Lady March - (L.L.)

Chapter 29

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Love Never Doth Ran Smooth

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Fred Vaughn travelled along the beach alone, his hands tucked deep into his pockets as he admired the nature around him. He wasn't looking for anyplace or anyone in particular, but he'd be lying to himself if he said that he wouldn't like to see the blonde beauty named Annie McLaren again.

Near the water, he'd spotted the young girl, though she was not alone. Laurie was with her as he fiddled with a scarlet kite with the strong wind blowing through his already messy hair. He said something incoherent, but it must've been funny considering that it made Annie laugh as well. She reached up and struck a blow at Laurie's head, causing the said boy to frown slightly.

Fred wasn't really one for outright assumptions, but he could tell that the two were probably very close to one another. As friends or more, he wasn't really sure. Just as he contemplated approaching the two lively teenagers, he met Laurie's gaze and something like a silent understanding passed between the both of them.

Fred nodded at the younger boy and turned on his heels towards another direction. Not too far from where he was standing, he noticed the younger March sister - Amy - sitting alone by the picnic tables holding a pile of paper. Her gaze was set firmly on the paper with a pencil in the other hand, sketching something. He approached her quietly.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked politely, catching Amy a little off guard. The corners of her lips tilted upwards a bit as she hurriedly nodded him forward.

"I thought you may have been busy with Laurie," Amy said as soon as Fred took a seat beside her.

He hummed in agreement.

"He's . . . occupied."

She chuckled slightly. "With Annie, you mean." At his nod, she continued, "The way he looks at her, I wish someone would look at me that way. I bet every one of my sisters has liked him at one point or another, it's only natural. Even I can admit to it, but now . . ." She shyly met his gaze, trailing off.

Fred lifted his head back, smiling to himself. "Tell me, Amy, what are you drawing?"

Amy's cheeks flushed scarlet as she quickly covered the pages of her notebook with her hands. "N-nothing!"

"Can I see it? Please?"

She sighed deeply before slowly removing her hands, revealing the light sketch of who Fred could recognize as . . . himself.

Laurie laughed loudly, his eyes squinting with mirth while the girl across from him only sighed in disappointment.

"How was I supposed to know that he'd turn out a jerk?" he asked no one in particular as he struggled to keep his breaths even. His laugh (though annoying according to the girl) was so contagious that even she couldn't help but laugh as well.

"This is a very serious matter!" Annie internally shouted to herself to be quiet, so she replaced her grin with a more stern expression.

"Right, right, of course . . ."

"He insulted Jo's work," she said after a moment.

"Mr Edgewater told me too, you know?" He looked ahead, shaking his head disbelievingly. "He proposed to Jo a publishing deal with terms . . . Let's just say, she didn't exactly agree to those conditions."