Break My Fall
Fandom: Gossip
Title: Break My Fall
Pairing: m/f
Author: sweetxpoison666/black_ladybug
Rating: PG-13
Summary: meh... it's about Travis getting a new place to stay after college. Meets a girl named Emilee, but there's more to it. She has secrets... (yes, that sucked... story is better than it sounds.. I hope..)
Chapter 1
Travis sat in the park, watching people as he drew in his sketch book. He saw a girl with short, spiky hair that was so black it was nearly blue. Her long bangs hanging over her pale cheeks. Watching her feet as she walked along. She was wearing black bondage pants with pink detailing, black and pink All Stars, a black suit jacket and a black and white Nightmare Before Christmas Jack scarf. She began looking through her black bag as she walked and tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.
He watched for a second as people walked past her as she scrambled to pick up her things. Travis got up and walked over to her, helping her collect her things. She looked up at him and took the small red book from him. “Thank you.” She smiled graciously.
Travis helped her stand. “You’re welcome…”
“I’m Emilee.” She smiled at him.
“Travis…” He looked at her eyes, curiosity spreading over his features.
“What?” She asked him, cocking her right eyebrow.
“Nothing… just the pink on your lashes…It’s different. I like it.”
“Oh… well you’re the first.”
He chuckled a little, placing his hand to his mouth. “Would you like to get a drink with me?”
She looked almost surprised by his question, “I would, Travis, but I just got paged and I have to meet someone at my apartment.”
He nodded slowly. “You don’t have to lie, I get it. You have a boyfriend…” He scanned the ground quickly, making sure Emilee had gotten everything before turning to go back to where he had been sitting.
Emilee followed. “No, that’s not it. I don’t have a boyfriend. I would love to get a drink with you, but this is just really important.”
“For real?” He asked, looking at her with his head slightly tilted to the left.
“Yes.” Suddenly her eyes lit up. “Why don’t you come with me. You can help me.” She smiled.
“Help you with what?” He shrugged as he picked up his things.
She grabbed his coat sleeve and tugged it a little. “Just come with me… please?”
“Sure…” He said, once again scanning the area for anything left behind.
She smiled and walked with him to the apartment complex. “So, what’s this about?”
“I got a page from this guy because I have an extra room since my roommate moved out and left me.” She started walking up the stairs, looking back every chance she got. “Now that he’s gone, I’m alone and I need someone to just share this big empty space with me. It’s too quiet now.”
“What’s wrong with quiet?” He asked, looking up at her when she stopped.
“You’d have to get to know me better.” She said matter-of-factly before continuing up the stairs. “Besides.. It’s a three bedroom with a loft and it’s just too big.”
“Then why don’t you move into a smaller one?”
She sighed, “My parents paid off the apartment for, like, the next four years and if I move out they are going to take away my money and all this other shit if I don‘t go back home, but whatever…”
“Oh, so you’re a little rich kid… huh?” He asked, stopping, once again, on the landing and looking up at her.
She turned to him, “Yes, but I’m ok with that. Sides, that means anyone who moves in doesn’t have to pay rent, but shhh, they don’t need to know that until later.”
She reached her floor and looked down the hallway. “Hmm… he’s not here… eh.. He was slimy anyway…” She stopped short and turned to Travis. “Do you need a place to stay?”
“What?” He asked, confused slightly. “You just met me.”
“Yes, we have just met, but I have gotten to see that you’re a nice person and you’d be a fun roommate.”
“You only met me twenty minutes ago.”
“Sometimes that is all it takes.” She smirked and unlocked the door. Walking in she hung up her jacket and scarf with a sigh. “So… do you need a place to stay?”
“Yeah, but…”
“But what, Travis? I’m offering you a free place to stay and hang out and it’s huge. If you get sick of me you can leave or ignore me. Either one works…”
He looked around. She was right. It was pretty big for one person. It reminded him of the apartment he shared with Jones and Derrick only instead of everything being yellow, here it was black. “Is there access to the roof?” He asked, noticing a door and stare well in the loft.
“Yup… Actually.. It’s getting colder so I gotta bring my bed back inside..”
“Your bed is out there?!”
Emilee shrugged and walked into the kitchen. “Yeah. But only because my roommate was a bit of a bastard sometimes…” She ran her hands over her arms, realizing she was wearing a short sleeved shirt.
“Like how?” He asked, walking into the kitchen area and leaning on the counter.
“He just was…” She opened the fridge and looked at the nearly empty shelves. “More emptiness..” She muttered to herself.
“You don’t like things being empty do you?”
“Not really…” She walked over to the stairs and grabbed the railing. “C’mon, I’ll show you the upstairs.”
He nodded and followed her up the stairs. She stopped at her bedroom and grabbed a black hoodie from her computer chair. “This is my room… a little messy at the moment…”
“Oh yeah.. Real messy…” He said, commenting on the four or five articles of clothing on the floor.
She put on the hoodie as they walked. “Bathroom… another bedroom… closet…” She said, passing each one. “The room below is a bedroom and that use to be Brian’s…”
“The ex-roommate… Can I ask why he left?” Travis asked, placing his hand to his mouth as he leaned on the railing.
Emilee cleared her throat and zipped up her hoodie as she walked past Travis. “He was more than a roommate.. He was my boyfriend…”
“Oh, so you two break up and he splits…”
“Sort of…” She said, walking down the stairs to the kitchen again with yet another sigh. She grabbed her wallet from her pocket and looked inside. “Tell ya what… I am going to call my brother Josh so I can borrow his truck so we can get you moved in. Then I am taking you to dinner.” She smiled
Travis looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “Uh… ok…”
“Good. So while I am talking to Josh you can go check out what room you want.” She smiled at him as she picked up the purple cordless phone from the counter.
Travis nodded and walked back up the stairs. He looked in the room next to Emilee’s. It was a nice size room. The walls were a dark red and the floor looked like a black and white checker board. There was a window covered with long black drapes and nothing else in the large room but a door. Travis walked over to the door and opened it revealing a walk in closet. “Wow…” He muttered to himself as he left the room. He walked back down the stairs to see Emilee on the phone with an agitated expression. He laughed a little when she started mouthing ‘blah blah blah’ and making fish faces.
He walked around the living room, taking it all in. He did not even bother looking at the other room. He saw no point in it.
“Gah! Finally.” Emilee exclaimed setting the phone on the glass table. “He does like to lecture. ‘you only call if you want something blah blah blah…’” She sighed, “Sorry… He’s just…”
“A big brother…” Travis said, making them both laugh.
“Exactly… but anyway… He’s bringing the truck by in about ten minutes.”
“He’s that close?”
Emilee rolled her eyes. “Yeah.. My parents idea… I’m twenty-three they should just leave me alone.” She grumbled to herself.
“I thought you didn’t like being alone.”
“I don’t… it’s just… it’s complicated.” She said, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
A few moments of silence went by until anything was said. “So… How ‘bout them hippies..?” Emilee said, holding back a smirk.
“What?” Travis asked, looking at her with his eyebrow raised and head tilted to the side.
“Never mind.” She laughed a little as she looked out the window down at the street. “Josh is here… lets go…” She said, walking to the door with Travis.
~*~ Comment me pease and tell me what you think!