Chapter 10
The end of the beginning
Thursday 11th July 1985
Everything leading up to knocking on Robin's door felt surreal. It wasn't quite real to Jaya at all until Robin opened the door and looked down at Jaya with a smile, "Hey."
"Hey. You didn't go missing!"
Robin chuckles stepping out of her house, "I didn't go missing!" Jaya steps back and leads Robin to her dad's car, at first she goes to get in the back but she shakes her head and opens the passenger door for her, "Whoever said chivalry was dead?"
"I know right, they obviously hadn't met me." Jaya heads around to the driver's side of the car, putting the keys in the ignition.
Robin's brows furrow, "Isn't this your dad's car? and also can't you not drive?"
"I've got my learner permit, technically I'm supposed to be driving with someone with a license but oh well." Jaya smiles as she starts to drive away, "As for my dad, he doesn't have to know."
As they leave Robin's road, Jaya reaches to turn the volume dial for the radio the girl in the passenger seat seems to light up at the song that comes on, "I love Blondie!"
"You do?" Robin nods with a smile, "Well turn it up then!"
Hawk cinema isn't far from home but definitely too far to walk, so the singing along to the radio that quickly commenced that Blondie revelation didn't last too long. While the girls themselves weren't happy about it, their eardrums definitely were. Jaya parked in front of the cinema, only just missing the corner of the car behind her, the two girls bounce out of the car heading into the building.
Jaya buys the tickets and Robin insists on getting the drinks in return, "It's only fair." She reasons as the two head into the screen side by side. The ads had started by the time they got there and the room was relatively full, since Starcourt had opened the cinema in town was much less popular but it seems with the place burning down Hawk Cinema was back in business, so they were lucky to find two seats in the back corner.
The adverts were boring and the two girls spent the time making fun of the actors that had to take part in them, "God I hope the actors were paid a lot. I wouldn't wear that for any amount of money." Jaya whispered when a particularly strange ad came on about some form of medication.
Robin giggles, "It's so bad." The two went on like that until the lights dimmed and the screen went dark only for the opening scene of Back to the Future to take its place. Jaya quickly gets caught up in the movie and its strange plot so much so that she almost doesn't notice how close Robin and her hands have gotten. She wanted to take her hand in hers so bad. Jaya wasn't sure if it was the right move but she knew she liked Robin and for one reason or another, Jaya was pretty sure Robin liked her back
Jaya grasped Robin's hand in her own, intertwining their fingers, locking them together. Robin's hands were sweaty but Jamie didn't care, she was holding her hand! That's all that mattered to her at that moment. Robin looked at Jaya with a smile before glancing around the room. Jaya will admit that she hadn't thought about anyone seeing them and that she probably should have but in the back of that dark movie theatre, Jaya felt sure that no one could see them and that seems to be the conclusion Robin came to as well because she very quickly went back to the movie, only this time a grin seemingly engraved into her face.
Soon the movie came to an end and the lights came up, Robin and Jaya shared a look of understanding before slowly separating their hands. Jaya thought that it would become awkward between her and Robin after she held her hand and that the two of them would struggle to talk as they walked to the diner around the corner but that was the opposite of the case. The two couldn't stop talking about the movie about how strange it was that Marty was friends with such an old Doctor in the first place and how Robin could, "Totally tell what was going to happen next."
Jaya had joked about how Robin could see the future and Robin just laughed, "Maybe I can."
The walk to the dinner wasn't far and by the time they had made it there, the girls were in a fit of giggles, the cause of which neither of them could remember. The diner is a small place, not overly popular due to its size and lack of seating but perfectly good for Robin and Jaya who very easily found seats by a window. The two happily chat away as their drinks come to the table: a diet coke for Jaya and a strawberry milkshake for Robin.
"Wanna know what I like to do whilst I wait for my food to come?"
Robin smiles, "What?"
"I watch the people out the window and try to come up with stories for them, where they're going, why, what they're doing. They are never realistic and it's great." Jaya points at an old man walking with a cane and an obvious limb, he is watching as a group of young boys kicks a football down the road before walking away with a shake of his head and a deep-set frown, "He used to play soccer in his day but had one of them real bad accident Soccer players have and was too committed to the act and now fully believes he has a limp*."
Robin laughs, then points to a pregnant woman, pushing a double stroller where two toddlers sit, next to her is a woman of a similar age, walking past the old man, "Those two are besties, " she puts on a higher pitch joking voice as she says "Besties", "They promised they'd get pregnant at the same time and raise their kids together, the other one chickened out and now she is has twins named, Ashley and Allison, spelled in the most complicated way she could think of."
As the woman walks past the window we can hear one of the toddlers crying, "Allison! Stop it." Robin and Jaya share a look, waiting for the woman to pass before bursting into laughter.
Jaya points at Robin accusingly, "You can see the future!"
Robin smiles teasingly whilst shrugging her shoulders, "I'll never tell!"
The food is shortly brought over after that but that doesn't dull the conversation, the two of them continue to talk and theorize about people's personal lives before drifting to other things such as school, and work, and how strange it was that the mall burned down, and how the two girls would definitely go to the vigil being held that next week for it and then again drifting to much happier things, such as Jaya's driving test coming up, and how she would drive Robin around, and how they should go to the concert happening the next year in the nearest city.
Once they had eaten the two headed back to the car, still parked out the front of the cinema. They listened to music on the way back, singing along to some of their favourites but neither was quite as happy as before, they were driving home, their date was coming to an end. Jaya pulled up in front of Robin's home, but neither of them moved. Dragging it out for as long as they could. Robin turns to Jaya slowly, "Wanna see something cool?" Jaya nods her head and Robin smiles.
The two climb out of the car and Jaya starts to follow Robin to her house, but instead of going to the door like Jaya had expected Robin goes round the side. Going behind Robin's house they entered her small backyard, there wasn't much around just a table, and sat not far was a barbeque apart from that there was nothing aside from the woodland areas that sat just past the fence of the yard. "You have a torch?"
Jaya chuckles, "Why would I have a torch?"
"What? You mean you don't randomly go wandering through the woods just before sunset?"
Again Jaya laughs, "Shockingly enough, no." Robin smiles and grabs two of the three torches that were sitting on a table in her backyard, passing one to Jaya before grabbing hold of her hand and heading in the direction of the forest. They don't need the flashlight just yet, it is still light enough to see but they are definitely comforting to have. Making their way through the forest Jaya wasn't sure what to expect but from the look on Robin's face and her grip on Jaya's hand she could assume that Robin was excited to show her.
"Hey, er, this isn't where you take me to an abandoned shack in the middle of the woods and kill me brutally, is it? Cause that wouldn't be very fun for me."
Robin glances back at Jaya with a grin, "Do you think that would be fun for me?"
"I don't know what you do with your spare time." Jaya shrugs and Robin laughs. "Hey, Robin, it would be really great if you could confirm that we are not heading to your murder shack, please."
Robin purposefully neglects to answer, smiling teasingly, "Come on, we are almost there." Soon enough they step out of the wood line to see a river, Eno River. Robin leads Jaya to a wooden bridge. They walk across so that they are in the center of the river before Robin takes a seat her legs dangling over the side of the wooden planks. She tugs on Jaya's hand, telling her to sit also, she does. "I come here a lot to get away from things. My dad showed it to me when I was a kid and since then I couldn't stop coming here."
"It's beautiful," Jaya notes, watching as the water washes over the rocks below, the water was so clear she could see the fish swimming beneath them. All you could hear was the whistling of the wind, the rushing of the water, and the songs of the birds above. It was calm. It was peaceful.
Robin points to the horizon, "Look, just in time for the sunset." The two of the watch on patiently as the sky gradually turns orange before them, and the oranges turn to pink, to purple, to blue. Stars start to become clear in the cloudless night sky and soon, they are in darkness, peaceful, quiet, beautiful darkness.
Robin turns on her flashlight before sitting it facing skywards, Jaya mirrors her actions. The two look at each other and share a smile and Jaya finally understands. She's not the moon and Robin's not the sun. It just doesn't fit. Whilst the sun and moon don't work together Robin and Jaya do, of course it wouldn't fit. Jaya reaches for Robin's hand, taking it into her hand with gentle care. Robin squeezes Jaya's hand bringing the girl's attention to Robin.
Jaya takes a moment to look into Robin's eyes, getting lost in the specks and sparks. "Y'know, I don't bring just anyone here." Robin interrupts bringing Jaya's attention to Robin's lips, "Actually, I don't bring anyone here."
Jaya watches Robin chew on her bottom lip anxiously, "I bet you tell all the girls that. Right before you bring them to your murder shack." Robin laughs dropping her head onto Jaya's shoulder, her own shaking with the laughter she struggles to contain. At that moment Jaya decides that laugh is her most favourite noise in the world. "I'm sorry, I feel very special to be brought to your murder spot."
Robin looks up at Jaya, very suddenly, smacking her arm lightly, Jaya rubs her arm with a faux look of hurt, "You ruined the moment. I was gonna kiss you." That snaps Jaya out of her jokes, Robin herself looks shocked at what she said.
"I mean you don't have to not." Jaya flushes red, eyes flicking back down to Robin's lips.
Something very suddenly seems to take over Robin at the invitation as she leans forward placing her hand on the crook of Jaya's neck. She glances up at Robin becoming hesitant again. So Jaya takes charge, closing the gap between them, placing her hand on Robin's cheek, and pulling her face closer. The butterflies are back and just as active. They flourish and flutter as Jaya and Robin's lips move in tune.
It's over just as quick as it started.
The two end up yet again watching the other intently, that was until Jaya noticed Robin shiver and herself picked up on how cold it had gotten now that the sun had gone down, "We should probably start to head back." Robin nods and the two stand to their feet.
They make their way back to Robin's house hand in hand. They face each other upon reaching Robin's yard, "I had a lot of fun today, we should do this again. A second date?"
Jaya smiles at Robin's suggestion, "I'd love that. I'll call you soon?" Robin nods before kissing Jaya on the cheek.
Jaya doesn't straight away know what to do with herself, "Drive safe?"
Jaya nods, "I will. Goodnight, Robin."
"Goodnight, Jaya."
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2290 words
And that is a wrap!!!!
I both loved and hated it, goodbye fanfic that took me too long to be this short!!!!
*For those that don't watch football/soccer, Footballers often fake injuries very badly to the point that even through tv people can tell he is not hurt. Seriously have a look for some videos online, it's hilarious how they think they are getting away with it.