Title:
Miss Me?
Author: DaxisSteele
Rating: PG
Summary: Senior year, One bus, two enemies, 14 hours together.
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. Characters do
not belong to the author.
Chapter Two: Cold
Rory woke with a start sometime later. Violent shivers were wracking her body. She wished she hadn’t worn a skirt this morning. Jeans would have been so much warmer in this situation. She berated herself for listening to her Grandmother when she told her to dress like a lady in the national capital. Most of the class had worn jeans or at least brought them for the ride home. There was no way she was going to crawl over Tristan to go pull her pajama bottoms out of her suitcase. She could just hear it now, all the crap he would give her for the blue cloud covered material made her cringe. She and her mother had very childish taste in PJs not that it mattered last night when she was sharing a room with Harriet. Harriet was a bigger outcast than Rory, and she would never spill her secret. So, despite the violent chills running up her spine she sat trembling in her short black skirt and purple tank top. She tried to remember how the sun had felt on her shoulders this afternoon while she was walking around but apparently the air conditioning on the bus was more powerful than her imagination.
"What’s wrong?" Tristan’s voice was dripping with irritation at her constant fidgeting.
"Nothing." She snapped back. Tristan was about to shoot another sarcastic remark her way when he saw the shivers shaking her gently. Her skin was dusted with goose bumps and the baby fine hairs on her arms were on end. He stood up and pulled out the long sleeve t-shirt and sweat pants he had slept in the night before.
"Here." He handed them to her.
Rory studied him cautiously for a moment waiting for the smart comment that would most likely come with the offer but found none. She was about to accept when she saw that smirk cross his features. The expression seemed to saturate his entire body making him appear even more smug. He was laughing at her silently knowing what was running through her mind. "No thank you."
"Rory, you’re freezing. Take them." His expression sobered slightly and she reluctantly accepted the clothes.
"Thank you." Her mind deciding any harassment would be better than this cold surrounding her she slid the shirt over her head. Tristan frowned as the baggy shirt covered her beautiful skin but the frown was rapidly replaced with a pang of pride. There was something unbelievably sexy about Rory in his clothes. He watched her pull the sweats over her skirt. He had to sit on his hands when she lifted the shirt to roll the waistband making them the proper length. The urge to touch the toned skin over her abs was unreal. He was relieved when she dropped the shirt back down and sat again. A smile creased her face as the warmth began to seep to her bones. Eyes closed against the pleasant sensation she hugged her knees to her chest and laid her head on them. She sighed deeply inhaling the cologne clinging to the fabric surprised at the comfort she felt from the scent. She had never realized that Tristan wore her favorite cologne. Her grin increased to a slight chuckle.
"Wow, you’re much happier when you are warm aren’t you."
"It’s not that." She started and then stopped embarrassed to continue.
"What?" She was surprised at the genuine curiosity in his voice.
"I never realized you wore Polo Sport. It’s my favorite." Tristan made a mental note to never let his supply run low. He couldn’t help but stare at her in awe. She looked so adorable with her tiny body swimming in his clothes tapping her fingers to the music spilling out of her earphones. He wished it would happen more often. He ripped his eyes from her and turned back to his magazine. When he saw her shake off the remainder of the chills out of the corner of his eye he absently reached over and began to rub her back. Rory’s eyes shot open in shock but she closed them again when she saw he was engrossed in an article. He probably didn’t realize he was doing it and it was warming her up even faster. Tristan’s hand stopped suddenly when he realized what he was doing but began again when he saw the slight frown begin to tug at her lips. She must have really been cold to endure this contact from him. His fingertips brushed lightly over her back relishing in the gentle shudders she had in reaction. Rory couldn’t stop the sigh at the relaxed feeling washing over her. It was times like this she really liked being around Tristan. The brief moments when he would drop the act and show her a glimpse of the sweet guy she knew was in there somewhere. In more cases than not that glimpse was just that a snapshot in time before he would fall back on the arrogant jerk she hated so much. There were days she wondered if he was bi-polar of if he just liked toying with her emotions that much. Her reactions to him were so powerful, one minute she was in love with him the next she hated him. Maybe she needed professional help. That couldn’t be normal human behavior, or at least not sane behavior.
"Rory?" Tristan whispered just loud enough to be heard over the earphones.
"Hmm?" She was fighting consciousness.
"Never mind." He smiled at her fluttering eyelids. He pulled the headphones off her head and watched her curl into a tiny ball on the cushion next to him. She rested her head on his thigh and surrendered to sleep.