portal: part three
apologies to mary! my internet's been down for a week (i've been near-death the whole time). i'd have updated at work, but i can't get on lj there. sorry! anyways, here's part three. i'll try to have part four up before the end of the week. love!
Portal
part three
Mary stood there, staring at the sign, for a few more minutes, before Portal popped her head back out in frustration. “Are you coming?”
Mary visibly jumped, causing Portal to grin and roll her eyes before ducking back inside. Mary scowled, inching slowly towards the door, sure that this was somehow a prank. Any minute, Bethany would jump out, cackling like a madwoman and prancing around in victory. When she finally reached the door, and nobody jumped out at her, she let out a small sigh of relief. Grasping the doorknob firmly, she entered the store.
Stepping inside, she paused for a second to allow her eyes to adjust to the lights. They were bright, but not quite as bright as the brilliant sunlight outside. When she could open her eyes without seeing dark spots, she glanced around at her surroundings. The store was *huge*. Much bigger than it looked from the outside. It was moderately sized from left to right, but it seemed to stretch back forever. There were shelves sticking out from odd places on the walls with all kinds of things on them, and the displays in the middle of the store were amazing. Colorful, interesting, mesmerizing to look at. She wanted to examine every single thing in the store.
She had just stepped towards a small shelf full of tiny little nodding dolls when a sharp sound caught her attention.
“Ha! Portal! What’re you doing here? Come to examine our wares, have you?”
The thick, masculine voice lilted with innuendo on “wares”, and she could hear Portal giggling somewhere towards the middle of the store. Curious to see what kind of people Portal consorted with, Mary edged past a small table featuring vials of sparkly dust, a display of shoes called “Jogger Knots”, and a flurry of fuzzy little things that scurried past her on the floor.
Hesitantly, she peeked around a tall shelving unit, just catching a glimpse of the back of Portal’s head. She could hear the girl whispering furtively with a well-built gentleman, but she couldn’t hear anything decisive. She couldn’t quite tell what the man looked like either, as he was bent down slightly to speak to Mary’s short quasi-kidnapper. All she could see were his shoulders, well-defined beneath some type of sports jersey (she assumed it was a jersey based on the name and large number on the back), and his seriously well-toned ass.
“Portal! How’s my lovely this bright and unforgiving morning?”
There was that voice again, but it wasn’t coming from the man hunched over next to Portal, it seemed to be coming from the next aisle over. Mary leaned slightly farther into the aisle, hoping to get a glimpse of the mystery man. Suddenly, he stepped into view. And Mary’s heart threatened to resign.
Holy shit, but he’s gorgeous, Mary thought. He was tall, maybe 6’2” or so, with a squared face, the sexiest stubble she’d ever seen, and a beautiful head of ridiculously red hair sprouting out at every imaginable angle. He had muscles and hands and faded old jeans and thick veins on his solid forearms and sexy facial hair and…
THWOMP!
Mary froze. She did not just fall into the middle of the aisle. She did *not*. Oh, holy hell, she had. She grimaced in humiliation, wincing at the sound of Portal’s uncharitable laughter. She heard loud footsteps approaching, then two gigantic hands gripped her arms and pulled her to her feet. She gasped at the sudden movement, and once more when she found herself looking directly into a pair of startling blue eyes.
The sides of the beautiful blue eyes turned up, and she realized that they belonged to the redheaded man…who was grinning widely. She scowled and looked down.
“Alright there?” he asked. She nodded, unsure of what to say in such an instance. He seemed to grin wider, though she hadn’t been sure it was possible, and let go of her arms. “Steady on, then,” he said, and backed slightly away, his arms out to catch her in case she had trouble rediscovering her equilibrium.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I must have…tripped on…” She glanced desperately around for something to blame her awkwardness on, but found nothing. “…Something,” she finished lamely.
“No worries, luv,” he replied, cocking his head to the side in an irresistibly cute manner. “I never mind jostling pretty ladies about.”
Mary blushed immediately, desperate for something clever to say. But, seriously, what do you say when a ridiculously handsome man grins like that and says you’re pretty?
“Hold on, then. How pretty is she?” another voice called out. Or, at least, she thought it was another voice. It sounded identical, but it was coming from behind the man who’d helped her to her feet. She heard him, she assumed it was the man who’d been speaking to Portal, continue in a lower voice, “Is she pretty? You didn’t say she was pretty.”
She heard Portal snort in a peculiarly unattractive manner. “What’re you asking me for? Take three damn steps and see for yourself.”
The floorboards squeaked softly, and then another voice came into view, just over the shoulder of the first man. And he looked…well, hell, he looked just like the first man. Not in an eerily-consistent manner, but in a freaking-absolutely-identical-down-to-the-last-hair manner. Hmm…maybe she’d hit her head when she fell. That would explain the double vision. Not that she wanted it to go away anytime soon, cuz jeezie chreezie, these guys were hot.
The second man whistled lightly. “Ooh, I like her.” He retreated backwards, then sidestepped the first man, jabbing him in the ribs with an elbow as he called out, “Dibs!”
The first man doubled over with a grunt, then straightened and looped his foot around the second man’s, before pulling his leg back quickly. The second man’s eyes went large as he tumbled to the floor. He rolled over slowly, scowling at the man above him.
The first man stuck out his tongue, rolling it about at the other man (and giving Mary tingly feelings where her naughty bits were), and crossing his eyes in a decidedly childlike manner. “You can’t call dibs on girls.”
“And why the bloody hell not?” the second man growled as he got to his feet.
Portal’s laughter floated from behind them somewhere. “Well, for starters, you’ve hardly even managed to introduce yourselves.”
Both men looked visibly chastened…for a moment. Then they turned towards Mary, defiance burning in their eyes. Mary swallowed thickly.
At the same time, both men reached out their hands. The man on Mary’s left grasped her right hand, while the man on her right gripped her left. They shook her arms up and down, nearly throwing Mary off balance, and announced in perfect unison, “We’re Fred and George. And you are?”
Mary stared for a moment as her brain caught up to rest of her. “Mary,” she managed to whisper.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mary,” they said, still in uncanny unison with one another. Then, without dropping her hands, they turned each to the other and cried, “Dibs!”
end part three
Portal
part three
Mary stood there, staring at the sign, for a few more minutes, before Portal popped her head back out in frustration. “Are you coming?”
Mary visibly jumped, causing Portal to grin and roll her eyes before ducking back inside. Mary scowled, inching slowly towards the door, sure that this was somehow a prank. Any minute, Bethany would jump out, cackling like a madwoman and prancing around in victory. When she finally reached the door, and nobody jumped out at her, she let out a small sigh of relief. Grasping the doorknob firmly, she entered the store.
Stepping inside, she paused for a second to allow her eyes to adjust to the lights. They were bright, but not quite as bright as the brilliant sunlight outside. When she could open her eyes without seeing dark spots, she glanced around at her surroundings. The store was *huge*. Much bigger than it looked from the outside. It was moderately sized from left to right, but it seemed to stretch back forever. There were shelves sticking out from odd places on the walls with all kinds of things on them, and the displays in the middle of the store were amazing. Colorful, interesting, mesmerizing to look at. She wanted to examine every single thing in the store.
She had just stepped towards a small shelf full of tiny little nodding dolls when a sharp sound caught her attention.
“Ha! Portal! What’re you doing here? Come to examine our wares, have you?”
The thick, masculine voice lilted with innuendo on “wares”, and she could hear Portal giggling somewhere towards the middle of the store. Curious to see what kind of people Portal consorted with, Mary edged past a small table featuring vials of sparkly dust, a display of shoes called “Jogger Knots”, and a flurry of fuzzy little things that scurried past her on the floor.
Hesitantly, she peeked around a tall shelving unit, just catching a glimpse of the back of Portal’s head. She could hear the girl whispering furtively with a well-built gentleman, but she couldn’t hear anything decisive. She couldn’t quite tell what the man looked like either, as he was bent down slightly to speak to Mary’s short quasi-kidnapper. All she could see were his shoulders, well-defined beneath some type of sports jersey (she assumed it was a jersey based on the name and large number on the back), and his seriously well-toned ass.
“Portal! How’s my lovely this bright and unforgiving morning?”
There was that voice again, but it wasn’t coming from the man hunched over next to Portal, it seemed to be coming from the next aisle over. Mary leaned slightly farther into the aisle, hoping to get a glimpse of the mystery man. Suddenly, he stepped into view. And Mary’s heart threatened to resign.
Holy shit, but he’s gorgeous, Mary thought. He was tall, maybe 6’2” or so, with a squared face, the sexiest stubble she’d ever seen, and a beautiful head of ridiculously red hair sprouting out at every imaginable angle. He had muscles and hands and faded old jeans and thick veins on his solid forearms and sexy facial hair and…
THWOMP!
Mary froze. She did not just fall into the middle of the aisle. She did *not*. Oh, holy hell, she had. She grimaced in humiliation, wincing at the sound of Portal’s uncharitable laughter. She heard loud footsteps approaching, then two gigantic hands gripped her arms and pulled her to her feet. She gasped at the sudden movement, and once more when she found herself looking directly into a pair of startling blue eyes.
The sides of the beautiful blue eyes turned up, and she realized that they belonged to the redheaded man…who was grinning widely. She scowled and looked down.
“Alright there?” he asked. She nodded, unsure of what to say in such an instance. He seemed to grin wider, though she hadn’t been sure it was possible, and let go of her arms. “Steady on, then,” he said, and backed slightly away, his arms out to catch her in case she had trouble rediscovering her equilibrium.
“Sorry,” she mumbled. “I must have…tripped on…” She glanced desperately around for something to blame her awkwardness on, but found nothing. “…Something,” she finished lamely.
“No worries, luv,” he replied, cocking his head to the side in an irresistibly cute manner. “I never mind jostling pretty ladies about.”
Mary blushed immediately, desperate for something clever to say. But, seriously, what do you say when a ridiculously handsome man grins like that and says you’re pretty?
“Hold on, then. How pretty is she?” another voice called out. Or, at least, she thought it was another voice. It sounded identical, but it was coming from behind the man who’d helped her to her feet. She heard him, she assumed it was the man who’d been speaking to Portal, continue in a lower voice, “Is she pretty? You didn’t say she was pretty.”
She heard Portal snort in a peculiarly unattractive manner. “What’re you asking me for? Take three damn steps and see for yourself.”
The floorboards squeaked softly, and then another voice came into view, just over the shoulder of the first man. And he looked…well, hell, he looked just like the first man. Not in an eerily-consistent manner, but in a freaking-absolutely-identical-down-to-the-last-hair manner. Hmm…maybe she’d hit her head when she fell. That would explain the double vision. Not that she wanted it to go away anytime soon, cuz jeezie chreezie, these guys were hot.
The second man whistled lightly. “Ooh, I like her.” He retreated backwards, then sidestepped the first man, jabbing him in the ribs with an elbow as he called out, “Dibs!”
The first man doubled over with a grunt, then straightened and looped his foot around the second man’s, before pulling his leg back quickly. The second man’s eyes went large as he tumbled to the floor. He rolled over slowly, scowling at the man above him.
The first man stuck out his tongue, rolling it about at the other man (and giving Mary tingly feelings where her naughty bits were), and crossing his eyes in a decidedly childlike manner. “You can’t call dibs on girls.”
“And why the bloody hell not?” the second man growled as he got to his feet.
Portal’s laughter floated from behind them somewhere. “Well, for starters, you’ve hardly even managed to introduce yourselves.”
Both men looked visibly chastened…for a moment. Then they turned towards Mary, defiance burning in their eyes. Mary swallowed thickly.
At the same time, both men reached out their hands. The man on Mary’s left grasped her right hand, while the man on her right gripped her left. They shook her arms up and down, nearly throwing Mary off balance, and announced in perfect unison, “We’re Fred and George. And you are?”
Mary stared for a moment as her brain caught up to rest of her. “Mary,” she managed to whisper.
“Pleasure to meet you, Mary,” they said, still in uncanny unison with one another. Then, without dropping her hands, they turned each to the other and cried, “Dibs!”
end part three