Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
Every downstairs seemed to suddenly burst with life, Martha and her parents where leaving now in order to go to their shop and gather some Christmas dinner supplies. Jonathan and Emily where starting to clean up and Ammie was calling the kids to go outside with her and they'll play while the house was getting sorted. Riley grinned rather mischiefly as he took a playful step towards her, but his eyes looked down at the camera in her hands, the tips of his fingers playing with the smooth surface for a moment. It would be nice to tape her, or even better to have someone tape both of them together.
"Merry Christmas Catherine," The whisper was following by one of his hands listing to her face, his finger resting beneath her chin and tilting her head back a little so her face lift to look up at him. As their lips touched his hand moved from beneath her chin to her cheek. his body then moving into hers, but slowly continuing forward so that she was forced to step back into her room instead of having them standing outside in the hall between their doors. His hand moved to rest on her lower back while his other one shut the door behind them. The one touching her cheek dropped down to take the camera from her hands, letting it drop safely onto the bed before moving to tuck his fingers just behind her ear, his thumb resting on her cheek as he still left his lips locked upon hers.
When his body began to react in the hopeful eagerness that she would be enthralled by his dose of affection and they could be together once more, Riley hesitantly pulled his lips away, though somehow found them once again giving compliance to the alluring demand of her lips. It was a struggle but he pulled his lips away and managed to smile rather sweetly, despite the look he had, which hinted something along the lines that dropping her back onto the bed and making love to her now and without the care that his family were down stairs wasn't too far from his mind.
"We do have things we need to do today.. Mrs Summers wanted to know if you had finished your work as well, she would need it before the New Year since they are setting the new classes then.. I'm really sorry, I should have been helping you and I forgot all about it.." Both his hands where wrapped about her, but rested relaxed down on her lower back, holding her only lightly against his body since he knew if he pulled her firmly into a more passionate embrace he was just going to get even more worked up and it was going to be harder to get the feeling to go away. "But while people are cleaning we can do some work if you want.. then after that maybe we can think of something fun to do together.. maybe we go out and find something to record or take pictures of." There was a little shrug, but he did look excited about doing something with their new gift.
Riley wasn't going to even hint towards the fact he got her a present, the girls only assumed he would have shown her on Christmas eve because he had told them that's when they do the swapping of presents.
Rather obediently she followed both Riley and Emily upstairs, though Emily departed almost at once. There was a bit of a nervous look about her since she was left alone with just Riley again for company. He didn't look too uncomfortable with the idea of being with her though since there was a happy looking expression on his face. One of his hands was suddenly under her chin, forcing her to lift her face and look up into his eyes.
"Merry Christmas Catherine," She smiled in an instinctive response to him talking. His head dipped down towards her as he kissed her, his lips warm and soft on her own. It seemed so long since she'd had any affection from him like this. Even though they'd shared a bed last night they'd still not done much more than hold each others hands. She wished things could be eaiser though, more like they had used to be before everything had happened to her.
His body moved forwards, forcing her to move backwards so she was in her room, there was the sound of the doorr closing even though she couldn't see it owing to the fact that Riley's body was in the way. One of his hands reached out and took hold of the camera that was in her hands, dropping it onto the bed and then giving her his full attention once again. Slowly his lips started to move away from hers again but he seemed to reconsider and let them drift back to hers again. A minute later he finally tore himself away from kissing her, the look that was in his eyes left her with little doubt where the trail of his thoughts was leading. There was still the memory of what had happened last time they were together that made her drop her eyes away from him again.
"We do have things we need to do today.. Mrs Summers wanted to know if you had finished your work as well, she would need it before the New Year since they are setting the new classes then.. I'm really sorry, I should have been helping you and I forgot all about it.." Cat didn't have any problems over the fact that they hadn't done any work yet. She was determined to put him off doing any though, it was Christmas day and she didn't want to spend it or any other day burried in text books revising for exams she was going to fail anyway.
'I didn't bring any work with me.' There was a pause before she smiled up at him rather sweetly, trying to distract him with her charms. 'Can't we do something else.. it's christmas afterall.' She left her suggestion rather open ended, she didn't really have an intention of sleeping with him but he didn't know that. She'd not said she'd do anything even though he could well interprate it as that. It wasn't very nice of her to use him like this, she'd seen the look in his eyes before and now she was about to try and use it to get her own way.
"But while people are cleaning we can do some work if you want.. then after that maybe we can think of something fun to do together.. maybe we go out and find something to record or take pictures of."
'Hmmmm, we could do couldn't we' Her eyes were staring up at his but after a moment they dropped back away again. The tone of her voice seemed very much like she wasn't really listening to what was being said to her.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. 'Hmmmm, we could do couldn't we' There was something about her that made him feel wasn't paying any attention to what he was saying. but then again, she had said before they could do anything.. His excited mind didn't need to think twice on what he thought that might mean, another thrill of enticment rushing through him while his devoured every inch of splendid detail in her pretty face before her eyes dropped away.
With it having been so many days since he's been able to be with her, his body's frustration with what felt like years of neglect was meaning everything about her made him go weak and the longing for her so hard to resist. It was easier to see the movements of his breath, his chest moving a little more noticably while his body began to prepare for the strenuous work out it was hoping for.
"I don't want to be the reason.. that you fail," He added, seeming to have to pause for a moment, acting as if he was a little short on breath. "Just an hour, or two, no more, then we'll do whatever you want." There was a really hopeful look in his eyes, as well as a really disappointed one, he just wanted to be with her so much, but not if it cost her passing the year. Besides, he just had to wait till they finished.. he didn't know she was just using his weak state in hopes of getting an advantage over him and slipping past having to do any work.
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ooc: Sorry it's short, I needa have a shower and Anna wants one in 15 minutes, then lefterry, they take hours and I don't want to wait for the hot water to heat up.. AGAIN!!
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "I don't want to be the reason.. that you fail," She was a little suprised that he hadn't given in yet but she wasn't ready to just accepted the fact that Riley wanted her to do some work, if there was any way she could squirm out of doing schoolwork then she would do so. She let her dark eyes fix back on his again. She could see he wanted her, it was so obviously written in his eyes and Cat was used to usually getting what she wanted, especially when it came to Riley.
"Just an hour, or two, no more, then we'll do whatever you want." It was like he was barganing with her, if she did this he'd do anything she wanted later. It wasn't what she wanted to do though, she didn't want to sit down and study with him. This fact was also fuled by the fact that she was afraid he'd find out just how far behind everyone else she was, especially since he was so smart.
'I don't want to work.' Cat sounded a little sulky, trying a new persuasive tactic, pulling her body away from Riley a little and taking a step backwards, as if threatening him that if they didn't do what she wanted now then she'd change her mind later. Poor Riley was going to have a hard time trying to deal with the idea that she might change her mind about being with him.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
As she said she didn't want to work, Riley was trying to think of a way to cheer her up about the thought, but she pulled away, a look of mild panic the worry that they'd get back to how they where before, a distant void between them that seemed near impossible to cross.
"It'll be alright, I'll be there, I'll help you, its just a book report for English I think, I didn't read the list very well that Angela gave us, but it's easy isn't it, you just read and write down answers to questions to show you've read the book." He felt so exposed now, she was too far away, she could see he was excited, well.. he wasn't really worked up so she wouldn't find it as yes to notice if he had been lead on even further. But the simple fact she wasn't in his arms made him feel as if she was about to run off, she didn't look to pleased, maybe it wasn't the best time to bring it up, but she hadn't been talking with him, and it was only a few more days till New Years, he didn't want to let her down.
"You only need to read a hundred pages of any book, Jean just wants to see how you do, she hasn't got any work from you because you where away for such a long time." That's what Riley figured, he knew her school records where poor, attendance was bad, but he never really focused on them, he didn't know her at the time so he scanned everything very quickly, he had so many files to read back then. But he was sure since she hadn't said anything about having troubles he figured it was just because she was away all the time, and she did leave the school, it wasn't like he expected her to pass the year with flying colours since she wasn't doing any of the classes.
"You can just read the start of one of the books we got and then when you answer the questions I'll send them to the school and then you won't have to do anything else for the rest of the year." He tried to make it sound so easy, but he looked and sounded a little concerned that she was going to disappear and leave him alone, or yell at him, if she didn't want to do it then she might get really upset and he was really worried she'd lock herself away again, it was only reading, he didn't understand the big problem.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "It'll be alright, I'll be there, I'll help you, its just a book report for English I think, I didn't read the list very well that Angela gave us, but it's easy isn't it, you just read and write down answers to questions to show you've read the book." She knew what she was supposed to do but she didn't actually have any intention of handing anything in. She despised reading as it was, but most of that hatred was just because she found it hard and because she had to concentrate on reading so much of the time it was hard for her to really get into the story. There was a quick hope that she'd be able to get him to do most of the work, she could see he was quite determined to get her to do her lessons. Maybe if she asked him he'd read outloud to her or something or perhaps she could ask him to type what she wanted to write into his computer.
"You only need to read a hundred pages of any book, Jean just wants to see how you do, she hasn't got any work from you because you where away for such a long time." There didn't really seem like much point in her submitting anything since she was going to fail anyhow. Her eyes glanced over at the door, wondering if she should just make a break for it, it wasn't like he'd be able to catch her.
"You can just read the start of one of the books we got and then when you answer the questions I'll send them to the school and then you won't have to do anything else for the rest of the year." There was a grumpy expression on her face, as she tried a final kind of desperate lunge at not having to do any work.
'How comes you don't have to write one!' It seemed so unfair he was going to make her do work on Christmas day, out of all the days in the year he was going to have her slaving away in front of books on this one. 'I don't wanna do it.' it was rather like little child having a tantrum over the fact that they couldn't have chocolate or play with their coloured blocks any longer. Cat made a frustated noise in the back of her throat and huffily crossed over to sit on her bed, suddenly acting like he wasn't there. She wanted to just scream at him untill he got upset so he wouldn't make her to any work but then he'd get upset and she'd feel awful.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
ooc: Do you want Holly deleted from your title?
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Looking really confused at why she was so upset at this, after all, didn't she want to pass? Riley stared at her, he could hardly be behind in much work... he quit all his classes because he couldn't cope being surrounded by people, most of which where almost smiling and happy about something.
"Wait, I know," Being the school tutor meant he had to handle a lot of students and help them with their work, though until he becomes a teacher this coming year it wouldn't have been because he was actually a 'real' teutor, he was just helping out his friends and eventually other class mates joined in. Riley's hand slipped the key from the door, trying not to make the movement too obvious but he didn't want her to lock it on him, the act, if she did notice, would hint he was still thinking about school work.
Moments later he returned, her backpack in his right hand with his laptop tucked under his arm, the other hand holding a book and his old work folder that he had noticed Angela packed amongst some other things for him. Carefully placing the itesm down, he then turned and slipped the key into her door, twisting it until there was a clicking sound to register that the door had been locked and they where both trapped within the room. If she was going to treat him like how she had just because he was wanting to help her, then fine, he would suffer that poor treatement and help her none-the-less. Though he was petrified she would start screaming and everyone would hear all the terrible things she often says when she gets mad, he'd be so humiliated he wasn't sure he'd be able to face anyone ever again if she started yelling about how he can't satisfy her..
Picking up one of the books they had gotten him, not thinking since it was for older readers it would have words that Catherine most likely wouldn't understand if she was even able to pronounce half of them correctly. It was a fantasy novel as well, so they'd be using old english in most of their speech it some words shortend in order to help the reader understand the accents the characters where using.
"And I do have to write one, I'm six months behind, Angela went to the library to get me because I was studying.. and reading." Riley had proved that he knew all the work he was given, proven that he could catch up and handle his classes well enough, they understood he was going through a depression and they didn't pressure him into catching up since they knew he wouldn't have trouble in the new year. But Riley hadn't thought about taking up his classes again, in fact, when Catherine had stopped talking to him ad even yelled at him because of his curiosity towards their child, he had been so upset he considered dropping out of the schoolentirely, but Dawn convinced him that was a stupid thing to do.. well, he had been more inclined to stay because there was no where else for him to go.
"Now come on, no one's going to disturb us, and as soon as we're done we'll do something fun." He looked really hopeful that she wouldn't get angrier with him insisting, he was really just trying to do what he thought was best for her, "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish." As far as he was concered it was his fault she left, and because he thought that it was making him even more guilty that he was considering prolonging this even more just so he could make love to her, unaware she not only had no intentions of releasing him from the frustrating moments of need he felt but also that she had gotten his hopes up knowing she wasn't ready to love him and knew that he was already excited and was just simply trying to use it to get her own way. Normally it would have worked, but this was inmport, Riley always thought education was important, he didn't want to be the reason she failed, and even if she did still fail at least she would have tried.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "Wait, I know," From her position on the bed she couldn't see him removeing the key from the door, especially since she wasn't looking at Riley but was glaring moodily down at her feet thinking how unjust it was that she had to do work. She had a briefe thought of slipping out of the room after he'd dissapeared but it wasn't two minutes before he was back again. There was a fleeting hope he'd gone to get something other than work but when he came back the presence of his laptop and folders swiftly cut off that hope.
She watched as he put the items down, with a kind of helplessness rising in her, what would he think when he found out she was awful at reading and writing. Anyone looking at her would have been able to see how agitated and nervous she was becoming over the thought of having to do this. Maybe she could persuade him to go off while she read the book that she had to look at, but then he'd only ask why she hadn't finnished the book and answered the questions by the time he got back again. There was a rather ominous sound as Riley locked the door, sealing off her only escape route from the room.
"And I do have to write one, I'm six months behind, Angela went to the library to get me because I was studying.. and reading." She glowered down at her feet, shuffling a little more onto the bed and leaning back against the wall. She looked up, watching as he picked up a book, holding it in his hands with a rather buisiness like look about him. "Now come on, no one's going to disturb us, and as soon as we're done we'll do something fun." But she'd be here all day if he wanted her to read a book like that, couldn't he have picked something just a little bit easier. Her eyes seemed to dart in a hunted manner around the room, as if hoping that there was some way of escape from the situation that she hadn't seen before. "The sooner we start, the sooner we finish." There was a frustrated groaning noise in the back of her throat as she shuffled her body off the bed and slowly dragged herself over to the desk, sloutching down into the chair, not looking over at him. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she was thinking it would be, perhaps they were easy questions.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
Getting the book and her work sheet over to where she sat, Riley opened the book to the first page and then took a seat on the ground beside her, pulling out his own information sheet that he uses to write and record information about his verious students. Neatly placing her name in the marked area, he then put in the day and even the time of when they where doing this. Stating it was out of school (Marking down 'Iowa, the Finn's Family Farm') before glancing up at her as he rested the folder on his lap.
"You have to read it outloud so I can hear you," Riley stated as he tried to ignore the fact he wanted her to hurry up so he could both have a chance of making love to her and if he wasn't able to do that at least take her to see the gift he got her. He was really hoping they could do both, he wanted to take her to see her present and then have her madly and passionatly make love to him so he knew she really did like it.
There was another part of him that felt she wasn't going to speak to him much after this though, or maybe if he makes love to her then she'll forgive him for making her do this, even if it was for her own good. Whatever Riley seemed to think about would somehow end up in one way or another with him and Catherine having a loving moment of passion between them. With his eyes looking up at her, looking so supportive as well amongst his mixture of emotions that riddled his face, he smiled a little as if encouraging her, if he had known she had trouble reading, especially to her sever degree, he would have gotten her an easier book, one of the childrens books even if it would help her, but he didn't, and he'd feel guilty about giving her something so hard and beyond her level.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "You have to read it outloud so I can hear you," There was a cold clammy feeling in her hands as she took the book off him, her cheeks were already turning red at the very thought of reading something out loud to him. There was an irrational fear that he'd start laughing at her, apteral that was what had happened that last time she'd been asked to read something out. Her eyes avoided his, as she turned around once again on the chair, lifting her feet off the floor and placing them in front of her on the chair, her should turned slightly to the side, effectively blocking the view of her face.
There was a long pause before she started to read, and even then her voice was low so he'd have to stain his ears to hear her properly. She felt so stupid though that she couldn't read something like this, but the language seemed really odd to her and they were talking about things she didn't understand. The fact that the book was a fantasy didn’t help because she couldn’t relate very well to what they were talking about in the story. The book started off with a complicated description of a travellers surroundings which wouldn’t help her either.
Her voice stumbled a little, missing out a couple of sentences without Cat noticing at all what she'd done. She had to concentrate so much on the words that she lost the meaning of the sentence and it just followed that it was hard for her to put the sentences together and remember what was happening in the story at the same time. It wasn’t just that her speech was hesitant and slow, she’d miss out small adjoining words and not notice. It seemed she was quite happy to substitute words for other words or groups of words. It had meant that people in school had seemed to assume she was just mucking around because she wasn’t reading what was put in front of her. Riley wouldn’t be able to see but her cheeks had flushed a scarlet colour in shame and her voice seemed to eventually dip away into silence. The main reason was that she was close to tears and all the words seemed to have gone blurry.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
The pen readied its position on the sheet of paper, waiting for her to start so that he could write down his opinion of her reading skills. She seemed really nervous, and he had focus really hard and listening to her since she was so quiet, if he started writing then he'd miss half of what she said. But after a moment he took his attention away from the status sheet he was asked to write up, staring up at Catherine though he hadn't been able to see her face since she started read with her back almost to him.
Words where missing, and some made no sense, other times it sounded like she skipped parts, Riley looked really upset for a moment when the thought occured to him that she was just doing this on purpose so that he wouldn't want to sit and listen to her head. But she didn't have the tone of voice she usually got when she was being mean to him, her posture wasn't very good with, more withdrawn, as if humiliated. Her voice faded into silence, and Riley stared guiltily at her bed for a moment before putting aside his things and getting onto his knees. Turning her seat to face him, Riley's eyes glanced at her face for a moment before dropping to the book in her hands.
One of his hands took the book, the other rested on her shoulder, his body unintentionally blocking her from running off without her first having to bowl him over. Letting his eyes skim over the words on the page that she had read, a look of concerned and yet still guilty expression had replaced the one of lustful desires he had been suffering from earlier. She had been missing words.. reading ones that weren't there, skipping entire sentances.
"Normally.." Riley started very carefully, though it was the teacher in him that was speaking, if it was her boyfriend he might have cuddled up more, but this was serious and he was confused as to why she never mentioned she had troubles reading before "..when someone can't read, whether they haven't learn't yet or didn't go to school, they struggle word for word." Riley had studied the human mind and how it works and the things that effect it so he had a faint idea of all the symptoms and effects that different "You're reading things, you understand the sounds letters make, but you're reading some of the things wrong and you skip things, you missed a few sentances.. muddled some words.." He was staring at the book he had resting on her lap still, but it was spun about to face him, looking as if he was trying to assess everything, he lifted his eyes up to her face, his hand shifted a little from her shoulder to let the back of his fingers touch her cheek, she looked really upset and he felt so awful now.
"Have you told anyone about this?" He was sure Catherine hadn't, if she had then someone would have been helping her but no one at the school was, her reading skills weren't mentioned in her report, he had no way of knowing.
"Normally.." She'd angrily blinked the tears away from her eyes as he turned her chair around, she didn't want him to know she'd got so upset over the fact that she couldn't read too well. She wasn't looking at his face, her eyes down turned towards the book she had open in her lap. His voice didn't sound as if he was making fun of her but she still didn't look up at him.
"..when someone can't read, whether they haven't learn't yet or didn't go to school, they struggle word for word." Her head dipped a little more in shame, it sounded at the moment like he was telling her that she couldn't read. Surley she didn't sound that bad, there was a small ungrateful part of her that thought that perhaps she wouldn't have had such hard time if he hadn't given her such a stupid story to read.
"You're reading things, you understand the sounds letters make, but you're reading some of the things wrong and you skip things, you missed a few sentances.. muddled some words.." His hand had moved off her shoulder, resting against her cheek, though she was still refusing to look up at him, he'd still have been able to see her cheeks had gone a scarlet hue in embaressment. This was one of her darkest and deepest secrets and he knew now.
"Have you told anyone about this?" There was a long silence, long enough to confirm the fact that she indeed hadn't told anyone. She let her arms sneak around her legs, pulling them a little more towards her and ducking her head down behind them so he couldn't see her anymore.
'I don't need any help.' She was too proud even to admit that she might need help of some sort of help. She'd got along this far in life without the need to be able to read all the time and write. She didn't know she had dsylexia so she couldn't understand what was wrong with her, in fact sometimes it was hard to understand how everyone else around her seemed to be able to read so fluently and yet she struggled along trying to keep up with them all.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
The way she seemed so dismissive over the fact she needed help, just casting aside her problems and making it seem as if they weren't real. Even Riley had to face his problems, he could only do it because she was with him, how humiliating is it to be so sensitive to blinking lights?
"Not 'needing' help, and not 'wanting' help are two different things Catherine." There was something very soft, almost understanding within his voice, "But help can't be forced onto someone, it can be offered, but it isn't any good unless you try, so.. when ever you're ready, I'll be here for you." His hands where resting on her shoulders, but he stood up, discarding the book onto the desk and moving towards the door.
"Now come on, let's go, and bring in the video camera, Riley unlocked the door and looked back at her, "..before Ben and the others come up here to do cleaning." He added with a little smirk, although in truth Riley wouldn't mind watchin Ben working around the place, or doing whatever he was doing since he didn't remember Emily mentioning what Ben was doing, then again, Riley was a little distracted with Catherine on his mind.
"Have you got something warm to wear?" He added, hinting to them leaving the house.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "Not 'needing' help, and not 'wanting' help are two different things Catherine." Well she didn't want his help either, she was quite fine the way she was, she hadn't really thought far enough ahead with her life to think that there might be a time when she wanted a job with better pay than that of a waitress. She still wasn't looking up at him, her eyes looking down at her lap instead. "But help can't be forced onto someone, it can be offered, but it isn't any good unless you try, so.. when ever you're ready, I'll be here for you." His voice seemed so soft and gentle that had she actually wanted to improve her reading she'd probably have agreed straight away. It did however cause her eyes to flick upto his for a few moments.
"Now come on, let's go, and bring in the video camera," As he talked he tossed the book down on the table, there was a feeling of reliefe that swept through her. Her expression perked up a little at the thought of being able to use the video camera, there wasn't really anything around here she thought would really catch her attention that she'd want to film but still it far outweighed sitting here and reading. She was suprised he'd put the book down, assuming that he'd want to try and press her into letting him help her. She wondered if he felt guilty about being so persistant in getting her to read only to have this happen. "..before Ben and the others come up here to do cleaning." There was a quick nod of her head, and even a little smile as she got to her feet, looking over at him a little akwardly.
"Have you got something warm to wear?"Her eyes instinctivley moved over towards the window as Riley talked and there was a short pause before she moved over towards her holdall, pulling out her thick green jumper and pulling it over her head, looking excited about the thought of going and using the video camera.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
With a grin, Riley lead her downstairs, he didn't bother with anything warmer, sticking to his shirt which remained open, though his white singlet beneath meant the skin of his chest couldn't be see since the white fabric clung snuggling about his torso. The young man's excited steps seeming more energetic the one would expect, but it could be assumed that was because he was either getting time alone with Catherine again or that they where about to go test their new gift.
"Catherine and I are going outside, we'll be back later!" Jonathan had his head inside the cupboard beneath the sink and was looking for some cleaning agents when Riley called out, so he pulled his head out and glanced over at them as they passed through the kitchen.
"Take care kids, don't stay away too long though." Jonathon asked since he didn't want them out all day and them him and Martha unable to show Riley what they where going to give him. Riley called back over his shoulder that they won't be leaving the farm, but then again, the farm was large so that didn't really comfort Jonathon a great deal.
Outside Riley hovered keenly about Catherine, even though she was still holding the camera, he was fiddling with it, opening the viewing screen that showed you what you where recording and then switching on the camera. He was standing a little to the side so the camera's first view was of the barn coming into focus. Toby run from the house barking excitedly, his mouth grabbing up the tennis ball of the porch as he run ahead of them for their attention. With everyone being so focused on Christmas and Heather so near the end of her pregnancy he had been slightly neglected, also for the added fact it was cold outside and people didn't want to go out and play with him in the cold right now.
"Hey, who said you could be part of the show?" Toby tilted his head as he dropped the ball in front of Catherine, Riley grinning a little before focusing back on Catherine, "Let's go into the barn, you haven't been inside there yet." Stilling grinning, he looked awfully suspicious.. as if he was luring her away from the house on purpose, but Riley also looked very playful, part of it was also in hopes it would get her mind off how upset she had been before because she couldn't read. He wasn't going to give up, but it was Christmas and he didn't want to ruin it even more for her, he'd find an easier book, and they'd read it together in bed if they had to, even if it was just one of Emily's bed time stories.. she couldn't just pretend it would go unnoticed.
Running ahead to the barn, Toby picked up his ball and chased after Riley who hurried to open the door so he could turn on the lights for her to see when she entered. Grabbing at the doors, Riley slid them open so the entrance would let in as much light as possible, his form disappearing inside for a moment, the darkness soon being chased away as lights flickered on.
"Come on," He looked really eager for her to hurry, flashing another grin as he looked into the barn, there where some chickens that had come in from the hen house and where keeping themselves warm in the dry hay that was stacked off to the side of the entrance way, the walls had a collection of old tools all over them, held up by long rusty nails. The six stables inside the barn, only two of which had horses in them, Penny and old Sky, the rest stored other larger items, the animals that used to live in them had been sold in order to pay off some debt on previous bills.
there was a ladder at the back end of the barn, it lead up into the upper parts of the barn that Riley had angrily isolated himself in when Catherine locked herself away and his parents had no use for him. Riley held out his hand when she got near him, stepping behind her almost as if impatiently hurrying her towards the end of the barn.. it didn't appear he really wanted her to look around since he was being so insistant for her to get to the ladder.
"Up, up, up." Again there was an insistant yet very excited look about him as well as with the way he spoke, though with his lustful desires that he has been so uncontrollably displaying it didn't really occure to him that there was a risk she might think he could be attempting to get her on her own so he could make love to her. Then again, he didn't know about the letters the girls had written, their hints towards him having got her something. Riley took the camera from Catherine's hands so she could climb the stainless steel ladder, shortly after he followed her up.
"Close your eyes though!" The demand rang up from behind her, hinting that he had a surprise of some sort for her. The floor right now only spanned about one third of the barn, even at the top you could still see below, though railings run alone the edges of the floor so no one could just fall off. There was a large window on the wall that was the very back of the barn, the light streaming in to stop the animal's from being locked away in the darkness. One up on the now polished floor boards, the only things on this level were an old sofa that didn't fit into the house, a short wooden table that was placed off beside the wall and a tall yet thin chest of draws that Martha no longer wanted in their bedroom.
Moving over towards it, Riley placed the camera onto the tall corner table, flipping open the screen once again since he had shut it while climbing. He turned the screen about so that even though they where standing in front of the camera, though could still see their little images on the screen moving about.
"Keep them closed." Riley didn't even check to see if she was closing them or not, but he assumed she was so he pulled off the sheet that covered the first half of her present. "I didn't know what to get you for Christmas.." Riley's body appeared behind her again as he positioned her to face the presents, his arms reaching about her again, letting his hands rest on her stomach while he held her against his front, resting his lips lightly on the back of her head as he waited for her to react to his gift.
It was a nice brown saddle, and a collection of other riding gear that she would need to mount and care for a horse, Riley knew not everyone liked the animal's as much as he did, but the thought of being able to go out riding with her was really appealing for him, and he wanted her to have something of her own. And she could take all her gifts to the school, he had already asked about it, Mrs Summer's was fine with it, especially since Riley, Heath and Connor spent a great deal of time caring for the horses and equipment down there anyway.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
The rungs of the metal ladder were icy cold to her touch, making her shiver slightly as she took hold of the rungs. She'd forgotten that Riley was building himself a room up here and there was a sudden pang at the fact that when he moved up here she wouldn't just be able to go and talk to him like she could now. If things got back to the way they had been before then there wasn't much chance that she'd be able to sneak out here at night to see him either. Though it probably would be easier if they wanted to make love, they wouldn't have to worry so much about making any noise that could wake up his parents.
"Up, up, up." She looked back over her shoulder at him and smiled slightly, noticing that he seemed overly excited about somehting. She wondered if it was because of the gift both Dawn and Angela had mentioned before. She obliged him however by quickly moving up the ladder, hearing Riley start to climb up after her. She'd find it too much of an inconvience to climb up a ladder each time she wanted to get to her room, there was also the fact that it was freezing cold in the barn. She seemed to remember Riley saying somehting about having heating installed however.
"Close your eyes though!" Obediently she did as he asked, even though it made climbing upwards more difficult than if she could see what she was doing. It wasn't long however before she'd pulled herself up over the top of the ladder and gripped hold of the rails around the top to steady herself, stll keeping her eyes closed. A moment later she heard him pull himself over the edge too. Since she had her eyes closed she didn't know what he'd donewith the place and she was a little afraid to move unless she knocked into something.
"Keep them closed." ... "I didn't know what to get you for Christmas.." She could hear the sound of him moving around and then his arms turning her body slightly to the left before he put his arms around her. There was quite a pause where she wasn't sure if she was allowed to open her eyes again. After a few moments however she asked and once she'd been assured it was alright she let her eyes open, centering in on the saddle and other horsey things that were lying neatly on the floor. She looked a little puzzled as to why he'd buy her a saddle but her face seemed to brighten a moment later, a sort of happy childish look appearing on her face. Her body twisted around in his arms so she could look up at him.
'You bought me a pony!! that's what that saddles for isn't it?' Her arms reached up to loop around his neck her lips reaching up to kiss him, though she didn't see that he look a bit suprised over her assumption. But in Cat's mind there wasn't really any other thought as to why he'd buy her a saddle, she'd didn't have the money to go riding and she didn't have a horse already. Her body pulled away from his so she could run over to the railing and look down at the horses in their stalls.
'Is it one of them?'Her excited face looked back over towards Riley before gazing down at the horses again.
ooc: Hiya, managed to find me a comp .... poor cat
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
ooc: Jeeeeenn!! Jeeeeeeeenn!! *Runs around in circles*
Thought I oughta point this part out though;
'Riley didn't even check to see if she was closing them or not, but he assumed she was so he pulled off the sheet that covered the first half of her present.'
----------
There was a moment of silence, he could feel his heart falling into the pit of his stomach, she didn't like it, Dawn was right, she didn't go on the horse ride that he had gotten her booked for her last birthday, why would she want this now? He looked sadly towards the saddle, wondering what she would have preferred. His girlfriend's body twirled about in his arms, he was paranoid she was going to complain about why he got her such a stupid thing, but his mind only managed to catch a glimpse of her happy expression while she spoke excitedly.
'You bought me a pony!! that's what that saddles for isn't it?' There wasn't a chance to reply, Catherine looked so excited, he felt guilty now that he hadn't gotten one for her right now to see and ride. It had been so long since she had approached him in this way, her arms about his neck, her body against him, happiness and excitement radiated from her. But it seemed the instant Riley began to return her kiss, after recovering from the burst of affection that had taken him by surprise as well as the fact she was actually pleased with his gift, her body pulled away from his arms.
There was already such a horrible sense of missing her, his fingers reached out, his hands wanted to take hold of her again and bring her back into his arms. But he subdued the urge, watching her and her newfound bundle of energy with a look of thorough disappointment. At least he was able to hold her, even if for just a short time, his eyes glanced down at his hands, almost feeling the ghostly warmth of her body still against him, but shook the feeling away as best he could while listing his gaze to her once again.
'Is it one of them?' With the feel of loss pushed aside, the renewed excitement that she was enjoying the thought of his gift caused him to flash a bright smile in reply. Moving eagerly towards her, a slight bounce in his step Riley stood behind her smaller body and leaned over to stare down at Penny and Sky.
"No, that's Sky, she's really old.. and that's Penny, I told you about her, at least I know who I named her after now." The thought had haunted him ever since he told Catherine about the baby horse, whom had he named it after, part of him had wondered if Penny was his mother’s name. Now he was wondering why he named it after his grand mother, did that mean she was his favorite out of the two grand mothers? He didn't really know that Jonathon's parents rarely visited them, and though now they live in Iowa, they used to live in a small village outside of Athens. That's where they started their olive farm, when they moved back here after Tom (his grand father) retired, bringing some of their plants in an attempt to keep growing them, even if they only have a small area to tend them in.
"She's not here.." He started, placing his hand on her shoulder and guiding her body about so she was facing him once again, he grinned a little while he spoke, obviously delighted that she seemed to excited, "She's at the riding club where with her old owners still, I didn't know if you wanted one.." It was near impossible for Riley to be so close to her without holding her, so while he spoke, Riley's arms wrapped about Catherine’s waist and held her.
"She needs to be properly transported, it might be a little while before you see her, I asked Mrs. Summers if we could keep her at the school stables and she was fine with it. You won't have to worry about always taking care of it if you're busy, others are down there every day tending to them. We could go out together, I could show you so many wonderful things that I've heard others talk about, we could see them together." He paused for a moment, thinking how lovely it would be to go out riding with her, so romantic as well as fun, especially if they went along the beach at sunset or sunrise, "She's brown and white, really gorgeous," His hand rose and the back of his fingers gently stroked down her cheek, offering her a shy little smile as he added coyly, "Though hardly as magnificent as you." Catherine was so pretty when she was happy or excited, she had such a sweet look about her, Riley would get her a thousand horses if it would make her smile like this all the time.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "No, that's Sky, she's really old.. and that's Penny, I told you about her, at least I know who I named her after now." If she'd stopped to think about it she'd have realised who the horses probably were but she was too hyped up to do anything like that. The only thought in her mind now was that if neither of them were her horse then where was it? Her excited eyes looked over her back towards Riley as he came over to stand behind her.
"She's not here.." She was really lucky that Riley had got her one, because she'd have been bitterly dissapointed if he'd turned around to her and told her he hadn't got her one. There was an impatient excited feeling that flushed through her as she thought over the fact that he'd bought her a horse yet it wasn't here for her to ride. She'd been on a pony when she was younger but it was years since she'd been near a horse. You didn't find many on the streets of Washington. She'd never been really into horses but anyone would be excited about being given one and Cat was no exception. She had loads of images of galloping around on a horse even though it would be ages before she'd be anywhere near that sort of level.
"She's at the riding club where with her old owners still, I didn't know if you wanted one.." He'd turned her around so she was facing him, her animated face looking up at him with a wide grin. There could be no doubt that she really loved the gift he'd given her. Her arms were suddenly around his waist once again so she could hug him to her.
"She needs to be properly transported, it might be a little while before you see her, I asked Mrs. Summers if we could keep her at the school stables and she was fine with it. You won't have to worry about always taking care of it if you're busy, others are down there every day tending to them. We could go out together, I could show you so many wonderful things that I've heard others talk about, we could see them together." She wanted to know what the horse looked like, the fact that it would be some time untill she saw her horse was infuriating to Cat, she wasn't used to having to wait for things. There was a large part of her that wanted to go back to the school now so Riley could get the horse transported over.
"She's brown and white, really gorgeous," Cat's arms closed tighter around his waist, pressing her head against his chest, showing him more affection now than she had the last time they'd made love. "Though hardly as magnificent as you." She ignored his last words, looking up at him as he trailed his fingers along the edge of her jaw. She was far too interested in the horse or pony he'd bought her to be fussed with things as simple as what he thought of her.
'What's she like? Do you have a picture of her? What's her name?' She looked like she wanted to ask him a lot more questions but for now she limited herself just to the three.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
Even if she wasn't smothering him with kisses like he had fantasied her to be doing, she was definitely showing more affection towards him then she had in a long time. Plus she was holding him, a big bonus for him, she looked so overly excited. He thought over her questions, smiling a little as she held him, it wasn't often it was her that was holding him, normally it was Riley seemed to have the desire for the embrace.
"She's an orphan, her parents where in races, but there was an accident and both where put down, the owners spoiled her a lot after that, she's used having attention and likes company." He started, his eyes staring for a moment at her shoulder just so he could focus enough on the answers "Her name is Guinevere, she's almost five years old, you can change the name, we can have Arlen tell her you're giving her a new name and she'll understand if you want." Riley felt a little odd about the name, it was really pretty, but at the same time he wasn't sure what Catherine would like, since the name reminded him of a book he read, actually the daughter of the owners had named it after King Aurthers wife. But Riley was pretty sure Catherine wouldn't have read the book, now he felt even more guilty for having got her that book for her trip back from Washington, no wonder she wasn't reading it.
"She has pale green eyes, and her brown coat has white patches all over it," Riley's hands lifted to her shoulders, it was so hard to be with her like this and not want to be with her completely, and the thought made Riley's guilt swell even more. But she was so pretty.. he loved her so much and it was like sometimes she avoided letting him show her how much he loved her, he wondered for a moment if it was just because of Jon, or also because of the fire place incident, after all, she had still made love to him even if the painful thought of Jon in her mind.. so he didn't understand what's change, why she didn't seem as eager to be with him like she was back at the school before all this happened.
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile.. "She's an orphan, her parents where in races, but there was an accident and both where put down, the owners spoiled her a lot after that, she's used having attention and likes company." Cat stared up at Riley looking excited, it was hard for her to believe that she was going to have her own horse. She was full of excitement at the thought of being able to go out riding, her eyes shinning as she imagined everything she could do with a horse.
"Her name is Guinevere, she's almost five years old, you can change the name, we can have Arlen tell her you're giving her a new name and she'll understand if you want." Cat wondered who Arlen was but she hardly cared, she was too interested by the fact that she had a horse of her own. It was quite probable that a five year old racehorse wasn't the best choice in the world for someone who knew nothing about horses and hadn't even ridden in years. Cat had her head full of pictures of herself racing on the horse he'd bought her though, maybe she'd even win cups and things.
"She has pale green eyes, and her brown coat has white patches all over it," She sounded lovley and Cat couldn't help giving Riley and extra big hug, her mind excitedly full of when her horse would arrive at the school. Her body pulled away from Riley's so she could hurry over to where the collection of horsey items were. She knelt down next to them, her hands reaching out to run over the smooth leather of the saddle, her eyes turning to look happily up at him again.
Cat: It feels like my world is slipping through my fingers and I don't know how to hold onto it
Re: Christmas Day - I dream to see you smile..
Everything seemed so nice, she really looked pleased with his gift, he wished he had brought the horse here now, he really wanted her to go riding with him, but he had been so worried she wouldn't want one.. If he had shown her a horse and she hated it she'd probably be angrier with him having gotten her something so expensive that she didn't even want, and then she might feel bad for refusing it.
"I'm really glade you like it," There was a slightly shy tone about him now, more because he just realized the camera had taped her hugging and kissing him, his eyes staring at it for a moment before his fathers voice could be heard calling, Riley moved over to the camera and picked it up quickly.
"Come on you two, I want to show you something." Riley shut off the camera and he called back to his father saying they where coming, carefully climbing down the ladder and waiting for Catherine to join him.
"I was thinking.. I could teach you to ride," He looekd up at her, watching her as she climbed down the ladder, he wished his father hadn't of called them, but then again, it did drag her away from the new gear, maybe she'd give him more attention now that they where leaving.. It was going to be very hard for him when she dumps him, he isn't used to feeling jealous and he's going to feel like that an awful lot when other people get more of her attention then what he was getting.
"We're going for a drive!" Jonathon had asked earlier if they could use Riley's car since the truck only really fit three people, but Riley had no clue where exactly he was wanting to take them.
"..Alright." Riley didn't sound too enthusiastic, he would rather stay with Catherine on her own so they could spend some time together.. "It might be a little hard at first, but I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun once you get the hang of it." Riley added as he turned off the lights and followed her out of the barn towards the silver car his father had just hopped in looking rather excited himself.
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