Copper Heart (Coco Cruz x OC Fanfic)

Chapter 2

Coco shifted in his seat at the bar, his finger tracing the paths of dripping condensation on the side of his beer bottle. EZ eyed him warily as he wiped the bar down. Throwing down the rag he turned to Coco. "What's up Coco? You've been real weird ever since we got back. Road raggy?" EZ asked. Coco scoffed before replying, "mind your business boy scout." He stood abruptly and made his way out on to the porch of the clubhouse, hoping for some peace and quiet. It was true. Coco knew it. He had been weird, ever since he laid eyes on Pea. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like he knew her from somewhere. There was the strangest sense of familiarity when he looked at her, but he couldn't work out why. He was positive he hadn't ever met her before, but there was a niggling feeling in his chest that said otherwise. He shook his head, blaming his fogginess on a long day and a long ride before returning inside to grab another beer and try to take his mind off things.

The next morning, Pea slowly roused from her slumber. For a few moments she had forgotten all about the unexpected run in she'd had with her old friends last night. That didn't last long. Soon she was groaning and burying her head in the pillow at the realisation of the deal she had agreed to. "Fucking idiot," she thought. "Why the hell would you get yourself in this predicament again?!" She moved out of her bed, her cat Rajah immediately perking up at the sight of his owner being conscious. The house filled with his unceremonious meows, begging for food and a scratch behind the ear. After tending to Rajah, she moved through the house fixing herself breakfast and getting ready for the day. She recalled Tranq telling her last night that they would be by to drop the stocks off today so she was quick to get herself ready not knowing at what exact time they would turn up. She went outside, looking over the still open bonnet of her car, noting what work she had left to do before walking over to the round yards on her property. She rested on the fence, her bay horse – Echo – moving eagerly towards her to take the carrot she held out to him. She rubbed a hand over his head affectionately as she heard the bikes pull up.

Bishop noted that Pea tensed but didn't move from her spot at the round yards as they pulled up. He looked back at Taza, who seemed to understand what Bishop silently asked from him. He rose from his bike and walked towards the girl. Taza felt her slightly relax at his presence as he rested against the fence next to her, reaching out to pat Echo along the neck. He was familiar with the horse, having been the one to gift him to Pea. "Mija," he turned toward her. "Second thoughts?" he asked. She quickly looked at him, a clearly forced smile making its way to her face as she shook her head. "Nah Che. I'm fine. C'mon, don't want to keep Obispo waiting. You know how he gets." Taza chuckled before stepping into line with her and walking towards the crew. "Morning Bishop. Guys," she nodded in the direction, noting that not all of the guys were here that had been last night – she especially noted the absence of the dark-haired stranger she had felt so drawn to last night. "You can just store the keys where you put them last night. Don't tell me how many there are. I have a feeling I don't want to know," she turned on her heel, making her way into the house. "Creeper, Gilly, Prospect, Tranq will show you where to put the keys," Bishop ordered before following Pea into the house with Taza. She had a steaming cup of coffee waiting for them both on the counter of her small kitchen, a third cup waiting presumably for Tranq. She sat at her table, writing what appeared to be a grocery list on an old scrap of paper. "We will leave the prospect here with you today, send someone else over later tonight," Bishop explained. Pea glared at him. "You know Obispo I'm not 5 anymore. I don't need a babysitter." "You wanted protection, this is it mija," he countered. "Okay, okay. Just send someone who can at least have a decent conversation. If I'm gonna have someone shadowing me, may as well make it interesting."

She looked over the Prospect as the rest of the crew rode off, taking in his well-built frame and lack of ink. He held out his hand, a grin breaking out on his face. "Hi, I'm Ezekiel. Or EZ. Nice to meet you Pea." Pea looked at his hand wearily before taking it and shaking. "It's Penelope," she said before walking towards her garage where her car sat, leaving a confused EZ staring after her. "Hey Prospect? How much do you know about worn spark plugs?" EZ grinned before walking over to where she leaned against the makeshift work desk. In the late afternoon, Pea and EZ sat on her porch, both with a glass of soda in their hands, discussing what life was like for EZ as a Prospect. He of course didn't exactly know how much she knew about the club's business, so he kept it light. Just as Pea pulled a face at the thought of having to clean the clubhouse toilet after a particularly rowdy club party, the sounds of bike could be heard coming down her driveway. "Guess that's your cue then, huh?" Pea quipped. EZ made his way down the stairs of the porch towards his bike slowly, just as the other person pulled up. Pea noted – with mixture of delight and nervousness – that it was the handsome stranger that caught her eye from the night before. EZ gave her a wave, "I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow then." She nodded and waved back as he took off down her driveway.

The other member removed his helmet but made no move to dismount his bike. Pea pulled a face before making her way towards him. He didn't seem to pay her any mind as she approached, focusing on his shoes as he lit the cigarette he had pulled out from his kutte. Standing a few feet from him she cleared her throat. No response or reaction. "Uh hey, I'm Penelope," she stated. He finally glanced up at her, their eyes meeting. She felt small under his gaze, almost thankful that he looked away almost as quickly as he looked up. "'m Coco," he grunted. "Well Coco, I'm sorry Bishop took you away from whatever you would usually be doing of a night," she dead-panned. He ignored her once again. "Okay well, I don't expect you to sit out here all night so the door will be unlocked. There's a couch inside." Again, the view down her driveway seemed to be more interesting to him that whatever she had to say. Scoffing she moved towards the door. Feeling a hint of annoyance bubbling up in her she turned on her heel to face Coco once again. "You know I didn't exactly ask for this either. I'm the one doing this for your club." He only looked at her briefly before pulling his phone out of his kutte and opening it. "Whatever," she huffed before moving inside. She knew that she would probably hear from Bishop about her little outburst, that she can't speak to patched members that way but right now that was the last thing on her mind. While she initially was intrigued by this Coco guy, she now felt like he was the last person she wanted anything to do with.