Resist Your Urges

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August 22, 2002

"Where the hell is Lainey?" Frank yelled at the top of

his lungs.

"She’s still downstairs in props!" a voice called up

to answer.

"Dammit! I need those wings! How fucking long does it

take to find wings?" Frank yelled, stomping around in

frustration. Miranda sat on the stool, her chin

resting in her hand, looking bored.

"Are we going to be done soon Frank?" she asked.

"As soon as Lainey gets back here with the damn

wings!" he shouted.

Miranda rolled her eyes and grabbed a man who was

running by.

"Get me bottle of spring water." She said. The man

nodded and ran off to get one for her.

Lainey ran up the stairs as fast as she could carrying

the giant white feather wings from props. She finally

reached the 3rd floor and stopped to take a breath.

Just then, someone turned on the giant fan. The wings

responded by flying out of her hands and across the

room.

"Jesus H. Christ Lainey!" Frank roared. "Can’t you do

anything right? Mark! Get over here and put those

wings on Miranda! Zip zip, Time is money!"

Mark gave Miranda her water and ran over to get the

wings. Lainey was picking white feathers off the

ground when Mark stepped on her hand.

"Ouch!" she cried, jumping up and glaring at Mark.

"Sorry!" he shouted backwards at her. Lainey stood and

held her injured hand. Mark affixed the wings to

Miranda’s back and jumped out of the way. Immediately

Frank began snapping photos, and Miranda went into

supermodel mode. Lainey gritted her teeth and went

back to the table where her coffee was. She hated this

job. If she could get paid as much shoveling trash

she’d do it. As it was, New York was an expensive

place to live and Lainey was a slave to the grind. She

could hear the sound of the clicking camera as it

captured Miranda’s grace and sleek body. If it could

only show the amount of cocaine it had taken Miranda

to achieve that look, she was sure that America would

recoil in horror. Or maybe not. America was a fucked

up place.

"Okay!" Frank yelled out. "That’s a rap!" At this, the

confusion began again as Miranda stood impatiently

tapping her foot while Mark removed the wings. "Can I

take off this stupid bra yet?" Miranda shouted. "It’s

poking me!"

"In a minute sweetie!" called her agent from the

corner.

Lainey wanted to gag.

"Lainey!" Frank hollered. "Take these back down to

props!" he said, pointing at the wings.

"No way! It took me fifteen minutes to argue with

Donny, 10 minutes to find them, 5 minutes to get them

up here, for 5 minutes of film?" she walked over,

enraged. Everyone gasped, all conversation stopped.

Frank stared at her in surprise. Then his _expression

changed to steely anger.

"Do it now, McKinnon, or you’re fired."

A war took place within her. How satisfying it would

be to tell him to fuck off. It would not, however, be

satisfying to live in a box on the street. She grabbed

the wings and swore loudly.

"PMS much, Lainey?" Miranda cooed at her.

"Shut up you anorexic bitch." Lainey hissed.

"You’re just jealous that you’ll never be the one in

front of the camera, McKinnon." Miranda snapped.

"How about I shove these wings up your ass and you can

fly to hell?" Lainey said.

Miranda air kissed her and flipped her the bird.

Lainey walked away feeling like she wanted to punch

someone.

Back in the prop room, Lainey walked past an equally

pissed of Donny, the prop master. She ignored him and

started back down the long isles of the prop room,

trying to forget Miranda’s barb. She threw the wings

on the shelf and leaned against the wall. Did she have

to work in a job where there were beautiful people

everywhere? Was it absolutely necessary for them to

remind her that she was not one of them? Lainey sighed

and walked back down the hallway and into the

bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face and

looked at her reflection in the mirror. A short woman

with red hair, green eyes and glasses looked back at

her. She took her hair out of it’s bun and shook it

out. Long tangled red curls bounced down her back. It

gave her a headache to have it up so tight, but she

had a thing about having it down. She sighed. She was

23 years old and she felt like 30. No, she would never

be the one in front of the camera.

Three days later, she was sitting at her desk. She

could hear Jimmy talking to Frank about the next shoot

they would be doing. Jimmy was Frank’s boss, and it

was one of the only times she had the pleasure of

watching Frank be forced to be polite. She wondered

who they would be photographing this time. She really

hoped it wasn’t another spoiled supermodel. Frank came

up to her desk and threw a bunch of paperwork on it.

"Get the mock up for this, then come to see me." he

said, and walked away. Lainey spent the afternoon

finishing the mock up. Frank wanted the fan again…it

was his favorite thing…two fake brown trees, and a

simple ring on a chain. Lainey couldn’t imagine who

they were photographing this time, with such simple

props. She got up and went downstairs to find Frank.

At the foot of the stairs, she bumped into someone

walking into the room. The mock up papers she was

holding went everywhere.

"Shit!" Lainey said, bending down to pick them up.

"Hey, I’m sorry about that!" someone said.

"Watch where you’re going!" she said, trying to

re-arrange the papers. She stood up and was about to

continue berating the clumsy man when she saw him. He

was looking at her with concern, and she found her

mouth had gone totally dry. His blue eyes were like

nothing she’d ever seen. He smiled at her. He had the

tiniest gap between his teeth, and he was chewing his

gum ferociously. He was wearing a blue sweater and

jeans that looked like they’d seen better days.

"You okay then?" he said. Lainey recovered and became

herself again.

"Yeah, yeah. I’m fine." She said, pushing past him.

She gave Frank the mock up and walked back to her

table. She took a big gulp of her coffee. Absently,

she looked for the guy she had bumped into. He was

walking up to Frank. He was probably another intern

from upstairs. Lainey shook her head, thinking it

might not be a bad idea to tell him that he wouldn’t

last very long around here if he was clumsy. But

something within her warned her that she shouldn’t.

Perhaps it was better anyway…having Frank yell at

anyone else other than her would be a nice change.

Lainey turned around and went down the stairs to the

prop room to find the ring and chain.

A few minutes later, she found herself arguing with

Donny again.

"No, no, Donny, it’s a gold ring, not silver." She

said impatiently.

"Sorry, all I have is silver." Donny said, shrugging.

"You got me the chain, now get me the gold ring!" she

said. "Look, the last time you couldn’t find a prop

for me, I got my ass reamed by Frank. Are you sure you

don’t have a gold one?"

"Nope." He said, beginning to walk away. She could

tell he was really concerned. She looked down and saw

his wedding ring. It was a gold band. Donny must have

read her mind, because he snatched his hand away.

"Uh-uh. No way, McKinnon." He said. "Sherry will ream

me if I lose this!"

"Give me the ring, Donny." She said.

"No way."

"Give me the ring or I tell Jimmy about your porn

collection on the computer." Donny hesitated, looking

a little panicked.

"Lainey!" she heard Frank shout from above.

"Give it to me Donny!" Lainey warned. Donny

reluctantly slipped the ring off his finger and handed

it to her.

"If you lose this I’m sending Sherry after you!"

"Thanks!" she said, running down the isle and up the

stairs two at a time.

"Lainey!" she heard Frank yell again. "Get up here!"

Lainey got to the third floor, running across the

room, trying to get the ring on the chain. The clasp

was being stubborn. When it finally opened, she

slipped the ring on it and closed the clasp. She came

to a skidding halt in front of Frank.

"Finally! Put it on and let’s go! Zip zip!" he said,

walking back to his camera. Lainey stopped, looking at

the man standing there. He was wearing a black mesh

shirt, black pants and nothing else. Lainey found

that her feet had become glued to the floor. She

blinked at him, and mentally smacked herself in the

head. It was the same guy she had tripped over. She

willed her legs to move. She walked behind him and

clasped the chain around his neck.

"Thanks Lainey." He said, grinning at her.

"No problem cover boy." She said, walking away. Out of

old habit, her fingers twisted around the hem of her

shirt as she tried to get herself together. She walked

back to the table and watched Frank click away.

Whoever that was, he certainly knew women wanted. Some

of the girls in purchasing and human resources had

come downstairs to watch the shoot. They were all

fanning themselves and giggling. He must be famous or

something.

Lainey walked over to George and swiped his "hidden"

flask bottle from behind the phone books. She poured

herself a large dose into her coffee and drank it all

in one gulp. It burned down her throat but calmed her

immediately. When the shoot was over, the girls

swarmed over to him. He spent the next fifteen minutes

signing autographs and talking to them. Lainey watched

in disgust. When one of the women reached out to touch

Donny’s ring, she decided she had had enough.

"Okay you pack of giggly birds, go away. I have work

to do and so do you." she said, shooing them away.

They all persuaded her to leave them alone by sighing

dramatically, but she wouldn’t budge. The women left

the studio, looking disappointed and annoyed with her.

She turned to see that he was looking at her, his

brows knit in question.

"Having a bad day?"

"I’m having a bad millennium, cover boy." She snapped.

She removed the ring and chain from his neck. She

started to walk away and he grabbed her shirt.

"You know, I was just being nice. You should try it

sometime. And my name is Elijah, not cover boy." He

said, sounding annoyed.

Now Lainey was mad. He was just like the rest of them.

She leaned in close to him and looked him square in

the eye.

"Cover boy." She whispered sweetly. She turned and

walked away.

Elijah watched her walk away, wondering what was up

her ass. He wasn’t used to women treating him like

that. The moment the thought entered his mind, he

laughed and shook his head. Jesus, maybe she was

right. She had called him cover boy, and that’s

exactly what he was. The pictures that had been shot

today were for the cover of the magazine she worked

for. He watched her take the ring off the chain and

hold it in her hand. She walked down the stairs

without a backward glance.

A little while later, she had a few free minutes while

the photos were being developed. Lainey gave into

curiosity and walked up to HR on the pretense of

asking a question about her benefits. A woman named

Jessica was sitting behind the desk, typing away.

Lainey cleared her throat. Jessica looked up.

"Hello Lainey." She said, going back to her typing.

"Hey Jessica. Sorry I had to break up the party

downstairs… " she said.

"It’s okay. If you hadn’t stopped us we’d still be

down there, and I still have a ton of work to do!" she

said, smiling. Lainey liked her better already.

"Say, can I get a 401K form?"

Jessica nodded and opened a folder. Lainey took a form

and pretended to study it.

"So who was that anyway?"

"Who was what?" Jessica said, her fingers flying

across the keyboard.

"Who was that guy you were all fawning over?"

Jessica stopped typing and looked at Lainey like she

had just grown a second head.

"You mean you don’t know?" she said, her voice raising

slightly in confusion.

"Umm…no." Lainey said, feeling suddenly stupid.

"Jesus, girl, you need to get out more! That was

Elijah Wood! From The Lord of the Rings? You

know…Frodo?"

Lainey shook her head. She had heard of it but hadn’t

seen it. Was that why Frank had wanted a ring?

Jessica laughed.

"Lainey, I’m going to give you some advice from one

woman to another." She said, looking at Lainey

closely. "Go outside once in a while. It’s a great

world out there…why not try enjoying it?"

Twenty minutes later, Lainey again found herself

studying her reflection in the mirror. Had she really

been hiding from the world? Her reflection seemed to

nod back at her vigorously. She sighed. She had used

her anger as a shield for so long that she didn’t know

anything else. Perhaps she shouldn’t have been so

bitchy to this Elijah guy. She left the restroom and

headed for the studio, determined to apologize for her

rudeness.

Elijah and Frank were looking over the photos that had

just been developed downstairs. She watched Elijah

laugh at one of them.

"I look like a deer in the headlights!" he said,

pointing to it.

Lainey walked up behind them and glanced at the

picture.

"Jeez, you’re right!" She exclaimed before she could

stop herself.

Both men turned around to stare at her.

"Oh look! It’s the wicked bitch of the west!" Elijah

said sarcastically.

"Lainey, don’t you have someone else to annoy?" Frank

barked at her.

All her thoughts of apologizing vanished as she

resisted the urge to slap them both.

"No, I’m on the schedule to annoy you today." She

said, more to Elijah than to Frank.

"Gee, how sweet an offer ‘Lainey’" he said,

pronouncing her name with a little nod of his head and

a roll of his eyes.

"Are you always this much of an ass or do you take

days off?" she said sweetly. At this point, Frank had

had enough.

"Go away Lainey!" he shouted.

"Watch it Frank…remember your blood pressure…" she

said, and walked away.

"There’s nothing like a redhead in a temper, is

there?" She heard Frank say to Elijah.

She was too proud to turn around to see his reaction.

~~~~

The next week was crazy at the studio. Lainey hardly

had time to think for all the work that she was doing.

The deadline for print time at the magazine was

approaching in eight days. Jimmy came down to see

Frank that Friday afternoon. Lainey was an expert as

eavesdropping, so naturally she heard the whole thing.

"Frank, the shots of Wood are great but we need more.

Do you have anything else?" Jimmy asked.

"No, I don’t. His schedule was so tight that all he

was able to do was those four hours on Monday." Frank

answered.

"Can you call his agent and ask if we can do more?"

"It was hell getting her on the phone the first time…"

Frank trailed off, sounding slightly frustrated.

"Try again. Don’t make him come here though…take some

in the park or something. Ones that don’t require

props." Jimmy said.

Lainey laughed to herself, knowing Frank would be

disappointed that he couldn’t bring his giant wind

fan. Frank hated location shots.

"Sure thing Mr. Bloomfield." Frank said, addressing

Jimmy formally.

Lainey quickly began typing again as Frank walked

towards her desk.

"Lainey, set up the things we’ll need to do an on

location shoot." Frank said flatly.

"Anything else?" she asked, almost feeling sorry for

him.

"Yeah, I can’t handle another round of phone tag with

Wood’s agent. Get the number and set it up." Frank

said.

"Wood…?" Lainey feigned innocence.

"Don’t even pretend you didn’t hear the whole thing

Lainey." Frank said, eyeing her. "And please be on

your best behavior this time."

Lainey frowned at having been found out. But the rebel

inside her was itching for another battle of wits with

this Elijah Wood guy…

"This is Lainey from Front Magazine, can I please

speak to Jane?" she asked politely. She had been

trying for 3 hours to get ahold of Elijah’s agent.

"Hold on…" a voice said. Two seconds later she was

finally talking to her.

"Mrs. Spacer…I know that Elijah was at our studio the

other day for a shoot and I know that his schedule is

really crazy but please oh please could we ask him to

come to Central Park on Sunday for some off the cuff

shots?" Lainey gasped out all in one breath, afraid

that Jane would hang up on her. There was silence on

the other line. Lainey was afraid she’d been hung up

on, but she heard Jane Spacer sigh.

"Fine… he’ll be there for two hours, no more."

"Thank you!" Lainey said, amazed that she’d agreed.

They arranged a time and place in the park to meet him

and Lainey hung up. She resisted the urge to do a

victory dance on her desk.

~~~~

Sunday came and Lainey found herself trudging through

Central Park carrying loads of camera equipment. No

one else had been able to work Sunday except for her.

They all had social lives, Lainey thought, gritting

her teeth at the thought. It was summer and she felt

like she was going to sweat herself into a puddle. She

prayed her deodorant held out.

Frank walked ahead of her, scoping out good places for

shots. He pointed to a bunch of trees with a large

rock next to it.

"Here." he said, pointing. Lainey dropped the

equipment on the ground and let out her breath in a

whoosh. This was heavy stuff. She took out her bottled

spring water and winced as it slid down her throat. It

was already warm.

"Okay Lainey, help me set this up." Frank said,

leaning down and beginning to unpack the equipment. A

few minutes later, the tripod was set up and Frank was

removing his camera from the case like it was a

newborn baby. He set it on the tripod and clicked the

lock into place so that it wouldn’t fall. He looked at

his watch.

"Go get me a soda." He said, thrusting a dollar into

her hand. Lainey gritted her teeth for the second time

that day, wondering where she could obtain some

cyanide to put in his soda. She walked out of the

wooded area and headed for a vendor. She purchased a

Coke for Frank and another cold water for herself. She

downed all the water before heading back. As she was

walking, she felt her sneaker loosen. She looked down

and sure enough, her laces had come undone. She swore

loudly and set down Frank’s soda. She was re-tying the

lace when she heard a voice behind her.

"Ooooh…what a perfect opportunity for target

practice…"

She stood quickly and looked around. Elijah stood

there, smirking. Lainey’s mind raced for an

appropriate comeback.

"Sort of like your face?" she said, picking up Frank’s

soda and aiming it at his head.

"Good afternoon, your bitchiness." Elijah smiled,

walking past her.

"Good afternoon, cover boy."

Lainey watched him as Frank asked him to pose against

the rock. He leaned casually against it, his eyes on

the camera. She handed Frank his soda.

"Where’s mine?" Elijah asked, his blue eyes flashing

at her wickedly.

"Ooops, sorry, I didn’t realize the big movie star

drank Coca Cola like the peasant folk…." Lainey shot

back.

Frank stopped fiddling with the camera and looked at

Lainey with a curious _expression on his face. He

looked at Elijah, who was watching Lainey. Frank shook

his head and sighed.

Lainey watched Elijah as Frank asked him for certain

poses. As much as it irritated her to admit it, there

was something about him that she couldn’t shake off.

His body shifted for another picture and Lainey felt a

bizarre flutter in her stomach. She closed her eyes

and willed her mind back to reality. She refused to be

attracted to a movie star. Suddenly, the urge to

leave came over her.

Elijah watched Lainey from the corner of his eye. She

stood fidgeting behind Frank. Absently he wondered

what she looked like without her hair in that tight

knot at the back of her head. It looked red enough to

be fire.

He wondered what she was like when she was really mad.

‘I’d like to see it.’ He thought.

There was something going on here…Frank thought to

himself. He’d never seen Lainey so agitated before.

She always treated the models like shit, but he knew

what that was about. He had no idea where this

animosity towards Elijah Wood came from. He turned

around to get a cigarette and saw she was biting the

nails on one hand and the other was twisted around the

hem of her shirt. He looked back at Elijah to see him

watching Lainey, with a look on his face like he was

about to win a long fought battle. Frank shook his

head again, and put the cap on the lens.

"That’s it!" he called. This should be fun to watch…

Lainey came up behind Frank and took the film rolls

from him. Her fight or flight instinct had kicked in

and she wanted to get away from here as fast as she

could. She quickly packed the tripod while Frank and

Elijah shook hands.

"Nice to work with you again Frank." He said. "I look

forward to seeing them when they’re developed."

"Thanks Elijah. We’ll send over copies to your hotel

room when they’re done." Frank said. He turned to see

that Lainey had almost finished packing. He’d never

seen her move so quickly before.

"Okay, let’s go!" Lainey said shrilly, picking up two

of the heavy cases and walking away. She rolled her

eyes when she heard footsteps come running up behind

her. She knew Frank couldn’t run like that.

"Lainey, can I ask you something?" Elijah said.

"No, I haven’t seen Lord of the Things." Lainey said,

still walking.

Elijah stopped walking, and Lainey heard him burst

into laughter. She kept walking towards the car.

"It’s Lord of the Rings." He caught up to her and

said, still laughing.

"Whatever." Lainey said, pulling a case up to

re-adjust the weight.

"That’s not what I was going to ask you." he said,

coming forward and taking a case from her and swinging

the strap onto his shoulder.

"I don’t need help." She stopped and said, reaching

for it. He stepped backwards, shaking his head.

"Look, this isn’t twenty questions, or truth or dare

here." she said, walking away again. The car seemed

like a hundred miles away.

"Yes it is." He said cheerfully.

"FINE!" she shouted, stopping to face him. Patrons of

the park stopped what they were doing to stare at her.

"What do you want??" she cried.

"I just wanted to know…do you have fangs?" he said,

looking at her with mock seriousness. Lainey stared at

him for a moment.

He was directly out of his mind!

The innocent look remained on his angelic face.

"AUGH!!!!" she screamed, throwing the camera case on

the ground. Elijah jumped back and began laughing

hysterically. Lainey watched him jumping around like a

little boy on Christmas morning, giggling madly.

She thought that her head would erupt like Mount Saint

Helens and spew lava all over the place. But at that

moment God granted her the most beautiful comeback

line. Her face calmed immediately and her eyes turned

to ice.

The laughter stopped.

"Only when I’m hungry for spoiled movie stars with

attitude problems and big noses."

His jaw dropped open. The look on his face was

priceless.

"I…I do not have a big nose! And I am not spoiled!" he

said, his fingers flying to his face to make sure his

nose hadn’t become three sizes too large. At this,

Lainey had her revenge.

"Biiig nose cover booooy…" she sang, picking up the

case and walking away. Her pace increased. She loved

having the last laugh, the last word. It was crucial.

"Excuse me, your bitchiness?" she heard him call to

her.

Dammit, he had recovered from her insult too quickly.

She shut her eyes tight.

The two halves of her brain began to war with her

again.

‘If you turn around now, the last word is gone…’ One

half argued.

‘If you don’t turn away now, you’ll always wonder…’

The other half called out to her beguilingly.

She gave in. "What?" she said her voice full of

annoyance. His eyes were sparking with mischief.

"You should watch out…I may decide to give you a

compliment someday."

He said, winking at her and walking away.

Lainey watched him until he got into his car and left

drove away. Her mind seethed in anger. A compliment?

What the hell did he mean by that?

"Lainey, will you stop staring at the space where his

car was and get your ass in gear?" Frank said, coming

up behind her.

"Shut up Frank. Just shut up." She said, heading for

the car.

Frank chuckled to himself.

~~~~

Lainey was both dreading and looking forward to

getting the pictures developed. Monday seemed to both

arrive quickly and take forever to come. She woke up

that morning and contemplated calling in sick. She

pushed this thought away as soon as it came to mind.

That was a defeatist attitude and she hated herself

for it. She got dressed and downed a large cup of

coffee.

The subway ride to the building where Front Magazine’s

offices were was long and frustrating. Someone

coughed on her, making her certain he was contagious.

Then she went to hold onto the bar to steady herself

and her hand came in contact with someone’s petrified

gum. By the time she arrived at her desk she was

positively boiling. There was a note on her desk from

Frank.

"Come to studio immediately."

She picked up the note and hurled it into the trash.

A headache was just beginning to grow at the base of

her skull. She closed her eyes and wished she were

anywhere but here.

A few minutes later, she entered the studio and walked

over to Frank. He was flipping through a stack of

papers. He handed some to her and began his daily

tirade of things for her to do. Her mind kicked into

high gear as she listened to him. Lainey scribbled

notes to herself as Frank yammered on. She was trying

valiantly to ignore her headache when she realized she

had just missed something important.

Frank was staring at her, looking annoyed.

"Did you hear me, McKinnon?" he snapped.

"Uh, yes, fax the Blue Moon mock up to the LA

office…Send Donny the art request for Wednesday

and…uh…" she stopped, trying to remember the last

thing Frank had asked her to do.

"Bring the Wood photos to his hotel and have him pick

4 and sign off on them." Frank said.

"What?" Lainey said, looking at him in shock. Frank

resisted the urge to laugh at the horrified look on

her face. Instead, he drove home his request again.

"I said…take the photos to Elijah, have him pick four,

then have him sign off on them, then come back here so

we can PRINT THEM!" he said, almost shouting.

"All right, all right! JESUS!" Lainey hollered back.

"Zip zip! Time is money!" he said.

Lainey gave him a look that would freeze water. She

walked back to her desk feeling like an idiot. Bad

enough she had to see the pictures of him, say nothing

about actually seeing him again. She sat down at her

desk and rubbed the back of her neck. This headache

would be a whopper.

Three hours later she had done everything Frank had

asked her to do with the exception of bringing the

pictures to Elijah’s hotel. She bit her nails and

looked at the clock. It was 1:14pm. She needed to

stop being so stupid and just get it over with. She

got up and went downstairs to get the photos from

George.

"Hey Lainey!" George said pleasantly. Lainey liked

him, he’d been working here a long long time. No one

minded that he was a little bit ‘off’. Lainey didn’t

admit she had snitched his stash of alcohol the other

day.

"Hey George." She said. "I need the pictures we took

at the park the other day."

George shuffled a few papers on his desk and handed

her a big brown envelope.

"Have you seen these?" he asked.

"No, why?" she said, signing the "OUT" sheet on the

clipboard.

"I think you might like to."

"George, I don’t have an obsession with this guy like

every other woman in this building." Lainey said,

rubbing her temple.

"UmmmHmmm." George said, watching her. "Still, I

think you should take a look at them."

"Whatever." She said, waving at him and walking away.

She refused to give in to her temptation to follow

George’s advice. She didn’t want to see them. It

took all her will not to tear open the envelope. She

walked back to her desk and set the envelope on top of

it. She looked at it like it would jump up and bite

her.

Just then, an image of Elijah winking at her came to

mind. Her stomach flipped over again and she began

muttering to herself.

"Go away. Go away. Go away! I refuse to be

attracted to a movie star! I refuse!"

She said, twisting her shirt hem like it was a life

line.

"Are you okay Lainey?" she heard Mark say.

"YES!" she said shrilly. Mark backed away, knowing

better than to push her temper. She picked up the

envelope and her purse, and headed out the door to

head for the hotel.

Fifteen minutes later, she walked in the door of the

hotel and asked the concierge to ring Elijah in his

room. She sat down on a couch and waited, all the

while her mind was racing. Why had Frank made her do

this? Was he doing it to drive her crazy or

something? Why was her stomach in such awful panicked

knots? Why all of a sudden did her reflection in the

window make her want to smash it?

Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice in her mind...

"Lainey! Throw that makeup away!" she heard her

mother say. "Makeup is not going to hide what you

really are!"

Lainey shut her eyes tight and willed the memory away.

She took a few moments and breathed in and out,

waiting for the voice to fade.

"I see the Queen is taking a nap?" she heard. She

her eyes flew open to see Elijah in front of her. He

was wearing a black T-shirt with red flames on the

side and faded blue jeans. His hands were in his

pockets and he was regarding her with curiosity.

She jumped up from the couch.

"Shit." She breathed. He had caught her off guard.

"Mmm...it’s alive." He said.

Lainey eyed him with annoyance.

"Pick four, and sign off on them." She said, shoving

the envelope at him.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the couch

again?" he said, taking the envelope.

"Shut up cover boy." She said, planting her hands on

her hips.

She could see she had hit a nerve, as his smile faded.

"You know, I’m not the devil here." He said.

"Then why the hell are you wearing his outfit?" she

snapped.

He looked down at his shirt, then back at her.

"Why the hell do you have such an attitude? What did

I do to you?"

"Hmmm...let me think...calling me "Your Bitchiness"

might have had something to do with it..." she said,

tapping her temple and looking at the ceiling.

He sighed, then laughed.

"There’s just something about you that makes me want

to tease you." He admitted.

"Resist your urges." She snapped. "Now come on, just

pick four. I have to get back to work."

"I’m thirsty. Come to the coffee shop with me." He

said, walking away.

"I told you, I can’t, I have to get back." She said.

"Resist the urge to go back." He said, smiling. He

walked out the door and Lainey had no choice but to

follow him.

The coffee shop was nearly empty. He settled himself

into a booth and grabbed a menu. Lainey sat opposite

him. The waitress came up to them and asked what they

wanted.

"I’ll have a bagel with cream cheese and a coffee."

He said.

"Coffee, black." She said.

The waitress ignored her, staring instead at him.

"Oh my god, you’re Elijah Wood aren’t you?" she

gasped.

"Yes." Elijah nodded and flashed a brilliant smile.

"Oh, God, can I have your autograph?" she squealed.

He nodded and she ripped off a piece of paper from her

order book. He signed it and gave it back to her.

"Oh thanks! I’ll be right back with your coffee and

bagel!" she said, walking away happily.

Elijah looked back at Lainey to see her _expression

was as black as night. He frowned. She looked ready

to kill everyone in sight.

"What’s the matter?" he asked, fully knowing why she

was mad.

"It must be nice to have everyone fawn over you like

that." She said, her voice as cold as ice.

"It’s helpful sometimes." He said cheerfully. She

sat back against the booth and shook her head.

"I bet you have people everywhere flocking to answer

your every whim."

"Umm...not exactly." He said.

"Well cover boy, what do you bet she brings your bagel

and coffee, but not mine?" Lainey said, raising her

eyebrow.

"Please don’t call me that." He said. He suddenly

had a dreadful fear that she was right.

"What should I call you? Brainless Boy perhaps?"

"Only if I can call you an incurably bitchy redhead."

He said, warming to the banter.

"Only around you." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Somehow I don’t believe you…" he answered, shaking

his head.

Just then, the waitress brought his bagel and coffee.

Hers didn’t come with it. She smiled in triumph.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Elijah said.

"Uh huh?" the waitress came back, beaming at him.

"My friend ordered a black coffee...could you bring

it?" he said politely.

"What? Oh! Oops! Sorry…" she said, hurrying away.

Since when am I his friend? Lainey thought. She

watched him plunk sugar and cream into his coffee and

stir it. He sipped at it and looked back at her.

"So, are you going to let me off the hook and look at

the pictures please?" she said.

"Not until I’m done eating." He said, enjoying the

annoyed look on her face.

Just then a stab of pain hit her in the back of the

head. She closed her eyes and rubbed her neck.

"What’s wrong?" he asked, setting his cup down and

looking at her. Lainey was taken aback at the look of

genuine concern on his face.

"I have a headache." She answered.

"Wow, that sucks. I’m sorry." He said. "Maybe I

should be nicer to you now or I’ll feel guilty."

"Don’t let my pain stop you from enjoying your little

barbs, Elijah." She said.

He looked at her in surprise.

"You called me by my name!"

Lainey mentally kicked herself again. She didn’t

answer him. The waitress returned with her coffee.

He took a bite of his bagel and watched her drink her

coffee.

"You like your coffee black?" he asked, his mouth full

of bagel. Lainey looked up at him and could not stop

the laughter that bubbled out of her at the sight of

him. His mouth was full of bagel, and there was a thin

white line of cream cheese on his upper lip. She

began to crack up, her laughter bouncing off the

walls.

"What?" he said, swallowing his bagel and looking

around at what she was laughing at. He had never

heard her laugh before. It sounded like rain and it

made him look at her in wonder.

She giggled convulsively and pointed at him.

"You have…hee hee hee…cream cheese on your…" she

stopped again to continue laughing hysterically.

Elijah looked down at his shirt. There was no cream

cheese there.

"Where?" he demanded, feeling like an idiot.

She pointed again, still laughing.

"That’s not helpful Lainey!" he said, his voice

raising in frustration.

"Your face!" she squealed in laughter. He grabbed a

napkin and dabbed his face. He missed it completely.

At this, Lainey doubled over in convulsions of

laughter. The waitress looked at her like she was

insane. The look on his face made it worse. She

leaned over the table and grabbed the napkin.

"Here, let me…" she said. But just then, her elbow

came in contact with her coffee and it spilled all

over everything. It was Elijah’s turn to laugh.

"Shit!" she cried, using the napkin to sop up the

coffee.

How strange they must have looked. Elijah rescued the

envelope containing the pictures from the table before

they were covered in coffee. Lainey looked at up at

him, her eyes dancing with mirth. Something within

him stirred at the sight of her. She laughed again

and reached out to wipe away the cream cheese from his

face. He noticed that the tight bun that she always

wore was coming loose. Before he could stop himself,

he reached up and pulled away the two sticks holding

it in place. Her hair tumbled down in a riot of red

curls. She gasped and jumped away from him.

"Stop!" she said, yanking it back.

"No, don’t! I like it down." He said.

She stared at him in shocked silence. He stared back.

The air began to crackle with energy.

The heat between them suddenly became too much.

Lainey panicked.

"I...I can’t..." she said, standing up and running

from the table.

Elijah reached out for her. Something had gone wrong.

"Lainey!" he called. "Where are you going?"

"Just pick four and send them back!" she called to

him. Her voice sounded strange, like she had a lump

in her throat.

"Lainey, wait!" he called, following her. But she

was too fast.

He watched her run out of the coffee shop and

disappear around the corner, her long red hair flying

out behind her like the tail of a comet.

Elijah returned to the booth and sat back, full of

confusion. What had just happened? Why had she run

like that? And what was this sudden fear that he

might never see her again? He looked down at the

envelope. He sighed and opened it, flipping through

the shots of him in the park. The last one stopped

him and he looked at it in surprise. It was a picture

of Lainey arguing with him at the park. She was

shouting at him and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Elijah looked at her tiny form in the photo,

remembering how her temper had finally gotten the best

of her. He mentally thanked Frank for the picture.

Lainey ran and ran until she could barely breathe

anymore. She leaned against a building and gasped for

air. Her head exploded in pain. A sharp voice came

at her and she cried, holding her head.

"Devil!" she heard her mother scream. "Witch! Red

haired witch! I’m going to cut it all off!"

Lainey saw her mother advancing on her with those

bright orange shears. She screamed and ran again.

A few minutes later, she ran to a bench and sat down,

tears streaming down her face. She wiped them away

angrily. She was regaining her composure and at the

same time berating herself for acting so stupidly,

especially in front of Elijah. She hadn’t had a

regressive episode for almost 3 years now. She took a

hold of her hair and wound it up tightly. She

realized that he still had the sticks she used to keep

it up.

"Oh Shit. You’ve done it now Lainey." She said to

herself.

She looked around and saw that she had run almost 3

blocks. She sighed and sat back against the bench and

rubbed her temple. Frank was going to kill her. She

got up and began slowly walking back.

"Well?" Frank shouted at her the moment she stepped

into his office. "Explain yourself McKinnon!"

"He…he didn’t know which ones..." she stammered.

"Great…just great." Frank said storming away from her

and swearing.

Lainey sat down at her desk and grabbed her bottle of

Tylenol. As she was taking them she noticed that an

email had popped up on her computer. She didn’t

recognize the address, so she opened it.

Lainey,

I don’t know what happened at the coffee shop, but I’m

sorry if I did something wrong. Will you let me make

it up to you?

Elijah

How had he gotten her email address? She stared at

the computer screen. He was apologizing? For

something she had done? She felt like a total heel

now. She was the one that went off the deep end for

no apparent reason, and here he was, apologizing. She

took a deep breath and wrote him back.

Elijah,

What happened in the restaurant was not your fault, so

please don’t think you have to make anything up to me.

Also, so as I don’t go home tonight without a job,

could you please send the pictures you chose here

tomorrow via courier?

Lainey

She was careful not to give out any more emotion over

email. She hit the send button. A few minutes later,

his response came through. Lainey opened it.

Yes, I can send them back.

But I still want to make it up to you, so you’ll just

have to let me.

Elijah

He didn’t believe her about it not being his fault?

That was kind of sweet. At this thought, she shook

her head to clear it. What was going on with her?

Lainey rubbed the back of her neck and typed her

response.

Resist your urge to make it up to me.

She hit the send button.

~~~

Tuesday morning came faster than she wanted it to.

She got up and took a long hot shower. She dressed in

her favorite green sweater and black pants. She went

to put her hair up in it’s customary bun and realized

that Elijah still had her hair sticks. She prayed he

would send them back with the pictures. She rummaged

around her medicine cabinet for a hair tie and managed

to spill cotton balls everywhere. She looked at the

fluffy white balls covering the floor and shuddered.

An image of red curls and splatters of crimson blood

littering the linoleum flashed through her mind and

she heard the snap of scissors. She heard her own

voice crying.

Lainey ran out of the bathroom in terror.

She splashed cold water on her face in the kitchen and

stomped her foot in frustration. She was 23 years

old, not 16. Her mother was gone, and she couldn’t

hurt her anymore. She found a rubber band in her desk

and put her hair up. It wouldn’t hold for too long

but it would have to do. She grabbed her purse,

pulled on her favorite leather boots and left her

apartment.

She arrived at her desk to find Frank pacing back and

forth. When he saw her, he walked over, his face red

with anger.

"Well?" he demanded.

"I asked him to send them via courier today." She

said, throwing her purse on the desk.

"When?"

"I don’t know when. I’ll get them to you the minute

they get here." she said, sitting down.

"The second they do, I’d better know." He said. "Did

you see them?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, turning her computer

on.

"Did you see all the pictures?" he asked, tapping his

pen on her desk.

"No, I just gave them to him." she said, wondering

what all this hullabaloo about her seeing the pictures

was.

"Huh." Frank said, now scratching his bald head with

the pen.

"Why?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing. Never mind." He said, and began

his daily to do list. Lainey grabbed her notepad and

began to work.

It was nearly noon when her phone rang. She picked it

up.

"Hello, this is Lainey McKinnon." She said.

"Lainey, this is Liz in reception…I have a…courier

here." she said.

"Great!" Lainey said, relieved to finally get Frank

off her ass about the pictures. "I’ll be right down.

Can you sign for them?" she asked.

"Umm…no, he says you have to."

"Okay, I’ll be there in three minutes." Lainey said,

and hung up the phone.

"Frank!" she shouted.

"What?" she heard him shout back.

"Courier’s here with the pictures from Sunday!" she

called.

"Finally!" he said. "Bring them up!"

Lainey left her desk and walked down the hallway to

the elevator. She punched the button for the lobby

and waited for the door to open. When it did she

stepped inside. Much to her dismay, Miranda stood

there.

"Oh great." She said, looking at Lainey like she was

contagious.

"Fan-diddly-tastic. An elevator ride with a brainless

cocaine addicted model. Just what I wanted to do

today." Lainey said sarcastically, punching the lobby

button.

"Gee Lainey, I think you took too many bitch pills

this morning." Miranda said.

"Oooh, that’s original." Lainey said, wishing the

elevator would go faster.

"It’s so sad to see someone be bitchy and ugly on

purpose." Miranda said, twirling a long blond curl

around her finger and looking at Lainey with mock

sympathy.

She was just about to deliver a brilliant comeback

when the elevator door opened to the third floor.

Miranda stepped out and walked away, leaving Lainey

feeling defeated again. Damn, she hated loosing out

on the last word! She punched the lobby button again

and flipped Miranda the bird. When the elevator

reached the 1st floor, she walked down the hallway

towards reception. She rounded the corner and stopped

short, shocked speechless at the sight in front of

her.

Elijah stood there, watching her gape at him. She had

put her hair back up, but he could see a tiny red curl

at the base of her neck. Her _expression went from

surprise to annoyance all at once. He grinned. It

was just exactly the reaction he was looking for. She

strode angrily over to him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she said,

reaching for the envelope. He held it away.

"I’m not resisting my urges." He said.

"What? Oh. Very funny cover boy. Now please give me

the pictures. I have work to do."

"Nope." He said, still grinning.

"Come on!" she said, stepping towards him. He danced

away just in time.

"I’m not in the mood to deal with your antics today."

She said.

"When have you been in the mood?" he asked, enjoying

the way her eyes flashed angry green sparks at him.

"1999." She said, reaching for the envelope again.

"Uh huh. That was too long ago, you’re overdue." He

said.

"Why do you enjoy torturing me so?" she said,

reaching again for the envelope in vain.

"Torture? That hurts Lainey!" he said, clutching his

chest. "I’m supposed to make up for something,

remember?" He was far too curious now to leave her

alone, and he was having too much fun poking at her

temper.

"No, I told you, forget it." She said, planting her

hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"Can’t." he said.

Lainey removed her glasses and closed her eyes,

pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. He

had never seen her without her glasses before.

"Do you still have a headache?" he said, suddenly

feeling bad.

"Mmmhmm." She answered.

"I’m sorry. Have you gone to the doctor?" He said,

stepping towards her.

Her eyes flew open and in that split second he

realized he had made a mistake. She grabbed the

envelope from him and shouted in triumph. She turned

and began to run down the hallway.

"Shit!" he yelled, and began running down the hallway

after her. She looked behind her to see that he was

following her. She ran faster and laughed wildly as

she heard Liz calling after him to stop. She threw

open the stairway door and began to run as fast as she

could up the stairs. He followed her, swearing as he

watched her body disappear behind the door. He

couldn’t believe she had fooled him like that!

Lainey gasped for breath as she ran up the stairs.

Below her she heard the door open and slam again. She

laughed loudly.

"Such a gullible man!" she called out. She chanced a

glance downward. His blue eyes flashed as he looked

up at her. He looked like a hunter, and she was the

prey. She knew she was going to get caught, sooner or

later, but this was just too much fun. She began to

run again, and she heard his voice call up to her.

"There’s nowhere you can hide leeetle girl….I will

find yooou…" He imitated a lecherous voice.

Lainey laughed and threw open the 3rd floor door.

"Not if I can help it!" she said, and ran smack into

Miranda. Both of them went flying and landed

unceremoniously on the floor.

"What the fuck are you doing, McKinnon?" Miranda

shrieked in anger.

"Shit shit shit!" Lainey cried. In her fall, the

envelope had come open and it’s contents were

everywhere. The stairway door flew open again and

Elijah ran through it. He stopped short to see Lainey

and Miranda sprawled on the floor.

"Oh my God!" Miranda said, seeing him. She jumped up

and smoothed her dress.

"Oh hey! What happened?" he said, trying not to

laugh.

"This psychotic bitch just knocked me over!" she

whined, grabbing his arm and pulling up her leg to

massage her ankle.

Lainey groaned and rolled her eyes.

"A big wind could knock you over, Miranda. There’s

nothing wrong with your ankle." She said, picking up

the photos from the floor.

"Oh but there is!" she cried. "Will you help me to a

chair?" she said, turning her big blue eyes on

Elijah. Lainey wanted to gag.

"Umm, sure…" he said, looking down at her. She turned

away, not wanting to look at him. He sighed and

helped Miranda as she limped down the hallway.

Lainey watched them disappear around a corner and she

swore softly to herself. She should have known better

to play cat and mouse with him. Miranda would turn on

her supermodel charm now and she would be completely

forgotten in it’s glare. She tried to ignore the stab

of pain in her heart at the thought. What was she

doing, acting like a teenager, running away from him

like that? What had possessed her to do such a thing?

She swept up the pictures and shoved them in the

envelope. She stopped short. She picked up one of

the pictures and looked at it in astonishment. It was

of her and him, arguing in the park. She looked like

she was ready to cut off his head, and he was grinning

madly.

"Damn you, Frank." She whispered. She stood up and

walked away.

"Oh, thank you so much…" Miranda said, settling into

a sofa in the marketing department. "I have no idea

what was wrong with that woman!" she rubbed her ankle

again and looked up at him innocently.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" he asked.

"I…I think so, I should perhaps get some ice on this…"

she trailed off.

Elijah sighed impatiently. This was not at all in his

game plan.

"I’ll go get some…" he said. "Do you know where…?"

Miranda pointed down the hallway. He could see the

white gleam of a refrigerator door. He nodded and

walked away quickly. A few minutes later he returned

to see that she had shifted on the couch so that her

legs were up. Her blond hair was arranged around her

face and she was beaming at him.

"Oh thank you…" she said, taking the ice from him.

"Lainey is such a freak sometimes." She said.

"Uhh, yeah, are you okay then?" he said. "I really

have to go…"

"Oh, sure!" she said, looking disappointed.

"Thanks." he said, and walked away. Miranda watched

him go with a pout on her face. Was he blind or

something?

Elijah ran back down the hallway to find that Lainey

was gone. He had no idea where in this building her

office was, as he had only ever been in the studio.

He wandered around for a bit until he found someone he

recognized.

"Hey…do you know where Lainey McKinnon’s office is?"

he asked.

The man looked at him oddly.

"You’re Elijah Wood aren’t you?" he asked. Elijah

sighed and nodded.

"Yes."

"You were here the other day…what are you doing back?"

Elijah’s patience was near it’s end. He squinted at

the man’s name badge.

"Look, Mark. I have some business with Lainey, can

you just tell me where her office is?"

"Next floor up, to the left, three cubicles down."

Mark said. Elijah thanked him and ran back to the

stairway door.

Lainey had no idea where he was, and she was in the

process of trying to convince herself that she didn’t

care when his head popped around the corner of her

desk wall.

"Caught you." he said, grinning.

"No you didn’t." she said, ignoring him.

"I beg to differ." He said, standing in front of her,

still grinning.

"Mmmm…I bet you caught Miranda though." She said,

looking up at him. His eyes widened and he laughed.

"You’re jealous!"

Lainey stood up and sent her chair flying backwards.

"I am not!" she hissed. "Now go away before Frank

comes back!"

"Why?"

"Because I don’t want to get fired!" she snapped.

"But I haven’t signed off on those photos yet." He

said, pointing to them.

She grabbed the clipboard and shoved it at him.

"Oh, gee Lainey! If you wanted an autograph, you

could have just asked." He said loudly, signing the

form. Three or four of her co-workers looked over at

them to watch the spectacle that was taking place.

Lainey smacked herself on the forehead and snatched

away the clipboard.

"Why are you doing this to me?" she cried.

"If you want the truth, I have no idea. But I haven’t

had this much fun in a long time." he said, his voice

full of glee.

"Listen, I’m sure you believe that annoying me is a

lot of fun, but you’re wrong. I’m boring, really! So

just go away!" she pleaded with him. She was so

afraid that Frank would come around the corner any

second.

"Boring is not a word I would use to describe you

Lainey. Angry red haired hellion maybe, but

definitely not boring." He said.

"Okay, okay! She cried. "You win, just GO AWAY!"

Just at that moment, Frank came around the corner to

witness Elijah Wood and Lainey standing face to face.

"What the hell is going on here, McKinnon?" he said,

striding over. Lainey nearly jumped a mile at the

sight of him. She opened her mouth to speak but she

never got the chance.

"Hey Frank! Lainey here was just telling me what a

bad headache she has."

Elijah leaned towards Frank and whispered, "I think

it’s really from her attitude, but I still think you

should send her home." He reached out and shook

Frank’s hand.

Frank was completely caught off guard.

"What?" he said.

"What?" Lainey echoed, incredulous.

"I think Lainey needs the rest of the day off, Frank."

Elijah said, giving Frank a knowing look.

Frank had never seen anything like it. Lainey stood

there, gaping at Elijah in shock, and Elijah stood

there, smiling pleasantly.

"Oh, by the way, thanks for the picture." He said.

Frank nodded, not knowing what to do or think.

"What about the photos?" he asked. Elijah leaned over

and handed them to him.

"I signed off on them." he said.

Frank sighed. There was a lot of work to do today,

but something within him stopped him from saying no.

Something was going on here that he didn’t understand.

He went against his better judgment and shook his

head.

"Sure. Lainey, you can go. Just come in earlier

tomorrow, okay?"

If it was possible, Lainey looked more shocked. Frank

shook his head and walked away.

Elijah turned and faced her again.

"But…" she began, not knowing what to do or say. This

time it was his turn to look triumphant.

"You see Lainey…" he whispered softly. "I always

win."

She stared at him, her mind going a million miles a

second and her stomach flipping over until she thought

she would be sick.

"But…" she began again.

"I told you I would make it up to you, and that’s what

I’m doing." He said.

"But…" she stammered.

"You are so fond of that word! Do you like my butt or

something?" he said, twisting his torso to look at

his rear end.

Lainey’s mind stopped flying out of control and she

landed on another perfect comeback.

"Only if I can kick it."

"Umm…tempting." He said. "But I have something more

fun in mind."

"Come on!" he said, holding out his hand.

Lainey watched him smiling and wondered where her life

had gone crazy within the past two weeks. She fought

a loosing battle with her mind to not go. In the end,

she sighed and took his hand.

Elijah had no idea what he was doing. He couldn’t

seem to keep away from this woman. He resisted the

urge to pick her up and swing her around in happiness

that he had won their argument. She was still

watching him warily, like he was going to eat her

alive.

"Loosen up Lainey. Enjoy the day off."

"What are we going to do?" she said, her voice sounded

small.

"If I told you it would spoil the surprise." He said.

"I hate surprises." She whispered. "Just tell me."

"Nope!" he said gleefully.

Lainey stared at him as the elevator descended. He

was smiling, and the giddy _expression in his eyes was

nearly blinding.

"Look, I have no idea what you think you are doing,

kidnapping me in the middle of a work day,

embarrassing me in front of all my co-workers and

making me wonder at your sanity, but I should warn you

that redheads have extremely short tempers. With all

that said, are you sure you still want to "make it up

to me"?" she said, glaring at him.

He turned around to look at her. His head was tilted

slightly forward and the look in his eyes was like

that of a tiger eyeing his lunch. There was the

slightest hint of a smile on his face. Lainey

instinctively shrank back against the wall of the

elevator. An involuntary shudder went through her

body and her mind went blank.

"I could make it up to you right now…" he said,

stepping towards her. Lainey’s nails dug into her

palms. His face was a few scant inches from hers.

She looked at him, her eyes widening and her heart

pounding madly.

"But I won’t" he said, stepping away.

Her body relaxed and she began to breathe again, but

her mind betrayed her with a tiny stab of

disappointment.

They left Front Magazine’s offices and got into a cab.

Elijah whispered the address to the cabbie and they

were soon zooming through the city.

"Where are we going again?" Lainey asked

nonchalantly, hoping it would work.

"Oh, didn’t I tell you? We’re going to hell. Don’t

you remember, I’m the Devil? See, I’m wearing his

outfit." He said, pulling the waist of his jeans down

a little to reveal his red boxers. Lainey blushed

scarlet and stared out the window, wishing the air

conditioning in the cab worked better. She heard him

laugh to himself.

"So, why are you here and when are you leaving?" she

asked him a few minutes later after she had regained

her composure.

"Wow, are we playing twenty questions again?" he

asked.

"Yep." She said, grinning.

"I’m here doing promotions for LOTR." He said.

"LOTR?" Lainey said, confused.

"Lord of the Rings!" he said, staring at her. "Jeez,

Lainey, have you been hiding under a rock or

something?"

"No." she said defensively. "I heard of it, but I

haven’t seen it."

"You should, it’s great." He said.

"Well, Hello Mr. Ego."

"I didn’t say I was great, I said it was great. Pay

attention."

"I heard something about a guy named Orlando Bloom

that was in it? My co-worker Stacy is crazy in love

with him. She won’t stop blabbing about him." Lainey

said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, well, she can join the rest of the world." He

said, his voice dropping.

"Oooh, bitter much?" Lainey said, happy to finally

find something to jab at him with.

"All I hear is…’Oh Ooorlaaaandooo!’ all the time.

It’s sickening. I mean, he and I are great friends,

but Jesus!"

"Uhh huh….and all those girls in purchasing and HR

weren’t going "Oh Ellliiiijaaaah?"

"Well…" he began.

"I don’t think with your looks that you have to worry

about your female fan population." She said, and just

as it came out of her mouth she wanted to snatch it

back. His eyes widened and he grinned.

"Why Lainey, you’re slipping! I think that was a

compliment!"

"No it wasn’t." she said sullenly, twisting her shirt

hem in her fingers.

"Can I give you one back or will I get my ass kicked?"

"Hmmm let me think…no. Kicking your ass would be so

much more fun."

"So that’s why you were staring at my ass earlier!"

he cried dramatically.

"I was NOT!" she said, slapping his arm and giggling.

"I love your hair." He said.

Lainey’s laughter came to a screeching halt and her

jaw dropped open.

"What?" she managed to squeak.

"Your hair. It’s like fire." He said. There was no

trace of laughter in his voice.

Lainey was speechless.

"I’m hoping you’ll let it down today. You know…like

the cliché’? Let your hair down and have fun?" he

whispered.

There was a lump in her throat the size of Texas.

"Umm…" she searched for words…anything to change the

subject. "I’m thirsty, what about you?" she said,

her voice hoarse.

"Why don’t you let it down Lainey?" he said quietly.

Her mother’s voice came slamming down on her from out

of the past like a jack knife.

"Witch! Satan’s red hair! Beauty is a mask for the

ugliness inside! The Lord Jesus will save your soul…I

pray he will! Keep thy hair bound, child of Satan!"

her mother screamed as the hospital orderlies tried to

restrain her. Lainey choked out a tiny sob.

Elijah watched her go from and angry righteous woman

to one struggling for control over her emotions.

Whatever was happening to her was scaring him. He

reached out and took her hand in his. She shuddered

and closed her eyes tight and pulled away from him.

"Please don’t ask me…" she said.

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry." He said. "Is that why you

ran away yesterday?" he asked softly. She nodded

slowly.

"You can tell me, you know." He said.

"No, never mind. Forget it. I have my reasons." she

said, clearing her throat and shaking her head. She

twirled her shirt hem in her fingers again, feeling

like she could open the door to the cab and fling

herself out onto the street to escape his gaze.

Just then, the cab stopped. He looked out the window

to see they had arrived.

He looked back at her to see that she was smiling

weakly at him.

"I can’t believe it…" she said. "You took me to

Coney Island?"

"I think it’s a long overdue day of relaxation and

fun…for the both of us. I think Jane will kill me

when she finds out, but for right now, I’m a free

man!"

He declared, opening the door for her. She got out

and winced in the bright sunshine. She was still

fighting to control the wild beating of her heart.

She was so embarrassed that she had fallen to pieces

in front of him again. But he was still there,

grinning at her. She shook her head in wonder. She

asked herself for the millionth time whether this was

really happening.

For the next few hours, they walked around the park

and enjoyed the rides. Lainey hadn’t been to Coney

Island for years. She couldn’t remember the last time

she had so much fun, though she was loathe to admit it

to him. They were walking down the pavement, eating

ice cream when he stopped.

"Uh-oh, now we’ve done it." He said.

"What?" she asked, looking back at him. He smiled

wickedly and pointed. She followed his gaze to the

giant roller coaster in front of them.

"Nooo way, Elijah." She said.

‘C’mon Lainey, are you scared?" he said, throwing the

remainder of their ice cream in the trash and came to

stand beside her.

"I am not scared!" she lied.

"Liar." He said, poking her in the side.

"Shut up!" she said, poking him back.

"Well, if you’re not afraid, then let’s go." He said,

walking away.

Lainey followed him, staring up at the massive

structure and listening to the deafening screams of

the people riding it. Roller coasters had never been

her thing. She hoped she wouldn’t get sick. She ran

to catch up with him.

"I love roller coasters." He said. "I love the

freedom, feeling the wind whip through your hair and

the speed of it." He looked so happy and excited.

A tiny voice spoke in her head. ‘Wind in your hair.’

Lainey looked up at him as he looked at the roller

coaster. The voice spoke again.

‘Freedom.’

Lainey chewed her lip in indecision. Her mother was

gone. Lainey wasn’t a witch, or Satan’s daughter. Her

hair wasn’t going to hurt anyone. She took a deep

breath and reached up to pull out the rubber band.

"I heard this one’s really…." He stopped and stared at

her. She had let her hair down. It fell in soft red

curly waves down her back and over her shoulders. It

went almost to the small of her back. The look on her

face was scared yet determined. She looked up at him,

her green eyes questioning him.

"Wow." He breathed. His stomach clenched in surprise

at the thoughts that came rushing to his mind. He

blinked stupidly at her. She was beautiful.

"You look….amazing." he said, suddenly feeling unsure

of himself.

"Shut up and get on the ride." She said quickly. She

took his arm and pushed him towards the car. He sat

down and she sat next to him. She was looking

straight ahead but there was a blush on her cheeks.

Luckily, the whole car was nearly empty as it was a

Tuesday, and the only other people on the car were

several seats back. The operator came and buckled

them in, and the car began to move. He looked over at

her to see her eyes were shut tight.

"You okay?" he asked, wondering if he himself was

anywhere near ‘okay’.

"Oh god oh god oh god please just keep me from being

sick!" she said, as the car sped up and the ride

began.

He threw back his head and laughed as the car sped

around the track. The wind whipped around them and

her hair streamed out behind her. She screamed as

they went down the first hill.

"Put your arms up!" he shouted at her over the wind.

"What???" she shouted back.

"Put your arms up! It’s better!" he said, throwing

his arms in the air and feeling the adrenaline rush

through him.

"No, I can’t!" she yelled.

"Yes you can!" he said, taking her hand from her

tight grip on the bar. He held her hand as the roller

coaster zoomed up and flew down another hill. He

heard her laugh and he looked over at her. She was

screaming and laughing madly, looking back at him, her

green eyes full of surprise and happiness.

And in that one fleeting moment, he was lost.

The ride came to and end and it left Lainey feeling

exhilarated. She was certain that it would take a

week to get a comb through her hair, but she had never

felt anything like it before. She wanted to jump up

and down for joy. She got out of the car and looked

over at him. He was staring at her in a way that made

her heart slam against her chest. Her mind raced back

to the elevator. She smiled at him.

"Thanks Elijah. I really did need that."

"I thought you might." He said, leaning in close to

her. She looked up at him, feeling like a bug under a

microscope.

"So have I made it up to you?" he whispered.

"No, I think you need to pay me a million dollars."

She said, grasping onto sarcasm.

"Don’t do that." he said. His voice had deepened

ever so slightly.

"Do what?" she said, her fingers gripping the hem of

her shirt and twisting it nervously.

"Don’t joke now." He said, snaking his arms around

her waist. Lainey jumped.

"Elijah…I…"

His lips met hers softly. A jolt of energy zipped

through her like lightning. She panicked and began to

pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. She fought for

control against the onslaught of emotions and energy

that bombarded her. In the end, she sighed, feeling

herself let go and open to him. The heat of it was

overpowering. She closed her eyes, letting the

feeling of him wash over her. His mouth opened to

hers and everything but the two of them seemed to

stop. Her pocketbook clanked to the pavement as her

arms wound around his neck. She had never been kissed

like this. Never felt someone else’s soul breathe

with hers. It was indescribable. When he pulled away

from her, she looked up at him in wonder. He smiled

at her and she nearly stumbled backwards.

"I think I can safely say that you have made it up to

me. Consider us even." She said shakily.

He laughed.

The ride back to her apartment building seemed

extraordinarily short. They discussed current events

and some of their favorite books. She found out that

he had a secret love for Stephen King novels and

horror movies. She revealed that she loved Anne Rice

and laughed as he rolled his eyes. They agreed to

keep their favorite corny author secrets safe. He

talked a little about the time that he had spent in

New Zealand, and how he wanted to buy a home there.

She found out that he still lived with his mother back

in LA, which she ribbed him about quite a bit.

She revealed that she had been born in Vermont, and

how she had moved here to find a better career.

Thirty minutes later, they arrived at her apartment

complex.

He helped her out of the cab and they walked to her

front door.

She looked up at him, trying not to think about the

fact that her day with him was over.

"I had a wonderful time." she said.

"Me too. Can we do it again sometime?" he said.

"Oh, I don’t know…I seem to have developed this

obsession with Orlando Bloom…so I don’t know if I can

fit you into my busy schedule of fantasizing about

him…but I’ll let you know." She sighed, fanning

herself with her hand and fluttering her eyelashes.

"Oh Orlaaaadoooo!"

"You’d better not be fantasizing about him!" Elijah

said, winding his arms around her again. "It should

be me you’re doing that about…" he said, kissing her

neck with tiny little fluttering kisses that made her

toes curl. With effort, she pulled away from him.

"You’re going to have to pick me up off the sidewalk

with a spatula if you keep doing that." she said in a

drawling southern accent.

"As long as you’re kissing me and not thinking about

kissing Orli…" he laughed, looking down at her. But

then his smile faded and he sighed heavily.

"I hate to tell you this Lainey, but I feel it’s only

fair." He said. She looked up at him, her heart

suddenly constricting in fear.

"What?"

"I have to go back to LA tomorrow." He said, taking

her hand in his.

Reality slammed into her with all the force of a Mack

truck.

"Uh huh." She said, feeling like a fool for

forgetting who they were. She was a photographer’s

assistant and he was a movie star. She dropped his

hand and backed away. Instinctively she reached up

and wound her hair around her fingers.

"Can I have my sticks back please?" she said, not

looking him in the eye.

"Don’t do this Lainey." he said.

"Do what, Elijah? Live in the real world?" she

snapped.

"Don’t pull away from me just yet." He said.

"Please."

She looked up at him and her heart constricted

painfully. Her mind was screaming at her to protect

herself, to not fall in love with this man standing in

front of her when she knew it was already too late.

"What should I do then, just watch you walk away from

me? Go back to LA with all those beautiful bitch

women?" she said, her voice cracking.

"I don’t want to go back now either, Lainey, but I

live there."

"Yes. And I live here." she said, holding out her

hand. "Please give me my sticks." She said.

He looked at her for a long time before reaching in

his back pocket and handing them to her. She took

them and wrapped up her hair quickly. She turned to

look at him.

"Look, cover boy. We had a nice day. And we had some

amazing, wonderful kisses. But we cannot ignore that

we come from two different worlds." She said.

"Don’t call me that." he said, his voice laced with

anger.

Lainey’s heart was breaking but she continued.

"But that’s what you are. You’re a movie star who

lives with his mom. I’m a 23 year old woman who

forgot who she was for a while. I forgot that I’m not

one of the ‘beautiful people’" She said, turning

around and putting her keys in the lock.

"You can be such a heartless bitch." He said, his

voice cracking with bitterness.

"Good bye Elijah." She said, opening the door and

walking inside. She went to shut the door but he

jammed his foot in the threshold.

"Whoever told you that you weren’t beautiful was full

of shit, Lainey." He said, pushing on the door.

"Go away Elijah. Go back to your hotel room and

forget that this day ever happened." She said.

"No. I won’t." he said stubbornly.

Lainey’s exterior wall of anger and bitterness

couldn’t take much more of this. She looked at his

face, full of hurt and pain.

"Go away." She said, trying to keep her voice even.

"No. You think you’re not beautiful? You think that

the only way to be safe is to not let anyone get close

to you? That’s bullshit." he said, reaching through

the door with his hand.

"Come on Lainey, don’t do this."

"Please." She said, finally loosing control.

"Please, just go away." She choked back a sob. He

pushed the door open, and she turned her back on him.

She put her head in her hands and fought for control.

He came up behind her and put his hands on her

shoulders.

Too late, she realized he would see it.

Elijah gasped in surprise. A long, thin white scar

ran from the base of her neck to disappear under the

fabric of her shirt. She tried to pull away from him,

but he held her.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed.

"Let me go." She said firmly. He did, and she faced

him.

"What happened to you?" he said.

"Get out." she said, pointing to the door, her voice

suddenly sharp.

"No. What happened to you?" he repeated.

"You stubborn asshole! Get out I said!" she said

shrilly. Her defensive walls were taking a terrible

beating.

"I said no! Who did that to you Lainey?" he said

angrily. She stared at him for a few seconds, fuming.

If only she had something to throw.

"Who?" he demanded again, loudly. "Who did, this,

and who told you that you weren’t beautiful? It was

the same person, wasn’t it?"

"Get out!" she shrieked.

"No! Tell me!" he shouted just as loud.

"My mother!"

He stared at her in astonishment.

"Jesus."

"There, are you happy now?" she cried. "Are you

happy that you know that my mother cut my neck with

the scissors when she was cutting my hair in a zealous

craze? Are you happy to know that I nearly bled to

death from it? Are you happy to know that she called

me a witch, and daughter of Satan? Are you happy to

know that she’s dead now? That she died in a mental

institution? That she was……she was…" she trailed off

as the room began to spin. A sharp pain exploded in

her head and she gasped.

Elijah caught her in his arms as she passed out.

When she came to a little while later, Elijah was

still holding her. They were lying on the floor of

her living room. She could hear him breathing like he

was asleep, but his grip on her was tight. She

inhaled, wondering how long she had been out. It had

been a long long time since she’d passed out like

that. Immediately he stirred, but he didn’t let her

go. They held onto each other for a few moments, then

he spoke.

"You scared the crap out of me Lainey."

"I’m sorry." She whispered.

He didn’t speak, but held her there on the floor,

wondering at her strength.

"Elijah?" she said softly. "Do you really think that

I’m a heartless bitch?"

"Yes. But I love you anyway." He said softly.

Lainey’s eyes widened.

"What did you say?" she whispered.

There was an eon of silence.

"I said yes." He sighed.

"Oh." She said, pulling away from him. She got up

and walked into the kitchen to find some Tylenol. She

fought with the bottle of pills as she tried to forget

what he had said, or not said.

"Look, I’m sorry I went into psycho mode there. And

I’m sorry you had to see me "check out of the

building" for a while. But I think you should leave."

She said, drinking some water and swallowing the

pills.

She heard him come into the kitchen. She looked at

him and saw him stick his fingers into the pockets of

his jeans. He was staring at the floor uncomfortably.

"I think you should see a doctor about your headaches,

and passing out." he said.

"And I think that I’m 23 and can handle my own life

thanks." she said, fighting madly to keep her tears

from falling. He stood there, not looking at her or

moving.

"Go back to your hotel room, Elijah. Go back to LA.

Forget you ever met me." she said, walking past him

and opening the front door.

"I don’t want to." He said petulantly.

Lainey sighed. She couldn’t keep this up much longer.

"But this is my house, so I win this time."

"This isn’t how this night was supposed to end." He

said, finally looking at her. His eyes were shining

indigo blue. She gulped and fought back the urge to

embrace him.

"You’re only angry that you didn’t win this time." she

said, reaching out to grab his shirt and maneuver him

out the door.

"I always win." He said, covering her hand with his.

"Not in my world." She said.

Elijah gazed at her. Her eyes were a piercing emerald

green that perfectly matched the blue shirt she was

wearing. He sighed, not knowing what to do or think.

He could go now and leave her in peace but he would

never be rid of this nagging need for her. He

couldn’t believe he had said he loved her. Then he

had chickened out and now she was ushering him out of

her life like he didn’t matter. His mind raced for a

way to win this fight. He grabbed her hand as she

reached for him. He closed his eyes and prayed this

would work.

He took her hand and laid it on his chest. Lainey

jumped unexpectedly. The heat from his body seeped

into her hand and she closed her eyes tight. She

could feel him breathing. They stood there for a

moment, letting the energy between them speak instead.

"I’m not perfect." He broke the silence. "I sing off

key, I smoke cigarettes, I chew gum like there’s no

tomorrow, I swear like a sailor, and I have an awful

temper but I love you." he said all in one breath.

Lainey didn’t move or respond.

"You say that now." She finally said. Looking up at

him.

"And I’ll say that tomorrow. And next year, and the

year after that…." He said. "All I need to know is

whether you can say the same."

"But I don’t smoke, chew gum or sing off key." She

said.

"Smartass." He laughed softly. "I mean…do you love me

Lainey?"

Lainey closed her eyes, and the battle raged in her

mind. Could she say yes, and possibly get her heart

get pummeled in the end? Could she say no and always

wonder are her own fear? She bit her lip

indecisively.

She opened her eyes again and looked at him. His face

was a combination of trepidation, fear, hope, and

nervousness. He was chewing his fingernails, watching

her closely. His startling blue eyes gave away his

soul. Lainey sighed in surrender.

"How can I not with you staring at me like a sad puppy

dog?"

Elijah let out a breath he was holding. He laughed

again and picked her up, swinging her around.

"AUGH!" she squealed. "Put me down you idiot!

Didn’t it occur to you that throwing around a woman

who just passed out a little while ago isn’t a good

idea?"

"Oh god! I’m sorry!" he said, setting her down.

"This time I am going to kick your ass!" she said,

sitting down and shaking her head at him. He grinned

wickedly, turned around, bent over and stuck his butt

right in her face.

"Let the beatings begin." He said.

"Don’t tempt me." she said, poking him.

"I plan on tempting you on a regular basis from now

on." He said, standing straight up and pulling her to

her feet. He hugged her gently.

Lainey sighed.

"Now what do we do?" he said.

She snuggled into his arms and breathed the scent of

his skin.

"I don’t know."

"Would you consider moving to LA?" he said, dreading

her answer.

"It’s so far away…" she said, this time twisting his

shirt in her fingers.

He shifted his weight and looked down at her.

"It’s far away from your…family?" he asked gingerly.

"My mother is dead, Elijah. She died in 1996. She

was schizophrenic. My father died when I was only 5."

Elijah held her close again, wondering what it must

have been like for her to grow up as an orphan. He

thought of his mother, brother and sister back home in

LA.

"If you come to LA, I want you to see a doctor about

your headaches." He said seriously.

"Mmmhmmm…." She said, trailing her fingers along his

arm.

"And if you ever pass out on me again I’ll kill you."

"Mmmhmmm…." She continued trailing her fingers up his

arm to his chin.

"Are you listening to me Ms. McKinnon?"

"Mmmhmmm…" her fingers reached his hair and she curled

her fingers into it.

"That’s not playing fair." He said, reaching up and

pulling the sticks from her hair.

"I hate these fucking things and I don’t ever want to

see them again." he said, hurling them across the

room. They clanked against the wall and slid down

behind the couch. He wound his fingers into her hair

and kissed her.

"LA…" she sighed deeply as he kissed her along her

neck, sending delicious shivers along her spine.

"Isn’t that where Orlando Bloom lives?"

"Ooooh you heartless little red-haired devil." He

said, burying his face in her hair.

"No, you’re the devil…remember, you’re wearing his

boxer shorts?"

"Oh yeah…how could I forget?." he laughed.

Lainey sighed and he kissed her, long and soft, gentle

and sweet.

~~~~

November 16th, 2002

Lainey sat on the uncomfortable chair at LAX waiting

for him. She had been waiting almost an hour now, and

she was getting really annoyed.

She went over their phone conversation in her mind.

"I’ll pick you up at LAX at 11:00am. Wait for me!"

He had said.

"Don’t be late!" she had answered. She sighed as she

twirled a red curl around her finger. She really had

missed the sound of his voice. He had left New York

nearly 4 months ago.

They had talked on the phone at least once a week or

more if his schedule allowed. And of course, there

was always his emails asking her to move to LA. She

had agreed to come to Los Angeles so that she could

"see what it was like."

But now he had left her alone in this airport. She

hated airports. She looked up at the clock to see

that it was noon. She opened her purse and took out a

bottle of medicine. As she shook out a pill she could

hear Dr. Spence’s voice in her head.

"Lainey, you are prone to migranes. I can’t believe

you waited so long to see me! You should have come to

me much sooner. Your ‘injury’ from when you were 16

makes these migranes more dangerous, as the scissors

nearly severed a major artery. And I hear you’re

wearing your hair up so tight that it makes it worse?

Are you into pain or something?" he said, shaking his

head. "Don’t do that anymore. What I do want you to

do is take 2 of these a day and come back in six

weeks."

She popped one of the tiny white pills into her mouth

and drank some of the water she had bought from the

vending machine earlier. She looked around for him

again but he still wasn’t there. She stood up and

grabbed her suitcase. If she was going to have to

wait much longer, she wanted something to read. She

headed for a newspaper vendor.

"Fucking god-damn LAX parking lots!" Elijah swore

loudly as he maneuvered for a spot. He was an hour

late already to pick her up, which he was certain

would put her in a fine temper. He found a spot and

ran for the door. When he got inside the gate where

she should be waiting, he couldn’t see her anywhere.

He swore again and headed down the hallway. A few

minutes later, he spotted her. Her back was to him

and she was absently flipping through a magazine. He

grinned and tiptoed up behind her quietly.

Lainey felt someone’s hand on her ass. She screamed

and dropped the magazine. She turned around, ready to

punch whoever it was when she saw him. His blue eyes

were sparkling with glee as he looked at her.

"Gotcha!" He said, picking her up and swinging her

around.

Lainey felt the familiar surge of joy at hearing his

voice again. She resisted the urge to laugh in

happiness. Instead, she cleared her throat and glared

at him. He set her down again and looked at her

sheepishly.

"The highway was really crowded and I couldn’t find

a…" he began. She held her finger up to him with an

icy look on her face.

"You ask me to come to LA. So I come to LA. You ask

me to wait for you. So I wait. In fact, I wait a

whole hour for you to come rescue me from this airport

which is teeming with a bunch of FREAKY people, and

you think it’s funny to sneak up behind me and lay

your hand on my ass?" she said, tapping her foot and

glaring at him. "I could knock you senseless right

now Elijah!"

"Well…I’ll just have to make it up to you." He said,

taking her suitcase out of her hands and grinning.

Damn. He wasn’t falling for it.

"Ooooh no. Remember what happened the last time you

wanted to "make it up to me?" she said.

"Indeed I do…" he said, leaning down and kissing her

deeply. Lainey tried in vain to stop him, but her

mind and body were zinging with energy. She sighed

inwardly as her memories of him invaded her mind. She

dropped her façade and hugged him.

"God I’ve missed you Elijah." She whispered. It felt

so good to be back in his arms again. New York seemed

like a bad dream.

"I’ve missed you too Lainey." He said, hugging her

back.

"You haven’t been tempted by those beautiful bitch

women, have you?" she said, twisting his shirt in her

fingers.

"No, I’m only tempted by one bitch woman." He said,

pulling away and looking her in the eye.

"Asshole." She laughed. He looked down at her. Her

hair was loose and free, like the doctor had told her

to do. He smiled.

"Are you ready?" he said, brushing a lock of her hair

away from her face.

"I’m as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of

rocking chairs." She said.

"What?" he said, looking confused.

"Never mind." She said. "I’m just a little nervous

to meet your friends."

"They’ll love you."

"Mmmm…including Orlando?" she said, smiling coyly.

"Don’t even think about it McKinnon." He said, taking

her hand and walking towards the door. She laughed

and followed him.

The rest of the day was spent driving around LA in his

car as he showed her his favorite spots, including a

massive CD store. She shook her head in wonder as he

purchased 18 CDs. He looked as happy as a kid in a

candy store.

He then took her home and introduced her to his

mother, brother and sister. His mother was the

sweetest person Lainey had ever met, and she

immediately felt relaxed in their home. She ate

dinner with them that night, and was impressed at how

"normal" they seemed. She had assumed his family

would be…well…Hollywood like. But they weren’t.

Lainey found herself laughing and joking with them in

no time. She couldn’t imagine what it was like

growing up in a normal family.

That night, he took her to the "guest house" where he

lived. It sat behind his mother’s house, and he gave

her the ‘tour’. She was impressed, though she didn’t

show it. He sat on the couch in the living room and

flipped on the TV. She sat down, and he smiled at

her.

"I’m glad you’re here Lainey." He said, opening his

arms. She smiled and snuggled into them, still

wondering to herself how she managed to get there.

Elijah sighed to himself as she curled into him. Her

wild red hair tickled his nose but he loved it. All

he had to do now was convince her to stay here in LA

and things would be fine. He couldn’t go another 4

months without her. In fact, he couldn’t go another

few hours without her. He chewed his fingernails

thoughtfully as they watched the TV in silence. About

a half an hour later, he could hear her even

breathing. She had fallen asleep. He looked at the

clock to see it was nearly eleven. He wasn’t anywhere

near tired. In fact, his body was pumped full of

energy. He had waited so long for her to come to Los

Angeles, and here she was, asleep. He sighed in

frustration and tilted his head back to look at the

ceiling. The warmth from her body grew hotter against

him as she slept in his arms. He swore softly. She

looked so peaceful lying there that he was loathe to

disturb her. He sat there for another few minutes,

trying to decide whether or not to wake her up. She

sighed contentedly in her sleep and shifted her body

ever so slightly. He bit back a groan. Oh God…he

couldn’t take it anymore…

"Lainey." He said quietly. She heard him, but it was

just too delicious to stay in the warmth of his arms.

"Lainey…" he said again, a little more urgently.

"Mmmhmmm?" she said, opening her eyes and yawning.

She looked up at him. His eyes had gone a deep shade

of cobalt and he was looking at her with a strange

expression. Lainey came immediately awake.

He shifted on the couch and sat up. She sat up too,

still watching him. He said nothing, but held out his

hand. Her brows knit in confusion as she took his

hand. He stood up and so did she. He turned and

began walking out of the living room.

"Elijah, where are we going?" she laughed.

He stopped and put his finger to his lips. She looked

back at him, completely confused. He began walking

again, and she followed him. He walked up the stairs

silently, and stopped in front of a door. He turned

around and snaked his arms around her waist. Her

heart dropped into her toes. He kissed her urgently.

She returned the kiss hungrily, her fingers curling

into his hair. Then she heard the door open.

Suddenly the realization dawned on her what was going

on. She pulled away from him and gulped nervously.

"Oh." Was all she could say.

The door swung shut behind them.

~~~~

On the third day of her visit, she was sitting in the

chair in the living room, pouring over the classifieds

in the paper.

"Elijah, will you get me a pen?" she called to him in

the kitchen.

"Why?" he said.

"Don’t ask me stupid questions, just do it!" she

hollered back. A few minutes later, he came in the

room. She looked up and nearly spilled her coffee all

over the chair. He was bare chested and he was

wearing his "devil" red boxers. He held the pen out

to her.

"Your pen, Mistress." He said, getting down on his

hands and knees in front of her. His blue eyes

flashed with mischief.

She snatched the pen away from him and giggled.

"Stop it, you’re getting me all hot and bothered,

looking like that."

"Then my evil plan is working." He said, grinning

wickedly.

"Your evil plan?" she said, trying to affect an air

of boredom.

"My evil plan to make you stay." He said, trailing

his fingers up her arm, leaving goose bumps in their

wake.

"Mmm hmmm." She said, putting down the paper.

"You’ll have to try harder than that."

He leaned in and kissed her until she couldn’t breathe

or think.

"Do I win?" he said, breaking the kiss and tickling

her arm. She was still trying to regain her breath

when he saw the newspaper. His eyes widened.

"That’s why you wanted the pen!" he said.

"Yes. I’m just looking…but…" she stammered.

"You’re staying?" he asked, all joking set aside.

"I might be."

"You’re staying." He said again, this time with

finality.

"Maybe." She said, raising her eyebrow.

"No. You’re staying." He said.

"I said MAYBE, Elijah Jordan Wood!" She poked him

with the pen.

"I have ways of making you stay…" he said, tickling

her stomach.

She squealed and jumped out of the chair. She ran

towards the kitchen with him hot on her heels. She

screamed in laughter as he grabbed her. She managed

to get away again.

"Let the tickle war begin!" she heard him shout.

"No!" she cried. She tried to run around the corner

of the kitchen table but misjudged the distance. Her

foot caught on a chair and she fell. He landed on top

of her and began tickling her without mercy.

"No! Stop it!" she giggled, tears streaming down her

face.

Elijah laughed and pinned her down with his legs. His

hands grabbed her wrists before she could tickle him

back. She squirmed underneath him, here eyes

flashing.

"Are you staying? Say it or I won’t stop!"

"Ahhh!" she cried again, still trying to get away.

"I’m going to win, you know it, so just give in!!"

"No! Maybe! AUGH!"

Elijah stepped up the tickle war and pretty soon she

was screaming for him to stop.

"Okay, okay! I’m staying!" She panted. He grinned.

"I knew I’d win." He said, kissing her, his tongue

claiming hers like a prize. Her eyes closed as she

let his kiss travel from her mouth down to her neck.

She shuddered as her body responded to him. Her

fingers curled into his hair. She felt his leg slid

up hers and her eyes flew open. He was grinning at

her wickedly.

"Lij you’ve got to stop or we won’t make it to dinner

on time…" she gasped. "Besides, I can’t even look at

you right now without wanting to rip your clothes

off…"

"Mmm…I was almost ready to let you go when you said

that." He said. Lainey sighed as his hands wandered

down the side of her thigh.

"Lij…" she moaned. "Please…I want to make a good

impression on your friends and…OH!" she cried as his

hand came in contact with her chest.

"You’re making an impression on me…" she heard him

say.

Lainey tried in vain to tell him to stop. Of course,

she really didn’t want him to stop at all.

Elijah was enjoying himself far too much. He looked

up at her to see that her eyes were squeezed shut and

her breathing was coming in short little gasps. Her

hair fell like a waterfall around her shoulders. She

looked like a wild valkyrie from Nordic myths. His

body was responding to the friction she was creating

as she writhed beneath him. His hands roamed over her

body and he wondered absently what the likelihood of

them getting caught having sex right here was. His

hand slipped underneath her shirt and heard her sharp

intake of breath. He looked up at her again. She was

staring at him, her green eyes full of surprise and

desire.

"Right here?" she squeaked.

"Right here." He said, moving up and kissing her

again. She looked at the hallway that led to the

front door.

"But what if your…Oh god…I don’t care either…" she

said. He felt her hands slide down his stomach and he

lost all ability to think.

A half an hour later they lay on the kitchen floor,

giggling madly.

"We totally steamed up the patio door." He said,

pointing to it.

"Uh huh. And I think I have a permanent imprint of

your linoleum tile on my ass." She laughed.

"Oooh can I see?" he smirked. She slapped his hand

away.

"Haven’t you seen enough of my naked body today?"

"Never!" he cried. She laughed and then sighed. She

took his hand and curled her fingers around it and

looked at him.

"I love you Elijah. But if you hurt me I’m going to

unleash my wild Irish temper on you. And if that

happens, believe me, you won’t survive, you got that?"

she said.

Elijah looked down at her. He was surprised at the

rush of emotion he felt. He kissed the tips of her

fingers and smiled at her.

"Yes Mistress."

~~~~

That night, after much fretting about her dress and

how her hair seemed to have a will of it’s own, Lainey

and Elijah arrived at the restaurant where they were

having dinner with his friends.

They sat down and Elijah introduced her to everyone.

To his left sat Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, and Sean

Astin. To Lainey’s right sat Orlando Bloom. She

couldn’t help but giggle convulsively when Elijah

introduced her to him, something that Orlando hadn’t

understood for the life of him. Lainey turned to him

and smiled wickedly. She wound a red curl around her

fingers and batted her eyelashes at him.

"So Orlando…I just have to tell you that I thought

your performance was brilliant as Legolas." She said.

She felt Elijah’s hand tighten on hers.

"Thanks Lainey." He said with his stunning British

accent.

"Would you like to have coffee with me sometime? We

can talk while Elijah throws daggers at your head."

She said sweetly. Orlando looked at her in shock.

"Excuse me?" he stammered.

At this, Billy, Sean and Dom burst out laughing.

Elijah smacked himself in the forehead, rolling his

eyes.

"So Lainey." Billy said, winking at her. "We hear

you’ve stolen Elwood’s heart from him."

"No Billy, his heart is firmly intact." She sighed.

"It’s his mind that worries me." Billy giggled.

"Ha ha. Very funny." She heard Elijah say. But she

couldn’t resist.

"Us too, Lainey." Dom piped up. "We were wondering

where he’s been for the past 3 days. Now we find he’s

been with you!"

"Well, actually Dominic, I had him tied up in the

bedroom for the past three days."

"Jesus Lainey!" Elijah shouted, his face turning red.

Billy and Dom roared in laughter. Orlando shook his

head in disbelief.

"So Lainey, has Elwood scared you with his little

obsessive habits yet?" Sean teased, poking Elijah on

the arm.

"Shut up Sean." He said, shooting Sean a warning look.

"What do you mean?" she said curiously.

"Well, where do I begin…" Sean started. Elijah glared

at him.

"I think you should start with the incessant smoking…"

Orlando quipped.

"What?" Lainey said, looking back at Elijah in shock.

He grinned weakly.

"Or what about the CD’s?" Billy said, pointing at

him.

"Or the continuous nail biting?" Dom said.

"Shut up you guys!" Elijah shouted.

Everyone burst into laughter.

"I knew that you smoked, but incessantly?" Lainey

said, frowning.

"Well, they’re cloves." He said, blinking at her.

"Cloves." She repeated. "As if that all of a sudden

makes smoking okay?"

‘Well…yeah." He said sheepishly.

"Mmmhmmm. And what about the CD’s? I saw you buy

those 18 the other day…do you have more?"

"More?" Dom interrupted. "Try almost 1,000 or more."

For the second time that night, she turned to Elijah

in surprise. He seemed to shrink in his chair.

"I’m going to kill you guys." She heard him mumble.

She had never seen him so embarrassed, and the urge to

make it worse filled her.

As if reading her mind, he looked up at her, his eyes

pleading with her not to.

She looked back at his friends and smiled sweetly.

"Don’t pick on the poor man." She said, patting his

head gently. "That’s my job."

"Yeah, that’s her job now. Leave me alone." He said,

sitting up straight again and smiling. His friends

snickered.

"Besides, it’s so much fun to watch his face get red

like that." She said, taking a sip of her water. "It

looks the same way when we’re having se…"

"Christ!" Elijah yelled, clamping his hand over her

mouth.

The table erupted in laughter.

Lainey giggled, and leaned over to kiss Elijah on the

cheek.

"You know I love you, and that I pick on you because I

care."

Elijah shook his head and took her face in his hands.

"You’re going to ‘care’ me into an early grave

Lainey."

"Ahh…but what fun we’ll have doing it…" she said,

kissing him on the cheek.

"If I find you eyeing Orli again I’ll have to kill

him." He whispered in her ear.

"Don’t worry. I love you and only you." she said,

picking up her menu and perusing the items with an air

of boredom. "I’ll just fantasize about Orlando on the

side."

"Heartless Bitch."

"Cover Boy."

The End.