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Post by Rachel Carmichael on Mar 11, 2008 2:57:37 GMT -5
R A C H E L and when i'm here i'll make you a mixed tape those singers always know just what to say
Meeting up with her best friend for a cup of coffee at the mall wasn't supposed to be make anybody nervous. That was a fair assumption, right? Rachel Carmichael and Christopher Drake have known each other since they were six years olds living in the United Kingdom. Granted, they had been living on separate continents for eight years, but apparently no obstacle could stop these two childhood friends from becoming closer as the years passed. Rachel had mostly her brother Joseph to thank for that, because it was he who had made it a point to keep in contact with Chris' older brothers. If their families hadn't been friends in the first place, there was no way of telling if their six year old selves would've gotten the chance to stay friends. God knows you can't even trust kids that age to pay attention to anything long enough to keep them from getting bored every ten minutes, so it would probably be safe to assume that expecting them to keep a long distance friendship going all by themselves would've been rather unrealistic.
Fortunately, as soon as they learned to type and were old enough to spend time on the computer, Rachel and Christopher had stayed in touch (without the aid of their brothers) through the internet. Sure, she had a lot of friends who could actually be within arm's reach without the need for an eight-hour plane ride, but there was something about their friendship that stood the test of time and distance. Maybe it was because they had a deep bond, a strong connection she didn't have with any of her other friends. She just felt like she could talk to Chris about anything, and she knew he felt exactly the same way.
Walking into Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Rachel headed for the free table in the corner and settled into one of the comfortable purple armchairs. She was a few minutes early, and she blamed her tendency to walk fast when she was nervous or anxious. Honestly, what was with her lately? Since her birthday last December, she hadn't been able to keep her mind off Christopher Drake. Perhaps it was because she had spent the entire day with him, and he had been so unusually sweet to her that she started seeing him differently. At first she just kept telling herself that he was being nicer than usual because it was her birthday (he wasn't mercilessly teasing her about random things for once). But there was something about the way he looked at her that day... No, that was probably nothing. They were just friends. Besides, it wasn't exactly a secret that he was a big flirt, so maybe that's all it was. He was just naturally flirtatious -- that's it.
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Post by Christopher Drake on Mar 11, 2008 6:19:19 GMT -5
Chris pulled into the mall parking lot and turned off his abnormally loud music. Oh sure, he always listened to music loudly, but today he had it on just about as loud as it could go (which with his speaker system was no small thing). When Chris was trying to keep his mind off of something that he knew would just upset his that was what he did. Today it was to keep his mind off of the girl who he was about to go enjoy a cup of coffee with. Rachel Carmichael, his best friend and the girl that he seemed to had fallen for. His misfortune wasn’t in who he had fallen for, Rachel was a great girl after all. It was more in the fact that they were strictly friends and he knew that she would most likely never feel the same way about him. The thought in itself was enough to make Chris quite distraught. Which was why he had been avoiding the thought.
He pulled himself out of the car and grabbed his cell phone from where it was resting in the cup holder. Chris only glanced at it momentarily before shoving it into his back pocket. He was late. As usual, but this time it was traffics fault. It was as if the world had wanted him to be late to see Rachel as if to make his chances lessen by the second. Chris made his way inside and up to the coffee shop. There she was sitting in the far corner. His breath seemed to catch in his throat and his heart began to beat at a much too fast rate, as if he didn’t see her every other day of his life. He wished he could just slap himself. It really made no sense. It was as if one day, he had just looked at her and she had changed from his childhood friend, to the girl of his dreams. It had been her birthday last year, when it had just suddenly sunk in that she wasn’t a seven year old girl anymore. Oh, he knew that it sounded stupid and cheesy, but that was how it had happened.
After standing there for just a moment Chris made his way over to the table where she was sitting and sat in the large and overstuffed armchair next to her. A truly heartfelt smile crossed his face as he said, ”Hey, sorry I’m late.” It had after all been an accident. ”I didn’t keep you waiting too long did I?” Chris asked. He would feel like such a jerk if she had just been stuck there waiting for him to arrive while he was fighting rush hour traffic. Which was any hour in New York. [/font]
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Post by Rachel Carmichael on Mar 11, 2008 13:08:06 GMT -5
Rachel had taken great care in getting dressed on that particular day, which was saying a lot since she never really made more effort than necessary when it came to dressing up. Of course, 'necessary' is a relative term -- it does depend on what the person thinks is satisfactory. Looking put-together and well dressed was deeply ingrained in her, having grown up in London and New York, fashion meccas of the world. However, she wasn't too keen on looking like she was a slave to fashion, hence the almost total avoidance of 'hot trends'. She had her own personal style, end of story. When she had been getting dressed that morning, for instance, even though it took her longer than usual, she had settled on her new purple and caramel Miu Miu cashmere sweater, dark skinny jeans, and chocolate-colored mid-calf leather boots. Now Rachel had a thing for boots -- it's all she ever wears unless the weather dictated that it would otherwise be ridiculous to have them on.
Tossing her long, loose waves over her shoulder, Rachel reclined on the armchair and wondered if she should get a cup of coffee, being in a coffee shop and all. But she didn't want to get up and lose the cozy, relatively secluded corner she was in. There weren't a lot of people yet since the Saturday morning lunch crowd had yet to make its appearance, but still. Besides, she was feeling too jittery already, and caffeine would only make it worse.
As soon as she heard Chris' voice, Rachel's heart skipped a beat and she felt her face flush slightly. She felt like he had caught her red-handed doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing. Turning to him with a wide smile, Rachel shook her head in response to his question. "No, don't worry. I'm early. And I know you never expect me to be early," she laughed nervously. In her mind, she hoped to god that he didn't detect anything out of the ordinary in her voice. "How's your Saturday going so far?" She rested her gaze on him, wondering if her cheeks were still an unnatural shade of pink. She felt rather strange, as she doesn't remember ever being affected like this by anyone before. Sure, she's had major crushes and even strong feelings for a few guys before, but nothing like this. And she's never felt more confused about a boy either. Chris was the only constant thing in her life -- he always has been, even during those eight years they were apart. She wouldn't do anything to risk losing him, but at the moment she felt like she was having some very surprising feelings for him that could very well change their friendship forever if she didn't keep herself in check.
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Post by Christopher Drake on Mar 13, 2008 7:27:22 GMT -5
Chris looked at the girl who had replaced all of his dreams at night and all his thoughts in the day. She seemed to have a way of always looking completely flawless no matter what. Chris snapped his mind away from all those thoughts and onto the question she had asked him. "Well, it's going much better now that I'm here with you." He said with a smile. Which was just about as close to the truth as he could get without crossing the line and having her catch on to something. He paused for a moment, and in those seconds everything ran through his mind that he just wished he could say to her. He hated how they had used to be able to talk about anything and everything, but now he had this secret that he just couldn't tell her. It just filled him with guilt.
"And yours?" Chris asked, returning the casual small talk with which every conversation started itself. He glanced over at the counter wondering if she had ordered in the time it had taken to get there. He really needed some coffee. The fact was, he needed anything to do that would distract him from what his mind kept wondering to. This just seemed to get harder for him by the day, and he hated it. But at the same time, he wouldn't trade it for the world. "Did you get anything yet?" Chris asked with a small gesture to the counter to show what he was tlaking about. [/font]
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Post by Rachel Carmichael on Mar 13, 2008 15:42:52 GMT -5
Perhaps one of the best things she loved about Chris was his ability to instantly lift her mood, no matter what. She couldn't even count the number of times through the years when he's managed to make her smile even in the darkest of moments, as if his very presence was all it took to make her realize that things weren't so bad. And truthfully, just how bad can they be when she's lucky enough to have someone like Chris in her life? She must've done something right in her past life or something, to deserve a friend like him.
"Good. I knew you'd miss me," she said playfully. "My weekend's definitely looking up." They often joked around and teased each other, but this time she couldn't quite meet his eyes when she teased him. She was rather annoyed about this because she had always considered herself to be a pretty straightforward person, especially with her closest friends. Chris was probably the one person she's never lied to, however, not even once. Well, maybe there was this one time back when they were six, when she took a piece of toast from his plate when he wasn't looking, and said that she didn't know where it went. But other than that, she's been completely honest with him about anything and everything. It felt strange then, that she was trying to mask her current state of confusion, which was something she never had to do. She never had to pretend with Chris, but now it certainly felt like she was doing just that. And given the fact that he knew her better than anyone, he could probably tell, too.
Rachel glanced in the direction he pointed at, shaking her head. "I haven't ordered yet. I'm actually too wired for coffee right now," she said. "I know, shocking, right? " Chris knew how dependent on coffee she was. If she didn't get her daily dose, she'd actually get a headache and be cranky for the rest of day.
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Post by Christopher Drake on Mar 14, 2008 5:56:18 GMT -5
Chris watched the girl who seemed to avoid his eyes. It made him nervously fidgit in his chair. He hoped that she hadn't noticed anything different with him and that was why she didn't meet his eyes when she said something to him. Chris glanced down to his feet. Why had life around the person who had always made him feel so comfortable, grown so awkward? He hated it. She was the only person that he wanted to spend his time with, and honestly she was the only person who he felt like he wasn't wasting his time when he was around. They could sit for hours just talking about nothing, or even in complete silence, and it still would be the best possible use for his time. He glanced up again just in time to meet her eyes when she mentioned the coffee.
A deep flush passed over his face, which he hid by ducking behind his hair and pretending to brush it out of his eyes. He was so distracted whenever he was around her anymore. It was almost a little pathetic. "You? Don't need coffee?" Chris asked in sarcastic shock. "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" As the words passed over his lips they took a stab at Chris's heart. Best friend. That is all that they would ever be. That was all that they could ever ammount to, and the more he said it the more it hurt him. Chris laughed slightly to cover his slightly hurt pause.
He couldn't take his eyes off of Rachel. How was it that his perfect girl was sitting right there as if to taunt him in knowing that he could never have a chance with her? He wished with all his heart that he could just get up the guts to tell her how he felt, but even more than that he wished she would return the feeling.[/font]
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Post by Rachel Carmichael on Mar 14, 2008 14:59:53 GMT -5
Rachel laughed lightly at his questions, nervously tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. It was somewhat of a nervous habit, which she was fairly certain Chris would pick up on. "I'm trying to cut down on caffeine. And sugar," she said unconvincingly. She was pretty sure he wouldn't buy that.
Furiously blushing under his gaze, Rachel stared at the table in front of them as if something fascinating was holding her attention. All this nervousness and awkwardness were starting to take its toll on her -- she couldn't bear to keep this going for another second, really. She has never been the type of person who got affected so easily, especially by a boy. But this wasn't just any boy, was he? This was Christopher Drake. Her best friend. And truthfully, if there was a member of the opposite sex who she believed to be worthy of these feelings she was currently having, it would be Chris. None of the other guys she's dated could really compare.
When she finally managed to return his gaze, Rachel couldn't help but notice that something was a bit off with him, but she could be just imagining it. Still, it always worried her when he showed even the slightest sign of not being as upbeat as he usually is. Not that she fussed with him a lot -- she knew he probably hated that. "Are you feeling okay, Chris?" She inquired casually. The last thing she wanted was to seem like she was overly concerned about him, which she was, but she had a feeling no seventeen year old boy would appreciate being coddled too much.
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Post by Christopher Drake on Mar 16, 2008 23:17:48 GMT -5
Chris noticed that she was acting nervous. And yet, she was the one asking him if he was okay? Worry raced through his veins. Had she caught on? He quickly looked away from the girl and down at the floor for a moment to regain his composer. He looked back up at her, but not at her eyes. He couldn't meet her eyes. Why was he such an idiot? Now he had her worried, all over nothing at all. Nothing. Because that was all his feelings would ever ammount to, nothing. "I'm fine." Chris quickly lied. That was stupid. She would be able to tell that he was lying in a heartbeat. She always had been able to. She just understood him in a way no one else did.
Momentarily Chris's mind flashed back to a time when they were just kids, and their parents had been joking about the two of them growing old and falling in love with each other. Oh, little did they know. Here he was, completely fallen for that girl who had just a year before, been someone he had always thought he would see as that same little girl who had cried out ew with him when their parents had been talking about that. They had then ran off hand in hand to play tag with some other kids in the neighborhood. Oh, if only his mom and dad were alive now to see their predictions coming true, at least on one side of things.
"Hey, Rachel...?" Chris said, in a moment of quiet inspiration. But as soon as the words left his mouth he realized he would never be able to tell his friend what he had been planning on. There was just no way he could bring himself to do that. What if she stopped talking to him? Or what if they got together and then broke up, that could completely kill the wonderful friendship they shared. But all Chris could picture as he avoided looking into the girls eyes, was her and him together. That was all he wanted. That was all he would ever want.[/font]
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Post by Rachel Carmichael on Mar 17, 2008 2:00:48 GMT -5
Rachel looked at Chris, knowing she had no reason to doubt his response, but there just seemed to be something in the air she couldn't quite put a finger on. Maybe it was him, maybe it was her, but at the moment she couldn't really tell. Normally she wouldn't have any difficulty reading him, but today was different. It has been different since her seventeenth birthday, when she suddenly realized that she was starting to feel something for him that went far beyond the platonic nature of their close friendship. Fortunately it didn't seem to affect them much, but of course that was mainly because she was a good actress. Although Chris was the one person who would know if she wasn't being truthful, she hoped she had somehow managed to mask her confusion for the past few months.
It was amazing when you think about how long these two have been friends, really. Rachel had never been the type of girl who was into Barbies or 'fairy princess'-themed toys, and that's mostly how they immediately got along. She was probably the first girl he's ever met who actually liked playing what boys usually played. It certainly wasn't at all surprising since she had two older brothers who had made sure she didn't grow up to be a typical girly girl who wears frilly dresses and tried on their mother's makeup when she was bored. Meeting the Drake brothers had only reinforced her own brother's 'teachings', especially having Chris as her constant playmate. Yes, Rachel had been a tomboy for most of her childhood thanks to them, and it wasn't until she hit puberty when things slowly started to change. She lost her taste for dressing like a boy and built up a wardrobe of more feminine clothes, although it did take her a few years to warm up to the idea of dresses and skirts.
Chris' next words snapped her out of her thoughts. "Yes, Chris?" She looked at him and smiled, waiting for him to continue. God, those eyes. His eyes were almost hypnotic, and drowning in them if she didn't watch herself was a real possibility.
When she came back to New York three years ago, she didn't really know what to expect. Sure, they've been sending each other pictures and whatnot, so she knew Chris had grown up to be extremely good-looking. But she had no idea just how gorgeous he was until she finally saw him again. The pictures didn't do him justice, really. But being anything more than friends with Chris didn't even enter her mind then because the very thought was just impossible. Honestly, it just wouldn't be smart to immediately start dating her best friend of eight years just because she discovered how cute he really was. That would be like not putting value on their friendship at all. A romantic relationship was certainly uncharted territory as far as they were concerned, and she valued him too much to risk their friendship. Looking back, she was starting to realize that maybe she had been falling for him slowly but surely for the past three years... There has always been that small stab of jealousy whenever he dated other girls, but she always told herself she just didn't like sharing him. Not that she ever said anything, of course.
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Post by wowposter on Nov 8, 2008 21:51:10 GMT -5
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