| Fan Fiction |
by Shweta
“Three months are up and you’re still having that horrible nightmare?” Rainie asked as she placed the coffee cup in front of Joe.
“Where am I?” Joe asked as if in a daze. “Rainie? Where’s Ariel?! We have to save her!”
“Relax Joe...you’re at your house, and Ariel, she’s dead and has been for almost three months now.”
Joe blinked. Then he blinked again. His current surroundings and reality becoming clearer the more he blinked. Ariel was dead, and has been for two months. Yet they couldn’t find her body. Couldn’t? Wouldn’t was the more appropriate word. He wanted to say a last goodbye, give her a proper funeral. Bury her next to Selina. She was the second woman he loved, and the second one to die on him.
Joe’s eyes fell on Rainie. “I’m sorry, I must have dozed off.”
“I can understand...it has been a pretty rough week, and then you pulled an all-nighter for the Lakmé campaign.” Rainie shrugged and sat next to him. “Here, have some coffee...it’d be good for you.”
“Thanks.” Joe said taking the coffee cup from Rainie. “I’m sorry I stood you up yesterday, and I’m sorry we haven’t had a proper date.”
“It’s fine. I know the importance of work. As a doctor, I too, have had my share of all-nighters, and also stood up many people on the way.”
“Many people?” Joe teased.
“A reasonable amount of people.” Rainie immediately came to her defence.
“I don’t know...I bet you have broken the hearts of at least a quarter of Taipei’s male population.”
“And you the quarter of female’s...I bet you still don’t notice the expression on most women’s faces when you walk by them.”
“You do?”
“Yeah...there’s always this look of longing, mixed with awe and defeat.”
“Defeat?” Joe asked puzzled.
“Defeat.” Rainie confirmed. “They know they cant have you...I’m always at your side.”
“Ahh, so that’s why the pretty woman wont approach me. I think I should set out without you one day.”
“Oh shut up!”
Joe smiled up at Rainie. The truth was, he liked her. Maybe he didn’t love her, and maybe he couldn’t see himself loving her in the future either. But he liked her. And there was no harm in trying to convert the like into love. Maybe he wouldn’t love her quite as much as she loved him. As much he knew she loved him. But he could try. And damn if he didn’t!
Rainie was a nice girl. Smart, funny, sweet. Just like Selina. Just like Ariel. As much as he loved Selina, he’d made room in his heart for Ariel, and he could do the same for Rainie. So what if it had only been three months since Ariel died? And so what if he couldn’t forget Ariel? He could still try. Rainie was an excellent woman, and he had to make room for her. She was his last chance at love.
“Rainie...” Joe said and placed his hand on hers.
“Yeah?” Rainie asked giving him a bright smile. Joe couldn’t help but compare Ariel and Rainie’s smiles. While Rainie’s was cute, and childish, Ariel’s was womanly and radiant.
“I’m free tonight.”
“Yeah...?” Rainie probed, her eyes began to sparkle.
“So...I was wondering...how about a date?” Joe smiled.
“It has been a while since we’ve had one of those, so sure. I’d love it Joe...but let me plan the whole thing.”
“Can’t we just go to a restaurant and talk and eat?” Joe said the first thing that came to his mind, and instantly regretted it, specially after he saw the look on Rainie’s face. “I’m...I’m sorry. Of course, you plan the whole thing. I’d trust you with my eyes closed.”
“Thanks.” Rainie said giving an awkward, unsure smile.
“I really am sorry. I didn’t mean it to sound that way. It’s just...I thought maybe we could just go somewhere quiet, and talk. But I’m willing to do anything you want.”
“No, it’s fine...let’s go someplace quiet like you said. We haven’t talked for ages.”
“We can talk some other time. Tonight, let’s do something special.” Joe smiled at her, and squeezed her hand.
“Okay!” Rainie replied, and again her eyes sparkled.
‘Idiot.” Joe cursed in his head. ‘That was close. You almost broke her heart there.’
***
“Candles, check. Music, check. Roses, check. Tasty food, check. Check, check, check.” Rainie said as she checked everything in her list. This was her dream date, with her dream man- Joe. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could go wrong. Everything had to be perfect. It just had to be.
“Joe, I hope you’re not disappointed.” Rainie sighed. She turned her attention to her watch. She had asked Joe to meet her at the garden at seven. It was six fifty now. “Please God, let him love the food and me. It’s been three months since Ariel has been gone, please let him make room for me in his heart. Please.” She pleaded.
She didn’t know Ariel, but she knew she must have been a pretty amazing woman to have captured Joe’s heart. Joe was trying to love Rainie, she could tell, but Ariel and her memories always came in the way. Rainie wished she could make room for herself in Joe’s heart, and given the chance, wipe away Ariel’s memories from Joe’s heart and mind forever.
Would it be a challenge? Yes. But she was sure she could do it, only if Joe gave her the chance. He was always either too busy with work, or too depressed to even talk to Rainie. But Rainie was strong, and she forced herself into Joe’s life.
She had two motives for this. She wanted Joe to love her, like she loved him. And she wanted Joe to forget Ariel. If she couldn’t make Joe love her that was ok, she would live life with him as her friend. But she didn’t want Joe to keep pining over Ariel, and miss out on life. That would be unfair. She was sure even Ariel wanted Joe to move on. Joe already suffered the loss of his fiancé, and now his wife. How much loss could one man take? But Joe was strong, and still breathing even though he lost his chance at love twice. Now he had her, Rainie. And she would prove the third time to be a charm.
“Rainie?” The voice behind her startled Rainie.
“Joe.” She turned and gave Joe the biggest smile she could. “You’re here.” She said and looked at her watch. “Ah, on time. Full marks on punctuality.” She joked.
“Did you make all this?” Joe asked in awe as his eyes swept over the food on the table. “And where did you get a table in the middle of this park?”
“All questions will be answered once you’re seated.” Rainie grinned. Joe sat, as Raine served both of them the food.
“This is delicious.” Joe said taking a bite of the egg plant. If the starter’s this good, I can’t wait for the rest of it!”
“Thank you, you flatter me.”
“Well, it’s not a lie. Where did you learn to cook like this?” Joe asked taking another bite of the egg plant. Rainie’s smile faded a bit, and then she gave Joe the biggest smile she could manage.
“My mother...she knew she was going to die. So when she learnt that, the first thing she did was teach my father to cook. And my father taught me. This way, I never missed out on my mother’s cooking.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad she thought about so much before she died. She took care of everything for me. I must be the only child in the world that has so many memories of my mother, after she died."
“That’s nice.” Joe replied. The rest of the evening was spent in discussing family woes, love and life. Joe was enjoying himself after a long time.
‘You enjoy yourself every time you’re with her.’ Joe’s mind said to him when they reached his door. ‘She’s good for you. And for some reason she likes you a lot, don’t let her go!’
‘I know she’s good for me, and I know she likes me, but I can’t cheat her. I still love Ariel.’ Joe warred with himself.
‘Who says you’re cheating her? You like her, and she knows you are still mourning over Ariel. She isn’t rushing anything. But that doesn’t mean she’d be here forever. Give her a sign that you are willing to make her a part of your life. At least, you could give her that.’ His mind countered.
‘But what do I do? I can’t tell her I love her, that isn’t true. I already told her I like her...’
‘Show her you like her...somehow.’
Joe looked down at Rainie’s eyes. They still held that sparkle. He found it so adorable. He knew his mind was right; he had to give her a sign. He bent down and gently placed his lips on hers.
“Joe?”
Joe pushed Rainie away from him the moment he heard the voice. That voice, it was so familiar. It was...”Ariel!”
***
Haha! Had ya fooled =P Ok, so not all of you were fooled, everyone knew I was gonna get Ariel back, but for my satisfaction, I'm gonna assume all of you thought she's dead. How can I kill Ariel? You guys are forgetting I'm a huge ArJoe fan too! And I know all my readers are super ArJoe fans like me, so I wouldn't disappoint you all with a RainJoe pairing. Although, this might be a good idea for another story =P
Anyway, I hope I didn't loose readers, but I might make it a RainJoe ending...this time I'm serious =P
Check out my other story too @shwetastories.webs.com/amgssd.html
and also comment there and here and here too--->winglin.net/fanfic/shweta10
Thnx for reading...mwah!