Prompt: Connection
Name: Connection
Characters: Eden, Rhys, Mary (Archie and Stanley get a slight mention as well)
Rating: Mature. Rhys has a bit of a foul mouth.
Summary: Eden talks about the very first conversation she had with Rhys
Notes: Myshuno Prompt #6 I apologize for the obsessiveness of my writing for the Rhyden crew. My plot mind is stuck in a very specific timeline, namely Generation 5 and edging into some of college aged Generation 6. The prompt "Connection" is also rather loosely used here.
Word Count: 1409
My Card.
***
"So tell me," the reporter said as she flipped to a new page in her notebook, "when you two first met, was there an instant connection? Or did it take a while to warm up to each other?"
Rhys and Eden exchanged an amused look. "When we first met, I will say that there was something there; a three bolt attraction if you will. So, yes, there was a connection."
The reporter raised her eyebrow. "You stressed the word 'met.' Is there more to the story than you two having coffee and hitting it off?"
This time, they exchanged an even longer look; a silent conversation married couples tended to have. They both grinned, and Rhys shook his head and shrugged ruefully. Eden turned back to the reporter and thought about the words she wanted to say. After a moment she said, "Well, it's not like I just bumped into Rhys on the street. The first time we spoke to each other, it was on the phone, and I had just called him out of the blue..."
***
(Twelve years earlier)
"Eden, I am telling you right now that the way you have been carrying on in public is appalling. The only way a nice boy is going to marry you is if you conduct yourself like a lady. Where is Stanley anyway? Out of all the men you've been flinging yourself at, I liked him the most. Stanley is a gentleman after all."
Eden sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Stanley and I are no longer seeing each other, Mother."
"What? Why not?" Mary's voice had become so shrill that Eden had to pull the cell phone away from her ear.
"Because, Mother, he's my friend. I'm very fond of him and I think I love him, in my own way. But I wasn't in love with him."
"And what," her mother hissed, "does that have to do with anything?"
Eden's mouth dropped open. She sputtered for a moment before she could manage anything coherent. "Everything! I'm not..if I have to get married I'd rather be married to someone I actually loved."
"It's always the same thing, Eden Marie. I think you are just using that as an excuse to get out of being responsible. Don't you think I know what you're doing? You're being a bad girl. And bad girls attract bad boys. I will not have you involved with a bad boy, do you understand me?"
Finally Eden had enough. She picked up the end of her long, black braid and rubbed it over the mouthpiece of the phone. She knew that it would make a crackling noise. "What was that, Mother? I can't hear you." She rubbed the braid faster. "I think you're breaking up. It's a bad phone connection. I'll call you later. Bye." She hit the 'end' button on her phone and flopped on her bed with a sigh. She pounded her fists on her mattress as she tried not to cry.
She didn't want to get married, especially if having a marriage like her parents' was going to be the outcome. Her mother's words echoed over and over in her mind.
Bad girls attract bad boys. Bad girls attract bad boys. BAD GIRLS ATTRACT BAD BOYS!
"I'm not a bad girl and they aren't bad boys," she whispered plaintively. Well, maybe Archie was, she thought to herself. He was fun. Maybe I should call him and see what he's up to.
Suddenly Eden wanted to feel like a bad girl. Like a really bad girl. She wanted to do something shocking. If she was going to be accused of being a bad girl, she would at least like to be guilty of that crime.
One name popped up in her mind. She started to reject it like she always did, but then she stopped and thought about it. If she wanted to be a "bad girl" who better to call up than that particular "bad boy?" He was notoriously bad. He was infamous. He was the guy who was "fucking everywhere," quite literally. He was exactly what she needed. Oh, and how it would piss her mother off!
And, as the cherry on top, he was really quite cute. She always liked men with red hair.
She picked up her cell phone and flipped through her contact list. He was in there, along with everyone else she had researched, though at the time she didn't think she would ever call him. Now she was glad she had put his number in there for a "just in case" emergency.
The phone rang three times before he answered. "Hello?"
Eden blinked. His voice matched his looks. She blushed slightly and bit her lip. "Um, hello, is this Rhys Fitzhugh?"
"Why? Who wants to know?" His voice sounded suspicious.
She cleared her throat. "Um, hi. This is Eden Devereaux. Uh, I'm calling you to see if you actually wanted to go out sometime. You had mentioned on the Magic Box to give you a call and so--"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure! Whatever!" His voice turned into a high, mimicking falsetto as he said, "Oh, hi this is Eden Devereaux. I'm this super mega hot legacy heiress, not to mention a fuck worthy movie star. And I decided to call you, Rhys, because just thinking of you just makes my panties all wet and I want you to make me feel tingly all over." His voice returned to normal. "That's what you're going to say next, right? Well there's your big mistake, 'Eden Devereaux.' Legacy heiresses want nothing to do with me. Do your fucking research. And by the way, tell your buddy Cassius that if the prank wasn't funny the first time, it's not going to be funny the third time." The phone clicked.
Eden's mouth was hanging open. When she heard the click, she blinked. "H..Hello?" She looked at her phone and brought it back to her ear. "Um, hello? Are you still there?" She clenched her jaw and glared at her phone when she realized that he had hung up on her. She threw it on her bed and stomped her foot. She knew it was a stupid idea to call him! What the hell was she thinking?
Then that feeling of wanting to be a very, very bad girl came over her and she smiled. She unbuttoned her dress and took it off. Next came her stockings and shoes. Finally she pulled off her underwear and unhooked her bra. When she was completely nude, she unraveled her long braid and pulled her hair over one shoulder so that it covered one of her bare breasts. From the bed, she grabbed her cell phone and her sheet.
When she had everything she needed, she stood with her bare bottom facing her floor length mirror. With one hand she held the sheet so that it barely covered her other breast. Pulling out her phone, she made sure that the preview picture showed her bare backside in the reflection of the mirror as well as her face and barely covered front. She took the picture.
With a grin, she sent him a text with the picture attached:
Just as proof.
If you would like to possibly see more sometime, give me a call.
I would really like to get to know you better.
She smiled when her phone rang less than five minutes later.
***
(Present Day)
"Well," Eden said, "it's not like I just bumped into Rhys on the street. The first time we spoke to each other, it was on the phone, and I had just called him out of the blue. Needless to say he really didn't believe that it was actually me. One of our friends likes to tease him a bit, you see. Anyway, I ended up sending him a picture from my cell phone as proof. He ended up calling me back. That conversation went a lot better and we made a date for the next day to have coffee. That's..that's all there is to the story, really." Eden smiled widely at the reporter and shrugged. She slipped her hand into Rhys' and he squeezed it gently.
The reporter smiled back and turned to Rhys. "Do you still have that picture?"
He shrugged and tapped his head. "Don't need it. It's burned in my memory."
"Oh, how romantic!"
"Yes," he replied blandly. "'Romantic.'" He and Eden traded identical smirks.
***
Characters: Eden, Rhys, Mary (Archie and Stanley get a slight mention as well)
Rating: Mature. Rhys has a bit of a foul mouth.
Summary: Eden talks about the very first conversation she had with Rhys
Notes: Myshuno Prompt #6 I apologize for the obsessiveness of my writing for the Rhyden crew. My plot mind is stuck in a very specific timeline, namely Generation 5 and edging into some of college aged Generation 6. The prompt "Connection" is also rather loosely used here.
Word Count: 1409
My Card.
***
"So tell me," the reporter said as she flipped to a new page in her notebook, "when you two first met, was there an instant connection? Or did it take a while to warm up to each other?"
Rhys and Eden exchanged an amused look. "When we first met, I will say that there was something there; a three bolt attraction if you will. So, yes, there was a connection."
The reporter raised her eyebrow. "You stressed the word 'met.' Is there more to the story than you two having coffee and hitting it off?"
This time, they exchanged an even longer look; a silent conversation married couples tended to have. They both grinned, and Rhys shook his head and shrugged ruefully. Eden turned back to the reporter and thought about the words she wanted to say. After a moment she said, "Well, it's not like I just bumped into Rhys on the street. The first time we spoke to each other, it was on the phone, and I had just called him out of the blue..."
***
(Twelve years earlier)
"Eden, I am telling you right now that the way you have been carrying on in public is appalling. The only way a nice boy is going to marry you is if you conduct yourself like a lady. Where is Stanley anyway? Out of all the men you've been flinging yourself at, I liked him the most. Stanley is a gentleman after all."
Eden sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Stanley and I are no longer seeing each other, Mother."
"What? Why not?" Mary's voice had become so shrill that Eden had to pull the cell phone away from her ear.
"Because, Mother, he's my friend. I'm very fond of him and I think I love him, in my own way. But I wasn't in love with him."
"And what," her mother hissed, "does that have to do with anything?"
Eden's mouth dropped open. She sputtered for a moment before she could manage anything coherent. "Everything! I'm not..if I have to get married I'd rather be married to someone I actually loved."
"It's always the same thing, Eden Marie. I think you are just using that as an excuse to get out of being responsible. Don't you think I know what you're doing? You're being a bad girl. And bad girls attract bad boys. I will not have you involved with a bad boy, do you understand me?"
Finally Eden had enough. She picked up the end of her long, black braid and rubbed it over the mouthpiece of the phone. She knew that it would make a crackling noise. "What was that, Mother? I can't hear you." She rubbed the braid faster. "I think you're breaking up. It's a bad phone connection. I'll call you later. Bye." She hit the 'end' button on her phone and flopped on her bed with a sigh. She pounded her fists on her mattress as she tried not to cry.
She didn't want to get married, especially if having a marriage like her parents' was going to be the outcome. Her mother's words echoed over and over in her mind.
Bad girls attract bad boys. Bad girls attract bad boys. BAD GIRLS ATTRACT BAD BOYS!
"I'm not a bad girl and they aren't bad boys," she whispered plaintively. Well, maybe Archie was, she thought to herself. He was fun. Maybe I should call him and see what he's up to.
Suddenly Eden wanted to feel like a bad girl. Like a really bad girl. She wanted to do something shocking. If she was going to be accused of being a bad girl, she would at least like to be guilty of that crime.
One name popped up in her mind. She started to reject it like she always did, but then she stopped and thought about it. If she wanted to be a "bad girl" who better to call up than that particular "bad boy?" He was notoriously bad. He was infamous. He was the guy who was "fucking everywhere," quite literally. He was exactly what she needed. Oh, and how it would piss her mother off!
And, as the cherry on top, he was really quite cute. She always liked men with red hair.
She picked up her cell phone and flipped through her contact list. He was in there, along with everyone else she had researched, though at the time she didn't think she would ever call him. Now she was glad she had put his number in there for a "just in case" emergency.
The phone rang three times before he answered. "Hello?"
Eden blinked. His voice matched his looks. She blushed slightly and bit her lip. "Um, hello, is this Rhys Fitzhugh?"
"Why? Who wants to know?" His voice sounded suspicious.
She cleared her throat. "Um, hi. This is Eden Devereaux. Uh, I'm calling you to see if you actually wanted to go out sometime. You had mentioned on the Magic Box to give you a call and so--"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure! Whatever!" His voice turned into a high, mimicking falsetto as he said, "Oh, hi this is Eden Devereaux. I'm this super mega hot legacy heiress, not to mention a fuck worthy movie star. And I decided to call you, Rhys, because just thinking of you just makes my panties all wet and I want you to make me feel tingly all over." His voice returned to normal. "That's what you're going to say next, right? Well there's your big mistake, 'Eden Devereaux.' Legacy heiresses want nothing to do with me. Do your fucking research. And by the way, tell your buddy Cassius that if the prank wasn't funny the first time, it's not going to be funny the third time." The phone clicked.
Eden's mouth was hanging open. When she heard the click, she blinked. "H..Hello?" She looked at her phone and brought it back to her ear. "Um, hello? Are you still there?" She clenched her jaw and glared at her phone when she realized that he had hung up on her. She threw it on her bed and stomped her foot. She knew it was a stupid idea to call him! What the hell was she thinking?
Then that feeling of wanting to be a very, very bad girl came over her and she smiled. She unbuttoned her dress and took it off. Next came her stockings and shoes. Finally she pulled off her underwear and unhooked her bra. When she was completely nude, she unraveled her long braid and pulled her hair over one shoulder so that it covered one of her bare breasts. From the bed, she grabbed her cell phone and her sheet.
When she had everything she needed, she stood with her bare bottom facing her floor length mirror. With one hand she held the sheet so that it barely covered her other breast. Pulling out her phone, she made sure that the preview picture showed her bare backside in the reflection of the mirror as well as her face and barely covered front. She took the picture.
With a grin, she sent him a text with the picture attached:
Just as proof.
If you would like to possibly see more sometime, give me a call.
I would really like to get to know you better.
She smiled when her phone rang less than five minutes later.
***
(Present Day)
"Well," Eden said, "it's not like I just bumped into Rhys on the street. The first time we spoke to each other, it was on the phone, and I had just called him out of the blue. Needless to say he really didn't believe that it was actually me. One of our friends likes to tease him a bit, you see. Anyway, I ended up sending him a picture from my cell phone as proof. He ended up calling me back. That conversation went a lot better and we made a date for the next day to have coffee. That's..that's all there is to the story, really." Eden smiled widely at the reporter and shrugged. She slipped her hand into Rhys' and he squeezed it gently.
The reporter smiled back and turned to Rhys. "Do you still have that picture?"
He shrugged and tapped his head. "Don't need it. It's burned in my memory."
"Oh, how romantic!"
"Yes," he replied blandly. "'Romantic.'" He and Eden traded identical smirks.
***