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theo
The clatter of cutlery hitting china plates was the only sound over the first complete family dinner in five years. To say it was awkward was an understatement.
"How did the job search go, Theo?" His mother asked as she refilled her wine glass.
"Got a job at the café." Tommy had called soon after he returned home informing him of the hours that were available. Theo took most of them, knowing that he had nothing better to do and he needed as much money as possible to leave home as soon as possible.
His mother practically jumped out of her seat in excitement. "Oh, Jane's café?" She squealed.
He gave a tight smile and nodded, feeling uncomfortable at the overly proud expression she held for something he didn't even work for.
"When do you start work?" His father said from the head of the dinner table.
"Tomorrow," Theo replied as he chewed on his food, eating less than politely in a rush to escape from the forced conversation and tense atmosphere.
Clearly, his sister had the same idea as she abruptly stood up from the table and announced, "I'm going to the cinema so I'll be back in a few hours."
"Have fun, sweetheart." Mrs Knight smiled as her daughter kissed her cheek, followed by her father's, as a goodbye.
Theo's eyes narrowed at Kate's back as she scampered out of the house. Without a doubt, he knew this new version of his sister would be the last to watch a movie by herself in a public setting.
It was obvious her best friends would be the ones accompanying her and he wasn't about to let his Flora be alone with Gray, who appeared to like her much more than Theo was okay with.
Cinemas were a quiet and dark place where many couples went out for dates so he couldn't bear to imagine what the guy would do to get out of the dreaded friend zone. His blood boiled at just the thought of Gray sitting next to the naïve beauty, unaware that her innocent touches were being perceived as something much more.
He imagined them both reaching for the popcorn and then giggling like school children as their fingers grazed. One minute a hand touch, the next they're f*cking in the back seat of his Ford Fiesta.
"Theo? Are you ok?"
He blinked and shook his head to rid him of his thoughts as his father continued to stare at him in concern. Theo wiped his mouth with the napkin before standing up from his chair with the legs screeching against the hardwood floors.
"I'm finished." He muttered, leaving his parents at the dinner table to finish their meal.
Coincidently, his room was situated opposite of Flora's, which caused their relationship to become what it was. Many late nights were spent talking to each other through plastic cups connected with string.
More often than not, he'd sneak into her girly room and settle himself into the floral blankets to spend the night holding her in his arms.
Especially, when he'd look into her window and see her sobbing from a nightmare caused by one of Kate's horror stories. If he was already asleep, he'd wake up to her puffy eyed figure throwing her stuffed dinosaurs through his window until he'd comfort her.
A demanding little princess but his princess nonetheless.
Thankfully, Flora hadn't left for the cinema yet and was playing on her phone when he reached his room. He could see her sprawled on her back as she held the device above her face while she tapped the screen furiously with a determined expression.
To Flora:
Hope this is still your phone number princess.
She sprung into a sitting position at the sight of his text message. Muffled by the windows between them, he could hear the squeal coming through her lips as Flora gave her signature toothy grin at her phone while her fingers frantically typed a reply.
From Flora:
Yes it tis
From Flora:
*is
From Flora:
Hi!! :)
Theo chuckled when he saw her lightly tap her cheeks and talked to herself somewhat sternly.
To Flora:
Want to hang out?
He texted, feigning nonchalance while hoping his sweet girl wouldn't lie to his face. There was a pause, causing him to look through her window. Once again, she was lolled on the bed with the phone above her face, only this time with the stuffed stegosaurus standing on her stomach.
Eventually, his phone vibrated in his hand, signalling a text.
From Flora:
I'm going to the cinemas with Kate and Gray in a bit.
Theo knew she already had plans but couldn't help but feel disappointed. However, he definitely wasn't planning to spend a night in alone to idly sit by while his girl was out with some irresponsible teenagers.
He grabbed a pebble from the pot of stones he had on the window sill and quickly threw it at Flora's closed window to get her attention. He sucked in a breath as he watched the phone land on her face, causing a shriek to leave her lips.
"Sh*t! Princess, I'm so sorry," Theo said with guilt heavy in his apology at being the reason she was rubbing her forehead with a pained expression.
Looking startled by the sound of his voice, she ran to the window and opened it with glassy eyes, clearly pretending that the already reddened area wasn't hurting her. "S'ok." She laughed softly with embarrassment coating her cheeks with a pink tint. "Teddy?"
"Yes, love?"
"You can come too if you want." She told him enthusiastically.
His lips quirked up in a slight smile. "I'll go."
She leaned out of the window slightly and gasped at his response, which was shortly followed by her shouting, "really?!" Theo could only nod before she continued, "yay, ok. See you later."
Her window was slammed shut as soon as she finished her last word, giving him no time to tease her about her excitement. He saw her close her curtains but accidentally left a few inches of her room visible for him to see.
And he definitely saw much as she twirled around on the spot and waved her arms about in an unusual dance move with her dress brushing the top of her pale thighs. Of course, this only lasted a few seconds before she tripped over something, most likely her own feet, effectively stopping whatever she was doing.
Theo laughed silently to himself in his empty room with the smile not leaving his lips. The pure undisguised hope she had when she asked him to join warmed his chest with a feeling of being wanted for once. She always made him feel like he wasn't a waste of space and that he actually had a purpose.
And that was to protect this innocent girl with everything he had.
~~~
"Why are you here again?" Kate asked her brother as she smiled widely at a group of girls, who were also getting on Theo's last nerve with their constant stares and annoying giggles.
"Flora invited me." He stated simply with his hands in his pockets. His eyes stayed on his princess as she looked at the list of films, craning her neck from her petite height.
Just the sight of her a few steps away from him left him wary of her safety. The place was clearly a hot spot and the plethora of peering eyes on the beauty didn't go unnoticed. They all stared at the perfect incarnation of innocence as she rocked back and forth on her shoes, completely unaware of all the potential danger around her.
Even close by, Theo knew her clumsy and naïve self could get in all sorts of trouble that his blood pressure would not appreciate. He had to fight back the urge to pull her to his arms and smother her until everything he deemed as a threat was no longer there. Of course that would mean he'd be in an empty room with just Flora but there was nothing wrong with that in his eyes.
When he saw a particularly brave boy with a cocky smirk and an arrogant gait saunter towards her unsuspecting figure, he couldn't resist any more and gave into his temptations.
"Princess, come here." Theo called out softly yet sternly, his hand outstretched to her.
She smiled sweetly and walked to his open hand with a bounce in her step, completely oblivious to the bewildered guy approaching her with his own hand outstretched. "Hi," she beamed.
F*cking adorable. "Did you choose what film you want to watch?" He asked, rubbing the back of her, most likely, sore neck from the stupidly high movie posters.
The girl shrugged. She shuffled closer to him to the point he could feel the warmth from her body merging with his own through the thin t-shirt he wore. She herself was only adorned in a sundress that made his pants tighten and his thoughts unholy.
"I know you want to watch Jurassic World 2." He smirked at her sheepish smile.
"Well, I don't mind what we watch. What do you want to watch?" She replied quickly.
Theo mentally awed at how terrible she was at trying to hide her eagerness to see the film. She was selfless and always put people before herself. In his opinion, this was her only flaw because he thought that she deserved the entire world yet she only allowed herself the scraps let behind.
"I want to watch the dinosaur film."
He swore she floated a little higher off the ground when she heard his words. "Ok! That's fine with me." Her eyes twinkled with happiness as she said so.
He held the side of her face, enthralled with the feel of his calloused hand on her baby-smooth skin while also very cautious of scratching something so delicate. "Such a beauty." He mumbled in awe. Though, the growing blush told him he wasn't as quiet as he assumed.
"Sorry I'm late guys." A masculine voice said behind them and from the sound of heavy footsteps, he was walking closer.
Theo was taken aback as Flora left him and ran to the boy, flinging her little figure on Gray for a hug. Though a short hug, it was a hug he didn't want to look at and left him wallowing in anger while he stood alone in the centre of the room staring at his shoes.
"Why did you take so long?" He heard her say.
"Traffic was sh*t," the boy said.
Theo rolled his shoulders back and tightened his jaw as he attempted to swallow his irritation before approaching the two in the midst of their conversation. "And who's this, Princess?" He asked with a faux friendly voice.
He smiled when his girl unconsciously leaned into the hand he placed possessively on the small of her back. "This is Gray," she gestured towards the boy looking at him with an expression mixed with suspicion and confusion. "And this is Teddy,"
Gray tilted his head with a raised eyebrow and pursed smile. "Teddy?"
"Theo," he corrected, internally laughing at the idea of anyone besides Flora calling him Teddy, particularly the boy in front of him.
Suddenly, Gray's face morphed into one of understanding. "Oh! As in Kate's brother and the one Flo talks about. I forgot you were back."
Having enough of the small talk, he forced a small smile and turned to Flora, who had her attention on the snack area. "We should buy our tickets. Where's Kate?"
"I'm here!" She walked quickly towards them away from the group of girls. "Hi Gray," she said enthusiastically before hugging him.
Theo narrowed his eyes at the action as his sister looked a little too cosy with the boy.
"Kate." He greeted with a charming smile that had her eyelashes fluttering a million miles an hour.
"Are we buying our tickets now?" Flora asked, her eyes blinking innocently at Theo as he walked to the line with his hand still on her back.
"Yeah. Jurassic World alright with everyone?" Theo asked due to formalities, though he wasn't expecting anyone to argue with the decision.
"It's alright with me if it gets Flora to stop talking about it." Kate said with a teasing smile before linking arms with the girl and walking ahead of everyone.
Theo insisted on buying the tickets for them, mainly after seeing Flora open her tiny coin purse with a proud smile as she prepared herself to sacrifice the little amount of pocket money she had saved.
While the others were grateful and thanked him, she did so too but with a small pout on her lips. Of course, this immediately transformed into a grin as soon as Theo whispered that she could use her money to buy herself snacks.
They settled themselves into the questionably clean yet comfortable cinema seats with him making sure his girl was as far away as possible from Gray. She needed the empty seat beside her anyway for the giant bucket of popcorn she bought.
Throughout the film, Theo couldn't help but sneak glances at the girl next to him. He knew he'd never get tired of seeing her and to have her so close to him after all these years, filled him with doubt that she was actually there, as if she was just a figment of his imagination.
He smiled at the pure delight and fascination in her eyes as she watched the movie. Child-like giggles would escape her lips every time there was anything remotely funny, causing him to laugh along with her despite not knowing what the joke was.
Flora would squeeze his large hand that held hers just as tightly whenever there was intense music that had her on the edge of her seat.
The worse parts were when she cried silently to herself, only allowing small sniffles when an emotional scene happened. Pain pierced his chest when he looked to his side and saw trails of salty tears run down her cheeks. He wiped them away with the back of his finger, making her look at him with a sad pout as she wiggled her nose adorably.
An unfortunate habit Theo had was falling asleep during movies so it was a shock when he was abruptly awoken with a harsh poke in the cheek. It was a surprise that he could hear Flora shush him over the incredibly loud music. "Stop snoring, you oaf," she whispered with an adorable glare.
"Cheeky littl- "
"Shush!"
~~~
Eventually the movie ended and Theo was left to cradle a sleeping Flora in his arms after she fell asleep on the ride home. Kate had already ran into the house with her phone attached to her ear, chatting away to one of her many friends.
He rang the doorbell many times but with no response and fear of the sleeping girl catching a cold, he let himself in with the keys Flora had in her bag.
The emptiness of the house was unexpected. There was no sign of any of her parents so he assumed they were at work or at another dinner party. It was where they seemed to be throughout most of his and Flora's childhood.
Flora squirmed in his arms and yawned cutely, reminding him of a small kitten.
With footsteps a ballerina would be jealous of, he cautiously carried her to her room, smiling as he saw the numerous stuffed animals and museum souvenirs on her shelves. Though, the stegosaurus he gave her was tucked under her duvet.
"Down you go," he mumbled to her, despite knowing she was already deep in sleep.
Theo carefully laid her on the bed with her feet hanging off the edge, before taking her dirty converse off and then lifting her feet on there too.
Despite wanting her to feel comfortable, he knew he couldn't exactly change her into pyjamas having only returned for about a day so he just covered her with an extra blanket at the side of the bed.
He didn't want to overstep any boundaries. Though he knew she belonged to him, forever and always, he wouldn't do anything she wasn't comfortable with. Theo respected her immensely so they would take things as slow as she wished. If that meant building their friendship all over again, then so be it.
He kissed her on the forehead, staring at her peacefully sleeping face for a few seconds too long, before whispering, "good night, princess."
Just as Theo went to leave, he was stopped by a sharp kick behind his knee, causing him to hold on to a tiny chair to avoid stumbling to the ground.
"Where are you going?" Flora sleepily slurred.
He narrowed his eyes at her little pale leg hanging out of the bed.
Before doing as his princess clearly wished, Theo sent a silent prayer for himself, knowing that sleeping beside the matured beauty he had dreamed of would be more than torture.
"Night Teddy," she mumbled into his chest as soon as he slipped an arm around her waist and tucked her head under his chin.
He inhaled deeply, feeling utterly content with the peace and happiness he felt in just a simple cuddle. Just a few minutes. That's how long he'd allow himself this pleasure.
He knew he couldn't give her what she truly deserved but he hoped that giving her every single part of him would be enough. After all, she was his world and he was never giving that up.
~~~
Thank you for reading!
Explanation for the long wait is on my message board :)
I've got a riddle and it's actually a really good one ok.
Q: 16, 06, 68, 88, ?, 98
What is the '?'
WORD COUNT: 2977
Much love <3
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