Peter & Mariska - Fourteen [A Short Story]

Two - Friends

She undid the locks and removed the chain, before tugging the door open;

"Peter...hi," she stepped aside, allowing him to step into the apartment; "This is a surprise; I didn't expect you to come by." She greeted him with a one arm hug, which he returned as he squeezed her tight. She closed her eyes for a brief moment as she tried to ignore her pounding heart. His arms were just so...perfect.

"My scenes aren't being filmed until tomorrow, so I have a free day today, and I just thought I'd pop by after you text and said you weren't going to work," he raised a hand to her forehead, a look of concern etched across her face; "You sure you're okay?"

"I feel rough, but I'll live," she rolled her eyes, chatting as she closed and locked the door; "Excuse the mess; I didn't feel like cleaning when I got home last night." Her apartment wasn't exactly messy, but she cursed the fact that she had her hoodie strewn across a chair and had a blanket bunched up on the couch, and a few books dotted around on the table and an empty tea cup just sitting on her table. She was trying not to freak out too much about Peter being in her apartment, though this was the second time he had been here since they'd begun hanging out. She didn't at all get any bad vibes from the man; he was a great guy and when they'd hung out in her apartment before, they'd had a great time just having pizza and watching a movie. He was just a great friend so far, and it was great.

"It's hardly a mess, so relax," he moved the blanket aside and sat down on the sofa, "Sit down, I'm fine."

"You're a guest, even though you've been here before - so do you want anything to drink or maybe something to eat?" she asked, fiddling with the hem of the hoodie she was wearing.

Peter chuckled, standing up and holding her arms. She looked adorable really, but he wanted her to relax.

"Sit down, I'm fine." He stroked her arms with her thumbs and she laughed, finally sitting down on the sofa. He sat beside her, running his hand over his hair.

Despite feeling quite sick, Mariska couldn't help but once again engage in pointless conversation with him as they always did. They hadn't seen each other in about a month now, so they were simply catching up on each other's lives and talking about various things that they'd experienced in the last month since last hanging out. This was one thing that both parties loved about their friendship. They could have deep, intellectual conversations about things that not many people would be interested in. Mariska was really just enjoying his company and loved losing herself in pointless conversation. Peter was a great friend, almost like another best friend.

"You never did tell me the whole story behind your hair cut."

It was about half an hour later now; they'd simply been talking and laughing as they always did. She shifted her gaze from the television to him, and her lips curled into a smile while he had a really cute smile on his face along with a curious look. Mariska couldn't help but let out a small laugh as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Too much wine with my stylist and a pair of scissors," she ran her hand over the short, pixie cut, "Me and my stylist were hanging out one night and were having a drink, and we got too drink happy. I had already cut my hair once and made it short, but then I wanted it to be even shorter and wanted to dye it, and so this was the result. Dick almost killed me, but he got over it eventually."

"Was he not a fan of it?" Peter asked with a slight chuckle. Mariska laughed, shaking her head.

"Not at all, he was not impressed in the slightest - said if he didn't think Chris would kill him and if he could actually see someone else playing my role, he'd let me go." She laughed it off, shrugging her shoulders. Peter was laughing as well as he found her and her animated facial expressions to be so funny.

"I actually think Chris would have killed him if he'd let you go," he then leaned closer, nudging her; "And I for one am glad he didn't fire you, you brighten up...everything."

A blush creeped onto Mariska's cheeks, and she gave him a shy smile which she accompanied with a quiet; "Thank you."

She then tilted her head; "I'm glad he hired you; you're a good friend."

"So are you." Peter replied, giving her his handsome smile yet again.

As the rest of the day passed, Mariska only felt worse. Her sneezing was becoming more frequent, and the coughs were constantly ripping from her throat. Though she had insisted that Peter head off home and not spend the day with her as she didn't want him to get sick, he insisted on staying and even took the liberty of looking after her since he knew how run down she felt. He had really only left the apartment once since arriving earlier in the day, and that was only to run down the street to a bodega to pick up a few cans of soup and some orange juice as he knew she needed it. When he returned to her apartment, he sweetly made her some soup and some tea with honey in, which she was very appreciative of which led to her thanking him numerous times.

As the evening rolled around, a small flake of snow began to fall over the city once again. Mariska groaned as she looked out the window before looking at Peter again;

"You've literally been here all day and now it's starting to snow," she nodded her head towards the window, "Go home, Peter; I'm okay."

"What kind of friend would I be if I just left you right now?" Peter questioned, tilting his head to the side in curiosity. Mariska was forced to laugh, though it was cut short as another cough ripped through her throat once again.

"You'd be my friend that isn't sick because of me," She placed a hand on his shoulder as she tried to ignore the jolt of electricity she felt from touching him; "Go home. You've spent the day with me, now go get you some rest."

Peter watched her for a second, before reluctantly standing up. She stood up as well, her eyes following him as he grabbed his coat. Part of her really didn't want him to go, but she was sure he had some plans and she didn't wanna have him trapped in her apartment all night. Besides, the weather wasn't exactly the most appealing, so maybe it was best that he head off home for the night.

"Promise that you'll call me if you need anything?" He asked once he reached the door, turning around to look at her again.

"I promise I will call you," Mariska then fell into his arms, cuddling him as tight as possible; "Thank you for spending the day with me though; you did make it a little more entertaining."

"Just a little more?" He teased as he squeezed her, enjoying the fact that she was wrapped up in his arms.

"Yeah, only a little entertaining," she teased back, squeezing him before letting go, "Goodnight, Peter; see you at work tomorrow."

He stroked a hand down her arm, squeezing her bicep lightly before opening the door. He did one last look over her, a soft smile on his face;

"Goodnight, Mariska; see you tomorrow."

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Hi friends!

This was part two of 'fourteen'. Please, vote and leave some reviews, just let me know what you're thinking about this fic. I hope you all enjoyed this little update!

I love you all!

Until next time... xoxo