[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220516/744e39a4bb49e515a75540fcbe807531.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/CXGuqYE.gif[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/hl0M43i.gif[/img]
[color=darkgray][sub]A [@BrutalBx] and [@Venus] Collaboration
Featuring [color=BFA65C]David O’Hara[/color] and [color=C81935]Caitlin Cleary[/color][/sub][/color]
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[color=gray][indent][indent][center][i]December 4th, 2016[/i]

[color=BFA65C][url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4hdf-Z0fE]“Wild thing, 
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Come on wild thing

Wild thing, 
I think I love you
But I want to know for sure
Come on and hold me tight
You move me

Wild thing,
You make my heart sing
You make everything groovy
Come on, come on, wild thing…”[/url][/color][/center]

David “The Duke” O’Hara sang at the top of his lungs as his worn-down pickup pulled into Mulligan’s Clearing. Some would call it a Lovers Lane of sorts and others just referred to it as a place with a chill vibe and a great view. Luckily there were no other cars in the area, it’s what tended to happen on game days. The town of Edenridge would all but shut down as everyone went to the game. Houses would be dark; stores would be closed and if it weren’t for the handful that didn’t care for basketball, Eden could easily be described as a ghost town.

Duke would try to do his best to avoid parties on the Southside; it wasn’t his scene. Yet somehow that’s where everyone always ended up, especially after a Celtics win. Francis was an unstoppable force that night and his protégé Danny was quickly soaking up his energy like a sponge. David got his assists for sure but tonight wasn’t about him: it was about the King and the Queens. The Clovers absolutely killed it at the cheerleading competition so the girls were hitting it hard tonight also. Speaking of Queens, David’s current passenger was one of the latter; Caitlin Cleary. She was one of his best friend's little sisters, a freshman, a cheerleader and someone who did not look at all comfortable at a party inside the house of ReyRey Gonzalez. 

David couldn’t be more correct. Attending ReyRey Gonzalez' party was not something Caitlin had been particularly excited about in the first place. Even as a child, she had never been one for large, loud gatherings, or being in the spotlight: two things that were guaranteed to happen tonight. After snatching the win from Pinehurst at the Shining Star cheerleading competition, her and the rest of the Edenridge Clovers had become the hot commodity of the night. Young men from both high schools were prowling around the venue like predators on the hunt for their next prey-- their beady eyes leering at the cheerleaders' every move. Fortunately, the knowledge of how Rhett Cleary would snap their bones in half if he found out they made even the slightest move on one of his baby sisters was enough to deter any fraternization attempts from the Edenridge boys.

Unfortunately, the Pinehurst boys had not received the memo. Cece’s red hair and conservative demeanor had attracted the attention of a particularly persistent junior called Kiefer something or the other. He tried, unsuccessfully, to peak her interest with stories from his basketball team prowess. When that failed, he switched to bragging about his bedroom skills, insisting she should give him a chance to show her what he could do to her. Ever the lady, Caitlin had attempted to politely end the conversation to no avail. Eventually, she found herself backed into a corner with slimy Kiefer forcefully trying to kiss her. Her eyes desperately darted around for someone to help her out of this mess, panic setting deeper in by the second… Until, finally, she was saved by none other than David O’Hara himself.

Caitlin didn’t know what exactly happened or what was said. But after a brief exchange between the young men, a spooked Kiefer hurried away in the opposite direction. Grinning widely with his perfect teeth, David approached her, extending a hand out to her with the proposition of escaping the purgatory they found themselves at. The young woman didn't have to be told twice. With a timid smile of her own, Cece took David's hand and allowed herself to be led away from the party, into his truck, and driven away from the Southside.

She had watched David's karaoke session with a beaming smile and sparkling eyes throughout their trip, laughing in amusement at his enthusiasm while slowly melting with adoration on the inside. The further away they drove from the party, the more Cece unwinded. She could feel the tension previously straining her muscles fade away with every mile placed between them and that godawful party, replaced by the comforting feeling of safety only David could provide. Before long, she found herself singing along with her savior to the tunes on the radio, filling any gaps in the lyrics she didn’t know with dancing until the truck eventually came to a stop, followed by the sound of the music being abruptly silenced when the young man shut off the engine.

[color=BFA65C]“You ok, Cece? Thought this place would be a little more your speed.”[/color]

[color=C81935]"Absolutely!”[/color] she piped up enthusiastically, shooting David a blinding, grateful grin as she shifted to a more comfortable position in the passenger seat now that they were safely parked by the clearing. [color=C81935]"Thank you so much for getting me out of there when you did. I'm not even exaggerating when I say I was seconds away from having a panic attack with that Kiefer guy cornering me like he did and trying to kiss me."[/color]

[color=BFA65C]”Not really in for the hero thing but you looked uncomfortable and he obviously wasn’t taking no for an answer.”[/color] Removing the keys from the ignition of his truck, David smiled towards the young girl and motioned with his head for her to follow him. He climbed out of the driver's side and made his way to the bed of the vehicle. 

Before he did anything further, the Duke was interrupted by the buzzing of his phone. He pulled his cell from his back pocket and scanned the screen. Four missed calls and all of his messages were blowing up. Not unusual on a winning game day but this was different, something else was happening other than the standard congratulations. The police and ambulances were at ReyRey’s. They weren’t crashing the party, something had happened, something bad. As David investigated the texts further, he began to feel a cold, clammy feeling in his gut. 

Allison.

Allison was dead.

He had known her his whole life. This couldn’t be real. This was some kind of sick joke. He moved his gaze up to the redhead walking towards him. God; if this was true this would destroy a whole lot of people. Allison was a fucking idol to these girls. He would keep it quiet until he knew all the facts, there was no need to upset CeCe even further with news that someone she knows may be dead.

Dropping down the door, he gestured with his arm and smiled. 

[color=BFA65C]”The VIP section, m’lady.”[/color]

[color=C81935]“Oh, wow! Isn’t this fancy?”[/color] the short girl joked, hosting herself up into the truck bed with some help from David and taking a seat, crossing her legs together. She waited until her host had settled down next to her before wrapping the cozy sherpa blanket around them and speaking again. [color=C81935]"You guys did amazing at the game tonight, Dave. I know most people give the glory to Danny and Francis, but if it wasn’t for your assists all season they probably wouldn't even have had the opportunity to get as many baskets as they did."[/color] To an outsider looking in, this would seem like an attempt to fluff David's ego, but praising one another came with the territory of knowing each other for so many years.

[color=BFA65C]”You did really great tonight yourself. Stepping in when the rest of the team was sick, must’ve been a big challenge. We’re all super proud of you too.”[/color]

The blush in Cece's cheeks was instant-- it was the de facto response anytime David gave her a compliment. [color=C81935]"Thank you so much,"[/color] she graciously replied, shooting David a shy smile while tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear. [color=C81935]"I was so nervous throughout it all, too. You know I've never been a spotlight kind of girl, so the whole situation was something straight out of my nightmares. My knees felt weak the entire time, but considering we won the whole event I'm guessing I didn't do half as bad as I thought I did,"[/color] she said with a small laugh. 

[color=BFA65C]“You’re kidding, right? You were phenomenal!”[/color] David offered a compliment to the performance. [color=BFA65C]”No one could keep their eyes off of you. To be honest, I think the basketball game was secondary at that point.”[/color]

The blush in Caitlin’s cheeks extended to her whole face at David’s enthusiastic praise. The only thing she hoped was that [b]he[/b] was part of the people who, as he had just declared, couldn’t keep their eyes off her. [color=C81935]“Thanks, Dave. Really, it means a lot.”[/color]

If David was being truthful, he didn’t really care for the basketball either. He was a player, sure and a decent one at that but he had no real passion for the sport. In reality, he didn’t really know what his passion was, he hadn’t found it yet. He had tried a few things, mostly sports. He did some time at 5 Tool Martial Arts thinking he’d be a karate master, but that didn’t pan out. He tried a summer out on the boats with Clay’s dad, that sucked. He even tried some time behind the deli counter at The Godmother, but he was prone to burning the bread. He knew the right thing could just be around the corner, that something special was out there. He just had to find it.

[color=BFA65C]”Do you enjoy being on the squad?”[/color]

Caitlin gave a small shrug. [color=C81935]“It’s okay, I guess. I only auditioned because Ma kept bugging me about joining a team so I could be a little more ‘social’,”[/color] she confessed, rolling her eyes before shaking her head and letting out a small chuckle. [color=C81935]“I mean, I can’t lie and say that joining the squad hasn’t helped me feel more comfortable in my own skin, because it has. I certainly feel a lot more confident than I used to be. I just wish Ma would understand that I’m fine with being on the sidelines, you know? I don’t want to be a star on the mat, the field or the track like Rhett, Rowan and Brogan. I just want to live my life under the radar. I already get enough unwarranted attention as it is from being a Cleary. The last thing I want is to give people another reason to pay me even more attention or give them more opportunities to talk about me.”[/color]

David tilted his head in agreement. He understood her struggle all too well. Being an O’Hara was no walk in the park either, especially being the son of the beloved Coach and brother to someone who was once described as being as fragile as anyone could possibly be.

[color=BFA65C]”I get it. Problem is, Eden’s a small town and when you’re someone like us, with history like ours, you can’t help but get the attention. If there’s one thing people in small towns love it’s a story. They’ll be talking about the cheerleaders and the competition for weeks but then no doubt someone on the Southside will burn down a building and then that’ll be the thing on their lips.”[/color]

[color=C81935]"Heavy lies the crown, I guess…"[/color] Caitlin mumbled, crossing her legs in front of her. It wasn’t that she wasn’t thankful for what she had, but that she kind of resented the price she had to pay for it. [color=C81935]"I'm hoping that one day I get the chance to start from scratch somewhere else, you know? As grateful and conscious as I am of all the privileges my family history has gotten me in Edenridge, I'd love the opportunity to begin a new journey someplace, with a clean slate and no expectations other than those I set for myself."[/color]

[color=BFA65C]”It's true. As a Cleary, you’re under a lot of stress. I know your brother feels the same. Hell: all of us Foundlings do. I know that, for a lot of us, college and the outside world-- that’s the real dream. Leave this hell hole behind and be the people we want to be, not the people we’re expected to be.”[/color]

[color=C81935]“Well, you’re closer than I am to living the dream, so make sure you let me know how things are on the other side, okay?”[/color] she said with a small laugh, lightly punching his shoulder.

David smiled softly at the girl. She really was as sweet as apple pie. [color=BFA65C]”Life is but a dream.”[/color] He locked his hands in front of him as he gazed out upon the lake. His life was far from the dream that Caitlin believed it to be. College was a pipe dream at this point. He had enough grades to graduate but getting out and starting fresh at college? There was no chance. He would likely have to ask his father for a job or maybe help out somewhere else in town. He was getting out of this place alive. Jamie was out. She was free and it was because of her issues. How very silly that mister perfect would be stuck in place whilst the flawed beauty would be the one to escape. David laughed, and silence settled between the two for a short while.

[color=C81935]“So I take it this is where you take your innumerable conquests?”[/color] Caitlin asked playfully, shooting David a mischievous smirk. As bright and burning as her crush on him was, Cece wasn’t blind or oblivious. She was well aware of David’s playboy reputation, which is why she was trying hard to not get her hopes up.  For all she knew, he only saw her as his best friend’s Rhett’s little sister, and this was just his way of cheering her up after a scary encounter.

[color=BFA65C]”Conquests is such a dirty word,”[/color] David ran his hand through his curly brown locks before leaning back onto his palms. 

Cece couldn't help but chortle and shake her head. [color=C81935]"What would you call them, then? Lovers? Booty calls? Side pieces?”[/color]

[color=BFA65C]"I like to think more so that they are the ones before The One, helping to prepare me so that I can be good enough for her.”[/color] He looked down at her and smiled softly. David had a record-- it was no great secret and he didn’t try to hide it. It was one of the things that made him unabashedly him.

[color=C81935]"And I like to think that we’ll always be good enough for the person that we’re meant to be with,”[/color] Caitlin mused, pretending she knew more about love than she actually did. [color=C81935]“And in case you were wondering: you’re more than good enough, Dave. The amount of girls lining up around the block praying you’ll give them more than the time of day proves that,”[/color] she teased with a small smirk, lightly elbowing his side.

David let out a small chuckle as he looked out across the lake. [color=BFA65C]”They just love the idea of being with Eden royalty with a pretty face-- and, yes: I know I’m pretty. Not many people actually want to date the real Davey O’Hara.”[/color] He looked down at the red haired girl, her face alight from the flow of the moon, shining like some kind of diamond. [color=BFA65C]”Would you say I was good enough for you?”[/color]

Caitlin's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected question. [color=C81935]"Come again?"[/color] she heard herself asking him, searching his face for any signs of him perhaps being playful or her having misunderstood what he'd said. Had she heard that correctly? Why would David be asking her whether he was good enough for her or not when, just hours before, he’d been calling her a kid? You didn’t ask someone whether you were good for them or not unless…

[color=BFA65C]”You heard what I said.”[/color]

[color=BFA65C][i]What was he saying?![/i][/color] This was his close friend's little sister! Not only that but she was younger than him…much younger. How could he even be entertaining the thought of even considering looking at her in that way? He had known Caitlin since she was in diapers, yet here he was looking at her as a woman; a woman he wanted to be closer to. Guilt was overwhelming him but it wasn’t stopping him.

Cece blinked a few times, her mouth slightly open but no sound coming out. Did he really mean what she thought he did? [color=C81935]"You mean good enough for me as, like, a person? Or good enough for me in, um, a different way? Because you've always been more than good enough for me, Dave. 'Good enough' wouldn't even begin to do you justice."[/color]

Perhaps it was the way this night had gone? Or an adrenaline surge from the basketball game? Maybe the dredges of massive hype from the party? Or maybe it was the sadness that he was hiding having found out that his childhood friend was dead. It was probably a combination of all of them and something that was inside of him already. In that moment, all of it bubbled up to the surface as he tilted her chin with his finger and planted a soft, small kiss to her lips.

No turning back now.

For the better part of almost four years, David O'Hara had been the sole captor of Cece's young heart. She'd been nine years old when she'd found out the meaning behind the phrase ‘having a crush on someone’, and immediately the redhead's mind went to her brother's close friend. The feelings only intensified as time went on, taking on a deeper meaning as she matured and discovered more about the world. Whether it was his boyish charm, attractive features or the way he always seemed to be there for her whenever she needed him, she wasn't sure. But what Caitlin did know was that, in her eyes, he was perfect. No matter how many girls he slept with or how many hearts he broke, he was [i]her[/i] David: the hard-working, funny, protective, one of a kind guy she cared for. She had always imagined how it would be if her feelings were reciprocated by the one she so desperately loved. What a relief it was to see her dreams materialize into the most delightful of realities.

Eventually, it was Caitlin who broke away from the heavenly kiss, eyes slowly fluttering open and latching themselves onto his green ones. Before she could help it, a soft smile crept up in her lips, and her blue orbs filled with sparkling tears of joy. 

The young woman pressed her forehead against David's and gently cupped his face with both of her hands. [color=C81935]"I’ve loved you for a long time, Dave,”[/color] she admitted to him, throwing all caution to the wind and surrendering herself to the moment. [color=C81935]"And no matter what’s happened before, what happens now or what will happen next, you will always, [i]always[/i], be perfect to me,"[/color] she proclaimed, letting her heartfelt statement sink in before capturing his lips with her own in the sweetest, deepest of kisses.[/indent][/indent][/color]