Laughing Fate Page 6

  She said it as if it was nothing. For some families maybe it would be nothing. But in the town of Sunny cove body piercing was frowned on and Puck’s parents especially would have a cow if they saw this picture. Besides, Puck wasn’t exactly the type of girl to get a belly ring, was she? It was hard to be a tough girl with a sexy little reminder of her femininity in her navel. Dang, she looked sexy in that picture.

  "When did you get the bellybutton ring? Do you still have it?" shrieked Perri.

  Puck glanced away and then looking past Perri’s shoulder said, " Of course not. I was young and stupid and I soon realized my mistake. So don’t get all worked up about it. Let’s fix the house up. It’s a mess."

  "You’re lying" said two annoying voices. Puck started to walk away, done with the conversation, when Perri grabbed her arm. "Show us then. If it’s not there then show us." Potter immediately perked up at that idea and started paying even closer attention. Puck stared at him and then back at Perri. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

  "No absolutely not. You’re crazy. I won’t sho"- As she was saying that, Perri lunged for her trying to pull up her shirt. Puck screamed and dodged away holding her shirt in a fist tight to her body.

  This was fun, Potter decided, as he watched the show. Perri followed and grabbed for the shirt. Puck staggered back, holding her shirt to her body and crashed into a bookshelf. Their screams filled the room, giving Potter an even bigger headache. Perri punched Puck in the stomach and when Puck’s fingers loosened on the shirt, Perri pulled it up with a flourish. And there it was, wonder upon wonders, a belly ring sparkling in sharp contrast to her skin.

  Potter cocked his head to the side and stared at Puck. Her shirt was only raised up a few inches, but the sight of her bare midriff was really a pleasant one. Puck’s hair was in wild abandon, and her toned stomach was the perfect backdrop for the piece of crystal jewelry. Hanging from a little pink crystal was a jeweled flower. He gave her a slow once over and grinned at her splotchy green skin and then felt his smile slip when he considered her belly ring again. He would never have thought that he’d find Scary Puck sexy as hell, but dang, she looked hot. He thought that from now on, no matter what she wore that he’d be picturing that cute little belly ring.

  Puck met his eyes, glared and pulled down her shirt. As regally as possible she walked over to the picture once more (kicking Perri on the way), picked it up and walked out of the room. Potter burned with questions about that one picture. Where was Kyle now? Why had they broken up? How serious had they been? Had he hurt her? Is that why she hated men? Obviously Perri felt the same way because she ran after Puck yelling questions.

  "Puck?! You have to finish the story. Tell us it all! What happened??" Perri was holding onto Puck’s arm, keeping her from running off. Who would have thought the mighty fear inspiring Puck could be a coward? That thought filled Potter with joy...but also with trepidation. He didn’t like the thought of Puck being hurt by a memory.

  Breathing in and out a few times Puck stared at the corner of the ceiling. Her audience held their breath waiting for the revelation. "Drea was my friend, a really close friend who was… perfect." Puck’s eyes started to tear up and her voice got thick. Smiling a tragic little smile and blinking rapidly, she continued on.

  "Kyle was Drea’s brother, we all hung out together, and eventually Kyle and I started to…date. We had good times together, I- I really loved them, but sometimes friendships just..." Puck trailed off, trying to think of the right word. Shrugging she said, "they just end..." Perri and Potter knew that she was leaving much unsaid about Drea and Kyle, but they respected her need to keep the conversation casual. Puck felt much stronger emotion for those two than she was revealing.

  "Why did it end?" asked Perri quietly. Potter, too, was dying with the need to know how it had ended. Although he rather suspected that he wouldn’t want to hear. The idea of Puck loving anyone was making him queasy.

  Puck smiled bravely and said, “You don’t want to hear this story, it’s boring and a waste of time. Let’s do something fun.”

  Puck quietly challenged her rapt listeners to ask more questions.

  Knowing that Puck had shared all that she was willing to share, Perri smiled at Puck and carefully changed the subject to sports. Puck smiled back at her sister and gratefully contributed to the new subject. Puck didn’t like her feelings to be on the spotlight. She detested crying in front of others and loathed being weak in any form. And if she had continued her tale then all three of those things would have happened.

  Potter was still transfixed on the idea of Puck loving someone and having a complete life outside of Sunny Cove, which no one knew about. He was also dying of curiosity to find out why Puck kept using the past tense when referring to Drea and Kyle. Why weren’t they friends? What was the real story, the one Puck hadn’t told them? How did the story end? Knowing that it was a sad ending made him want to hear it all the more.

  He’d be willing to bet that it was a story that had never been shared with anyone. He decided to look into these friends of hers; surely Sandy must know something of them. She was Puck’s most loyal companion and partner in crime here in Sunny cove. She owned the local diner that Puck worked at. Sandy had to know. He would ask her later.

  With that settled in his mind, Potter embraced the new subject as well. He was happy to see her slowly relax her body. Each small smile that touched her lips sent a burst of pleasure to his chest, and so he smiled and joked, hoping to see an answering smile on her lips. It hit him that behind the tough girl attitude was a fragile girl hiding a past hurt. He would kill to have her stop hurting. So they talked football, Puck obviously more comfortable now that the questions had stopped, which led to them deciding to play a little rugby in the backyard of their town house.

  ****

  All in all it was the perfect day, thought Puck as she stood in her kitchen washing dishes. She was staring out the window, watching as Potter walked back to his house. He only lived about three blocks down, but this was the first time that he’d been over. Puck rinsed the dish she was holding and set it in the strainer. Picking up a bowl she soaped it up and absently scrubbed it with a sponge. She didn’t know why Potter was being so nice. A part of her didn’t trust it at all.

  For as long as she could remember, Potter had ignored her. Which was okay, it wasn’t like they had been in the same grade or anything. Plus a small voice whispered in the back of her mind that she had never approached Potter either. Puck viewed herself as a strong minded, kind person who would sacrifice anything for her friends. But she often ignored the existence of people outside of her bubble, not out of spite, but because it was safer to give all of her love to those she knew and trusted. It was too big a risk to lend her love to those who may not return it or be trusted.

  She also knew that her emotional handicaps were due mostly to her experience with Drea and Kyle. She had learned many life lessons from them, not all of them good. While they had been friends, the world had seemed perfect.

  Drea had been wild and adventurous. She was beautiful and loved by everyone she met. While they had been friends, they had never fought; they were two peas in a pod. Drea had taught Puck to see the good in people, to see the romance that was in a single look or gesture. Drea had been a photographer, an artist who captured the world so perfectly, letting everyone see the beauty and love that she saw.

  Kyle had been just like his sister. He had been so kind hearted and fun loving; he was handsome and well liked. He always had a smile on his face, was always trying to take care of his little sister. She could tell Kyle anything, had learned to trust him completely. He had made her believe in love for the first time in her life. He had been her first and only love; they had gone out for three magical years full of adventures and priceless memories.

  Since their friendship had died, Puck had withdrawn even more from the small town. She just couldn’t trust people anymore. It seemed that all good things eventually ended, and a
ll you’re left with was the pain.

  Still, it was odd the way Potter was acting. It was like he wanted to be friends. Puck examined her feelings on the matter and decided that she wouldn’t object to being friends with Potter. Of course there was that ‘almost kiss’, but Puck figured that was just the craziness of that one day. She was sure that there wouldn’t be a repeat. Puck was not looking for a relationship. Besides, she was simply not Potter’s kind of girl. And he was definitely not her kind of man!

  Puck smiled as she stared out the window lost in thought. Potter would be a good friend. He seemed funny and nice, and really concerned about her. He was a little odd, what with his strange phobias, but all in all a nice young man. Plus she thought that they could have lots of fun together.

  Puck loved adventures, and she had a feeling that he would be the perfect companion for them. She decided that she would leave the ball in his court. If he continued coming by and making an effort then she would let him into her circle of friends. But he had to be the one making the effort, not her.

  Chapter Three- Star gazers

  Puck’s dream of high sea adventures and pirating was interrupted by the loud roar of Godzilla. She fumbled around with one hand to turn off her alarm clock, disgusted at the ungodly hour. Her vacation was over; it was time to get back to work. Puck stumbled in to the kitchen eager for her cup of coffee, maybe today it should be a pot of coffee? Today she went to work at seven at the liquor store (which many parents dubbed the licorice store for their children since it did sell comic books and candy) and cared for annoying customers until three. She then went home and showered and then showed up at the diner to waitress from five till nine at night.

  Of the two jobs, Puck liked the Diner best because she worked with her quirky friend Sandy Brown. She had curly strawberry blond hair that was usually pulled back in a pony tail. She was slim, with a welcoming smile for everyone and a wise ass smirk for her friends. She was Puck’s closest friend in Sunny cove and so working for Sandy’s Diner was never a burden. They had been friends since middle high school, and squabbled like sisters.

  While working at the diner that night, Puck told her friend all about her adventures the past few days. “So then Potter and Perri forced me to show my belly ring! Thank God they didn’t ask to see the Mr. Penguin! That fella is a shy guy!"

  "Maybe Potter wants to see it..." suggested Sandy with a sly grin. Sandy was also a very dirty woman. She liked nothing better than to rib Puck about guys. Sandy was the only person alive that knew a little about Puck’s hang up with guys, and being Sandy, had decided that the best cure for Puck was to throw guys her way.

  Puck’s face scrunched up and she wrinkled her nose for good measure. “Believe me; no one wants to meet Mr. Penguin. ‘Sides, this is Potter we are talking about, there’s no way I would let him meet my penguin friend! We are kind of becoming friends though…do you think that’s weird? Did you know he’s scared of seagulls? Funniest thing I ever saw. Just a sec, I got to go yell at a customer. Stupid lady, can’t she see we’re talking?"

  Sandy would definitely like to think that Puck was kidding, but no she wasn’t. She did indeed go up to that lady and yell at her for no reason other than she had interrupted Puck’s gossiping time with Sandy. After kicking the offensive customer out of the diner, Puck returned to Sandy and continued to gossip about various subjects.

  "Oh! At the Liquor Store the craziest thing happened! A stranger walked in, he was acting kind of jumpy, and suspicious. So Big Al walks up to him and started to intimidate him a little. Turns out he was all high on meth and was planning on robbing us! It was great! It was like watching TV, but in real life. Such an adrenaline rush," Puck told Sandy while wiping down a dirty table.

  Sandy smiled wide at a customer, filled up his coffee and slipped the kid a free cookie. Then she walked over to Puck and shook her head. "You are the only person stupid enough to have gotten a high off that. You’re crazy! You could have died!"

  "But Sandy, seriously, you almost die as many times as me and you stop being afraid. How many times do I have to tell you? I’m Puck, I can’t die," she joked as she took the free cookie from the child’s hand and threw it away. It was an ongoing thing at work. Sandy gave something for free because she was a nice warm hearted person. Puck...well, she wasn’t, so she would try her best to foil Sandy’s free gifts. It had turned into a contest between them. Most days Sandy won, because she was devious, and the owner of the diner.

  Puck turned to scowl at a young man sitting in a booth yelling, "Miss? Miss? I haven’t ordered yet? Why are you clearing my table?"

  "Look, dude! If I feel like clearing your table, I will. What are you going to do about it? Stop coming here? Great! That will be one less annoying customer for me to pretend to like. So how about you sit there patiently and I’ll get to you after I’m done with my duties?" Puck glared at him, his silverware and coffee cup in her hands. She seriously debated dumping the coffee on him, but that was probably against the law. God, she hated men.

  Meanwhile, Sandy had given a free ice cream sundae to the little kid at her table. Winking at them she walked over to Puck and gently pried the coffee out of her hands.

  "Hi there sir, is there a problem?" She asked sweetly. The man looked at her and judged her to be the manager.

  “Yes there is something wrong! This waitress is the most....awful person I have ever met!" Puck snorted at that, hand on hip, as she glared at the guy.

  "Oh my, that is terrible sir. Just terrible!" Sandy said sympathetically as she slowly poured the coffee on his lap. He screamed, Puck laughed, and the other customers smiled into their cups of coffee. Watching the two waitresses was part of the fun of eating at the old Diner.

  "No one talks about Puck like that. Got it? Get out; we don’t need your business here." The seated customers let out a cheer and clapped as the man stalked out. The diner was one of those places that catered mostly to the locals. Lucky for Sandy, there was only one other diner, The Waterwheel, and that place was known for its dirty dining. Her quaint little Diner was flourishing on just the local’s support, allowing her to kick out any tourists who didn’t appreciate Puck’s special brand of customer service.

  "Free drinks on the house, if you promise not to tell the owner!" yelled Sandy.

  "She’s just kidding, don’t pay attention to her!" yelled Puck. Sandy just smiled and started pouring drinks. Puck lost that round as well. Soon everyone was laughing and drinking their free beverages. Yep, the old diner was one of a kind. The customers loved the drama of watching the infamous Puck Berri interact with customers. And for any trauma that they experienced at Puck’s hand, Sandy more than made up for it with her smile and free food.

  ****

  Nine o’clock came quick and soon Puck was walking home from the diner. She had her car back by now, but she still preferred to walk. Her house was only about a mile from the diner, and she loved to walk under the stars. She loved the brisk seaside breeze that lent a slight chill to the air, the abandoned streets, and the slight hint of danger that walking at night gave her.

  She was walking briskly down the road, humming to herself softly. The sky was clear and the stars were winking merrily down on her. The street was quiet as she walked in the dark, shadowed street. About ten feet ahead of her someone was sitting on the street in a lawn chair. Scrunching her nose at how odd it all seemed, she walked forward hesitantly. What kind of weirdo sat in a lawn chair out in the middle of the road?

  "Hey, Puck! Care to join me?" asked Potter happily. Ah. That explained it...sort of. Potter was crazy enough to do that, she supposed. Puck grinned...of course who was she to complain of crazy?

  "What are you doing out here?" Puck asked as she stepped closer. Potter was wearing a brown billabong t shirt and ripped blue jeans. His hair was mussed up and his face was relaxed and happy.

  "There’s supposed to be a meteor shower. I can get another lawn chair if you want?" Potter was full of youthful enthusiasm. It was really cute to see,
Puck thought.

  "Sure, I haven’t sat down to watch one since I was ten years old, visiting my cousins. Go get me a chair, Mr. Macho!" she said laughing as he ran back to his house to grab one. He also grabbed a warm blanket, some chips, and two cans of soda. He had his arms full and a nice girl would have helped him, but Puck was hoping he’d trip and fall (not out of maliciousness, but just to shake things up a bit. Chaos was always entertaining). So she decided to sit down in the chair he’d vacated and wait for him.

  He dropped the blanket on her, and handed Puck the snacks. Then he placed the chair right next to hers and stretched out to watch the sky. They sat silent for a while, staring up at the sky. The stars were all out, winking happily down on them, but there were no shooting stars. Puck fidgeted in her chair as she stared up at the sky. Finally after minutes of sitting relatively still and staring at the boring heavens, Puck just had to speak.

  "Where’s the shooting stars?” asked Puck quietly.

  "Shhh...You’ll miss them!" Potter responded, with his eyes still on the heavens.

  Puck stared up into the skies, trying to watch everywhere, not wanting to miss the shower. Nothing moved. Puck scanned the sky, stared up into the heavens until she was almost cross eyed, and still nothing moved. Maybe this was why she hadn’t been stargazing in years.

  "I don’t see it."

  "Keep looking."

  "It’s NOT there," Puck said. She was growing bored with all the silence and star gazing. She looked around and smiled. This was fun in a geeky sort of way. She looked at Potter, who was intent on staring at the skies. Puck grabbed the bag of chips and threw a chip at him. When he didn’t notice, Puck threw another chip at him. Puck smiled mischievously when that one hit his head. Potter turned and frowned at her, so Puck quickly looked up at the sky as if she’d done nothing. She struggled to keep the smile off her face, as she made a big show of searching the skies. She felt Potter’s eyes on her for a second and then he went back to watching the skies.