so I had some extra time to relax before going to bed. Grabbing my laptop from my desk, I sat on my bed with my back against the headboard, and was waiting for iTunes to open when there was a knock on my door.
“Come in.”
“Dave, are you busy?” It was Jaidyn.
“No, actually,” I answered, closing my laptop whose screen now showed iTunes paused on one of David’s older songs.
“Is it okay if we talk?”
I froze. My fingers began to fidget with the hem of my t-shirt. I was afraid that my gaze was darting all over the place, unable to look straight at my sister. She was always quick to catch subtle things and she would definitely know if I acted even slightly out of ordinary.
“About?”
“Well… I wanted to ask you something about David. You know, the other one in this house?”
She was smiling faintly but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her voice sounded light-hearted but I could tell she was serious, without an ounce of playfulness. My throat felt parched and my breathing was slowly becoming uneasy. I clutched the bed sheets tightly - under the covers so she couldn’t see.
“Uh huh?”
“He’s been acting a bit odd. It seems like you guys have gotten close so I was wondering if he'd told you anything.”
There was no way that I could tell her that he had done more than talk to me.
“Um no, not really. Plus, I’m sure he would tell you first if something was up.”
“Are you sure?”
“O-of course.” I mentally scolded myself for not being able to prevent the stammering.
“Hmm. If you say so. I just thought that there was something going on.”
“Nah, I doubt it.”
“I haven’t been able to spend that much time with him since he got here, you know? Maybe you can tell David to do something about that.”
She seemed to be teasing but I knew she meant every word. Her eyes were penetrating as if she could read my thoughts.
“I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks, Dave. Alright well I’ll leave you alone now.”
My body felt limp, as if all of its energy had been drained. I set my computer aside and lay down, ready to fall asleep. Right before I closed my eyes, I saw my cell phone on the bedside table, and a thought crossed my mind. Flipping it open, I called the number that I’d recently added to my list of contacts.
“David?” he answered after a few rings.
“Hey Prescott. I’m not calling too late, am I?”
“No, you’re fine. What’s up?”
“I was wondering… if we could move that run we were talking about up to tomorrow morning?”
Pairing(s): David Cook/David Archuleta
Rating: PG to NC-17
Genre: AU
Disclaimer: The real-life characters do not belong to me, and the story is fictional.
Summary: David falls in love with someone he can't have, but what happens when that person wants him back?
Author's Notes: This fic was originally posted at cookleta from July 2008 to September 2008. :)
5
I. David Archuleta.
It was a good thing that I really knew my way around the school because I couldn’t remember, for the life of me, how I made it out of the locker room and back to the field without running into something, considering that my vision was becoming blurrier by the second with tears. I roughly wiped them away with the back of my hand, extremely frustrated with myself. Why had I let David Cook kiss me? He hadn’t been forceful by any means. I just couldn’t help but follow his lead and it made me feel so utterly powerless, like I had no control of my own.
There was still awhile left until the end of the game, so I quietly sat in my spot on the bleachers next to Jazzy and tried not to draw attention to myself. Fortunately, Dan’s team was winning, and it kept my family too busily cheering to peer at my face and see the tear stains under the stadium lights. I heard Cook take his seat next to Jaidyn behind me, but I didn’t dare to react. I felt like merely glancing at him would open up the waterworks all over again and lead to mortifying embarrassment that I would have to explain later.
The ride home was easier to handle since David had gone with Jaidyn in her car. I contributed to the chorus of congratulations given to Dan for his victory and laughed along with the rest of my family when Amber made faces and complained about how sweaty Dan was. I could swear that I was getting better at hiding my issues, which was a necessary thing since it was only day two of David’s week in Murray and I had a long way to go.
In the commotion of everyone filing back into the house, I slipped out and silently returned to my room, my knees buckling as soon as I closed my door. My heart was beating madly again as the scenes in the locker room flashed through my mind. Without realizing it, I touched a finger to my lips where Cook’s had been, caressing and kissing them - just like in my dream. I shivered and shook my head as if that would make the images disappear like on an Etch-A-Sketch. It didn’t work, of course.
With my head still hurting with all the thoughts I could never express, I tiptoed to the bathroom to wash up before I had to put on another smile for whoever I ran into next. Back in my room, I all but collapsed onto my bed, sighing with relief that I didn’t have any homework to finish.
At least my life wasn’t being completely uncooperative.
+
I met Prescott in the parking lot after school the next day so he could come over and work on the bio lab write-up with me. Jaidyn had apparently made the executive decision to procrastinate on her work and had taken David out to Salt Lake City (dressed to be inconspicuous, of course). I wasn’t sure how much of the sightseeing would be new for David but, then again, Jaidyn had probably just wanted some time alone with him. I was telling myself to not get jealous over and over again like a mantra when Prescott tapped my shoulder. He raised an eyebrow when I jumped at his touch but tactfully didn’t say anything.
I lived close enough to my house that I could walk but since Prescott drove we took his car, and soon we were in my room with our lab books propped open, grumbling about Mr. Hadley and the gruesome memories of the dissection. Prescott mentioned that some girls in our class had named their pigs, which made me cringe even more.
“Did we ever find the spleen?” Prescott, sprawled across my bed, asked as he scanned the analysis questions.
“Um, I think that was when you pointed at the liver,” I giggled. He grinned and threw a cushion in my direction, which I caught all too easily.
“I think we need to Google it then. We need to figure out what the fetal function is.”
“How about we use the textbook for a change?”
“Why would we do that when Wikipedia is obviously the more reliable source?”
“Okay, whatever you say,” I gave in, laughing at his matter-of-fact voice and expression. Plopping down on my stomach on the carpet with my legs stretched out behind me, I searched for the answer that we needed on my laptop.
“What does Wikipedia say?” Prescott asked jokingly from on top of the bed.
“Hmm, I think this is it… producing red blood cells until the bone marrow develops?”
“Where?”
“Here, after the part about -”
It was when I was pointing my finger at a spot on the screen that Prescott leaned in too close and fell off the bed - onto me. I’d instinctively backed away but his fall happened more quickly, and he ended up landing in a sitting position on my stomach.
“Uh… um…” My face was burning.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean -”
“Hey David, are you in… Oh.”
Life tended to put people into crazy situations at times, but apparently this was happening to me a lot lately. Here I was, flat on my back underneath a guy who was straddling me, staring wide-eyed at David Cook who had poked his head in to see if I was in my room. Well, I was in my room alright - looking incredibly questionable. It didn’t help that Prescott scrambled to stand up like he had done something wrong.
“I’m here…” I replied rather stupidly. “Prescott and I were just, um, working on a lab…”
“Er, well I just wanted to tell you that Jaidyn and I got back early… I’ll… let you guys get back to your essay.”
“Lab.”
“Right. Your lab.”
It was so quiet that it practically echoed when David closed my door. Prescott stayed standing for a little bit before he carefully sat back down on the edge of the bed, making sure not to slide off again.
“Was that… David Cook?”
“Yes.” I buried my face in my hands. “He’s dating my sister.”
“Oh. Well… I won’t tell if you won’t.”
I lifted my head, the ends of my lips curling upward. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” he said, giving me a small wink. “And sorry about falling on you. I’m not usually so clumsy.”
“I guess I may beat you at running after all.”
He smiled wryly. “At this point, I would have to agree.”
We went back to working on our write-up, and I felt oddly at ease. It didn’t take long before I’d calmed down about the awkward encounter with David Cook and was laughing again at Prescott’s side comments about our class. Without the usual clamor of having other students around us, I noticed that his voice was low and warm; it comforted me to listen to it. There was something about Prescott that offered me a temporary release from feelings of hopelessness and uncertainty.
I began to wonder if Prescott was the one to save me from the confusion that David Cook had thrown me into.
II. David Cook.
I lay my head back against the cushion of the sofa and groaned quietly. I hadn’t known that my mind could react so quickly, but it had definitely freaked out the second I processed what I was seeing when I opened David’s door. What had been going on? What was his so-called lab partner doing on top of him? Why was I so insanely jealous? Oh yes, I had forgotten that I was infatuated beyond rescue.
I looked back toward the kitchen from which I’d just been expelled by Lupe after being stopped from putting salad dressing on the pasta and the bowl of diced vegetables in the freezer. Jaidyn was already upset that I’d asked to come home earlier than planned, so she didn’t look up as I mumbled a lame “sorry” and left to not make things worse. The aroma of Italian cooking flowed through the entire house, and soon everyone was coming down the stairs for dinner, including the guy I’d seen in David’s room. I took a seat at the table and watched glumly as David hurried to grab a chair for his friend and sat down next to him.
“So Prescott, you play soccer?” Jeff asked, gesturing at the team t-shirt the he had on.
“Yes, I play forward on varsity.”
“Prescott’s kind of the reason why the team goes to state,” David added.
Prescott said that wasn’t true but David just smiled, all dimples, chiding him for being modest. Dan began to ask questions about tryouts and the coaches, and soon everyone was looking impressed with the guy’s record and what he said to say. I drowned out the talking, but what got me was the way David was looking at him, with obvious admiration. The pain that I could see in his eyes when he was with me was gone. This difference hit me like a slap in the face. How did this eighteen-year-old make me feel so incompetent? Up until this point I’d thought that I had everything I’d ever dreamed of, but one David Archuleta proved otherwise.
I realized when everyone was getting up that I’d barely eaten my dinner. When I excused myself to turn in early, Jaidyn confronted me at the top of the stairs.
“David? Are you feeling okay?”
“Sure. Why?”
“Well you ate close to nothing, for one.”
“Jaidyn, I’m not an eight-year-old,” I countered, trying to keep my tone light. “I just wasn’t hungry.”
“You were spacing out during dinner too.”
“I’m tired. That’s why I wanted to come back early today -”
“Yes, about that,” she cut in, not missing a beat. “You were totally out of it after you checked in on David.”
“I… That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it?”
“Jaidyn -”
“You fainted when you met him, David. Then there’s all this, this tense vibe between the two of you. I can’t explain it but it’s weird. And I want it to stop.”
“What do you want me to do, Jaidyn? I don’t even understand what you’re getting at.” I lied through my teeth.
“I just feel like…” she paused, trying to find the right words and failing to do so. “It’s as if you two… I don’t know.”
“Look, we’ve both had a long day. Let’s talk when I’m not about to fall asleep standing up.”
“… Fine,” Jaidyn obliged, clearly not convinced that I was as exhausted as I said I was.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” I said, walking past her to get to my room.
“David?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
I stood, rooted where I was, the conventional response caught in my throat. All I could do was nod. “Good night, Jaidyn.”
III. David Archuleta.
Prescott and I had ended up getting all of our homework done after finishing up the lab, so I had some extra time to relax before going to bed. Grabbing my laptop from my desk, I sat on my bed with my back against the headboard, and was waiting for iTunes to open when there was a knock on my door.
“Come in.”
“Dave, are you busy?” It was Jaidyn.
“No, actually,” I answered, closing my laptop whose screen now showed iTunes paused on one of David’s older songs.
“Is it okay if we talk?”
I froze. My fingers began to fidget with the hem of my t-shirt. I was afraid that my gaze was darting all over the place, unable to look straight at my sister. She was always quick to catch subtle things and she would definitely know if I acted even slightly out of ordinary.
“About?”
“Well… I wanted to ask you something about David. You know, the other one in this house?”
She was smiling faintly but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her voice sounded light-hearted but I could tell she was serious, without an ounce of playfulness. My throat felt parched and my breathing was slowly becoming uneasy. I clutched the bed sheets tightly - under the covers so she couldn’t see.
“Uh huh?”
“He’s been acting a bit odd. It seems like you guys have gotten close so I was wondering if he'd told you anything.”
There was no way that I could tell her that he had done more than talk to me.
“Um no, not really. Plus, I’m sure he would tell you first if something was up.”
“Are you sure?”
“O-of course.” I mentally scolded myself for not being able to prevent the stammering.
“Hmm. If you say so. I just thought that there was something going on.”
“Nah, I doubt it.”
“I haven’t been able to spend that much time with him since he got here, you know? Maybe you can tell David to do something about that.”
She seemed to be teasing but I knew she meant every word. Her eyes were penetrating as if she could read my thoughts.
“I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks, Dave. Alright well I’ll leave you alone now.”
My body felt limp, as if all of its energy had been drained. I set my computer aside and lay down, ready to fall asleep. Right before I closed my eyes, I saw my cell phone on the bedside table, and a thought crossed my mind. Flipping it open, I called the number that I’d recently added to my list of contacts.
“David?” he answered after a few rings.
“Hey Prescott. I’m not calling too late, am I?”
“No, you’re fine. What’s up?”
“I was wondering… if we could move that run we were talking about up to tomorrow morning?”