chapter 2
laura stepped out of the cab onto the stone stairs of the huge church in front of her. she stared up at it until jesse pushed her from behind, almost making her fall. he grabbed her and steadied her, then helped tara out. laura rolled her eyes.
after paying the cab driver, laura grabbed her suitcase and duffel.
" c'mon. we're late." she called over her shoulder. jesse and tara followed her as she made her way up the stairs, stopping at the top. she dropped her duffel to free her hand and pulled open the heavy door. stepping in the building, she squinted, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. a few second later, she heard a scream. grinning, she dropped her bags at her sides and let alex sweep her up in a bear hug.
" finally! we've been waiting forever!" cassy exclaimed, hugging her after alex let go. she gave her one last squeeze and let her go, stepping back and looking past her. " i'm guessing they're jesse and tara." she said.
" nice to meet you." tara said, extending her hand out. cassy shook it. jesse, who was hiding behind tara and laura, just sort of smiled at them.
" where's silverchair?" laura asked innocently, looking around in hopes of spotting a certain member.
" you're so transparent. daniel went home to take sweep for a walk. he thought you weren't coming." laura wasn't able to hide the disappointment.
" what about ben and chris?"
"chris went with daniel, and ben went to get some food. it's almost dinnertime, ya know." laura nodded distraticedly.
" did you have a good flight?" alex asked as he scooped up her luggage and walked back outside. laura followed him to a parking lot by the side of the church, where he dumped her stuff in his car, making room for jesse and tara's stuff. "hey. where'd they go?" alex asked, looking around him.
" cassy was showing them something. you're on luggage duty." she smiled at him and leaned against the car.
" if i'm on luggage duty, then you're my assistant."
" really? what do i do then?"
" talk to me."
" sounds good."
" so, you never answered my question." he walked back to the church and got another load.
" boring. i slept most of the time."
" oh," alex grunted. after depositing the bags in the car, he stepped back and rubbed his arm.
" what's wrong?"
" something poked me."
" something poked you?"
" yeh."
laura opened her mouth to talk, the shut it as a jeep pulled into the parking lot, parking a few spaces away from them. the door opened and dog came bounding out...........
the other door of the jeep opened and chris hopped out, calling after sweep. she ignored him, padding over to laura and jumping on her, her tail wagging happily as she attempted to lick laura's face.
" sweep, c’mon! daniel.....get your dog!!" chris shouting. he stopped in front of them and pulled sweep of laura.
"geeze. you'd think he'd actually come out and say hi. he's been wanting to see you for........." chris voice trailed off. he grinned. " gimme a hug." he said, holding his arms out to her. they embraced. hearing a door slam, they broke apart and turned towards the jeep. daniel had gotten out and was slowly walking to them.
" well, chris. you still have to meet laura's friends. let's go inside."
" ok, alex." trying to hide their smiles, the two trotted off.
" hey," daniel said shyly, looking at the ground and running his hands through his hair.
" hey."
daniel grinned.
" well?"
" well what?"
" do i get a hug?"
" yeh....." he leaned forward and stiffly hugged her.
daniel pulled back. staring at the ground, he cleared his throat.
" ummm...i know this sounds kind of crazy, but may i kiss you?"
laura stared at him with a confused expression. "what?"
" nevermind. i never said that, ok? umm...we better get inside..." laura was grinning at him. he felt an embarrassed flush rise to his face. " what?"
unexpectedly, laura grabbed him and kissed him, running her fingers through his hair. sweep jumped up and clawed her in the stomach, but she ignored her.
as they pulled apart and old green car pulled into the lot, parking a few spaces away from them. ben got out, lugging a big bag with him.
" laura! you're here!" his eyes darted back between her and daniel. " hehe.........well, i'll just be heading in......"
" we'll come with you." daniel cringed at the sound of his voice. he hadn't meant to say that.
" ok......we've gotta eat anyways. you hungry, laura?"
" yeh, the plane's food is crap."
" yeh....."
" what'd you get?"
" some stuff from this place downtown. 100% vegan."
" cool..."
daniel and laura followed ben into the side doors of the church. cassy almost immediately pulled laura aside, giving her a look that said, " tell me or i'll smack ya."
" nothing happened." laura said, glaring at her smiling friend.
" yeh. sure. by the way, daniel looks great with your berry lipstick on."
chapter 3
chapter 1
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