perfume - marcus rashford

𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

"grace!" he called for her, as she begun to walk away from the argument.

"marcus, we can't keep going on like this! it's impossible!" she shouted at him, causing the man's face to drop.

"what do you mean?"

"us, marcus. us. we're over,"

"you can't do that! come on, we can talk this through,"

"you said that last time and look how it turned out! look at us now! it's draining me, marcus, and i'm sick of it! we can't go back to normal, we can't."

"but-"

"don't get involved, marcus, you're getting nowhere. you're just an irritable bastard! why can't you see that? oh, wait, you're marcus fucking rashford, nothing can stop him! and he's always right, isn't he! goodbye, marcus, don't fucking bother following me or i'll set a restraining order on you,"

she then walked out of the door, a bag in hand, never once looking back.

"erm, excuse me, do you want another drink?" the bartender asked grace, considering she had finished the previous one and was still stood at the bar.

"oh, yeah, please."

"it's okay, miss, it's on the house."

"thank you..."

the man finally clicked on that he was meant to introduce himself, thanks to grace beckoning him to do so. "ah! i'm callum mccrae,"

"thank you, callum. i'm grace boardman,"

"pleasure to meet you, miss boardman." he reached for her hand and kissed it.

she begun to blush, since the most recent break-up she had missed that sense of something romantic. even though it was a singular peck to her hand, she felt something.

not being with him took an effect on her, clearly, considering about a week ago she would be appalled if someone did that to her.

however, she realised that she ended it. she ended it for a reason. it was time for her to be mature, and move on.

"it's a pleasure to meet you, mr mccrae,"

"so, erm, what are your plans for the rest of the evening?" he asked, with his strong irish accent showing.

"nothing much, a couple drinks doesn't harm nobody,"

"nice to hear. why are you out at this part of the city at this time of night?"

"had a break up recently and i needed to get away from some people who wouldn't shut up about it." she took a sip of the liquid he gave her, noticing the strong taste of the alcohol burning down her throat.

"oh, i'm sorry to hear that, miss. do you want me to stop wittering you?" he laughed, which brought a rare smile to grace.

it seems tonight's the night for new beginnings, doesn't it, reader?

"you seem to be the exception to the rule, callum."

"i'm glad to hear that, miss."

they locked into each other's eyes, and they caught something unimaginable. both gazing with intent, the myriad butterflies in grace's stomach grew larger the deeper she looked into his soul. she never felt anything like this when she was with marcus, and callum realised that this was something different, too. he also had never felt anything like this, with anyone. it was as if two stars crashed into each other and clung onto the opposite for dear life; it was like the end of the universe. it was as if the eighth wonder of the world was sat facing them, filling the 'non-structure' with amazement. it was as if a summer love, which was forgotten, was remembered. it was as if a soldier had returned home to his darling, with the uncertainty whether the other was alive or not, and they were running on the train platform to greet each other somewhere in the middle. it was as if someone was able to hold their newborn in their arms for the first time, with the comprehension that they had made another human.

bliss. this small moment of bliss felt like forever, for the two of them.

they slowly begun to move forward. grace's eyes flicked between his lips and the windows to his soul, as if to ask if he was okay with it. he responded by moving forward, his hand reaching her cheek, bringing her closer. they both closed their eyes, ready for a moment which could change their lives forever.

"excuse me mate, but can i have a refill?" an unknown man questioned, ruining the sweet moment for the pair.

"erm, of course. it'll be three pound fifty, please." callum was up for contention for making the quickest drink in the world, as he was willing to go back to grace.

"cheers," the man walked off, as if he had done nothing wrong.

"sorry for that," callum spoke, whilst scratching the back of his neck. "i really hate my job sometimes."

"it's okay, you can't control what your customers are going to do."

"anyway, can we go back to what we were gonna do before he decided to come along?"

"i think we can," she said, already leaning forward.

their lips pressed together (took them an eternity to do so, but we'll skip to the good bit), and everything, for the first time in forever, felt right. everything had led up to this moment, and it felt right. they kissed like long lost lovers, as if romeo was about to lose his juliet.

they broke the kiss, but they knew it was going to turn into something more.

"want to go back to my place?" callum whispered, their foreheads resting against the other.

"if you don't mind,"

"come on," he grabbed her hand, taking her to the staff exit. "let's get out of here."

they walked to his house in the miserable, pouring rain, with callum's coat wrapping around grace's shoulders. 

he unlocked the door, and they soon got upstairs to his room.

(time skip)

after their session, callum let grace wear his shirt. they cuddled up to each other, talking about random nothings and the first thing which came to their minds, which they felt were suited for a conversation. following their discussion, callum soon fell alseep. however, grace stayed awake, thinking of marcus all night long.