Laughing Fate (32 page)

“The idea of your PROPOSAL is awful, yes.”

Had she made a mistake? She just needed time to think about whether the two of them could be happy together for the rest of their lives. Would they grow apart over the years? Would he realize that he’d made a mistake after a few months of being stuck with her? Life had taught her that happiness never lasted and that love was not for her. How could Potter expect her to say yes when he hadn’t even said why he wanted to marry her? Puck snorted. Wait! He had! He liked sleeping in her bed.

“What did you expect? No one could love you,” whispered a malicious voice in her head. Puck glared out the window. She would not allow her subconscious to bring up past emotions. She would not think about Kyle or Molly…oh crap she was thinking about it. She forcefully told her subconscious and many different personified emotions that those memories had no power over her. She was not the sad little abandoned girl, nor was she weak. She would not cry. She thought she heard some snickers from the voices in her head, but she couldn’t be sure.

Her eyes filled with tears, but she forced them to stay right there. No way was she going to start crying. She clinched her fists and pushed back her emotions. A single tear escaped, a plucky little thing that made its way down her cheek. She had given up on love a long time ago. If her own parents hadn’t loved her enough to stick around then how could some stupid man? Then the big stupid oaf, commonly known as Potter, had come along and had made her love him.

Puck huffed and blew the hair off of her forehead. She peeked at Potter and scowled at him. The stupid man was staring straight ahead, ignoring her. Well if this was the way he acted during fights, she didn’t want to marry him- even if he did ever decide to actually propose to her.

Puck crossed her arms and stared at her reflection in the glass. She looked like a mess. Her hair was wind blown, her clothes were sandy, and her face was scrunched up like a prune. A very small part of her told her to run. Get the heck out of dodge. She couldn’t marry Potter! Especially not with a proposal like, do you wanna? Maybe if he had declared his undying love and been pretty convincing…maybe.

Puck fancied that the glass held an alternative dimension where her reflection had a life of its own. She stared into that world and imagined her surroundings fading away as the Puck in the window shimmered with new found life. Puck stared transfixed as her reflection worked out a kink in her neck. She wished briefly that she had some popcorn, but then turned her full attention on the other Puck.

“I won’t marry you Potter for you see you are a stupid, stupid man.”
The other Puck said a matter of fact tone. She still shimmered slightly, but Potter didn’t seem to notice. Probably because he was so dumb, the watcher thought.

Potter continued staring into the window, watching a mix of emotions swirl in his eyes.  He looked hurt, as if his heart was breaking. Puck’s hand inched out to grab his hand, as if it had a mind of its own. The watcher briefly mused if there was an alternative dimension where Puck’s hand DID have a life of its own, but tossed that thought aside once Puck pulled her hand back and tightly fisted it in her lap.

Puck winced at the anguished wailing coming from her inner sanctuary.  Her inner sex goddess did NOT like her decision. She didn’t seem to mind Potter’s half assed proposal, because she had been doing a tiny victory dance from the moment he popped the ‘you wanna’ until Puck had shot him down. Now her sex goddess was throwing little imaginary china against the walls and screaming in Spanish.

Potter obviously decided to let anger replace his pain, because he started lashing out at her in a very brutish manner.

“Why not?”

His warm eyes had gone cold and harsh, his voice rough.

“Because I don’t believe in love anymore.”

“
So all those times that you said you loved me- they were just a lie?”

Both of the Pucks paused. That was interesting. Could that be true? Did she believe in love after all? Huh. Well, Potter didn’t need to know that.

“Yup and you were just stupid enough to believe me. Hey, I know! How ‘bout we break up? You wanna?” 
The Pucks snickered. That was great!

“
You don’t mean it. I don’t believe you.”

“
I assure you I do.”

Puck walked away from Potter, putting an extra swing to her hips. That would show him! Time sped up and the strong, independent Puck stood on the beach contemplating her decision. Had she done the right thing?

“Puck?”

The watcher wrinkled her nose and looked around in the dark. That was Potter’s voice was he here? Would he suddenly become smarter?

“Puck!”

Oh yes! There he was! The watcher beamed as Potter came running towards Puck. He looked handsome a true hero with his love for Puck shining in his eyes.  The watcher sighed at the romantic image and slapped at the annoying bug buzzing around her. She turned her attention back to Potter, who resembled a young Indiana Jones, in anticipation.

He would haul Puck into his arms and kiss her passionately. Then he would say something great, something memorable and full of depth and wisdom. It would be perfect, letting Puck know how much he loved her and that he would never let her go again. Something like…

“
Puck! What, are you ignoring me now? Real mature! Turn your pretty little head around and talk to me! What is your problem? God! I can’t believe I put up with you!”

The watcher frowned. That is NOT the perfect something that Potter would say. He would say something like
… “I can’t believe I almost lost
you!
You are everything that I need in this world. You are my life and light. Without you nothing makes since- the world is just dark and cold. Please, Puck, will you marry me and let me love you for the rest of my life?”
No, that wouldn’t do. It was too sappy. She watched as Puck stared at him in scorn, her eyes narrowing in skepticism and her eyebrow rising in challenge.

Maybe he’d say something like…

“Puck! Did you hear what I just said to you?” Potter said belligerently. The watcher frowned in confusion. That was Potter’s voice, but the Potter in this dimension had fallen to his knees to beg Puck to return his love. The buzzing was back, so the watcher swatted at it again.

“
Puck, I swear to God you are the most exasperating person in the world. Stop glaring out the window and talk to me.”

All of a sudden the watcher was being shook about as if by the violent storms surrounding the couple on the beach. She cried out as she was ripped from the dimension and hurled back into Potter’s dumb car. Puck turned around and glared at Potter.  He was NOTHING like the other Potter.

“What?! What was SO important that you just had to take me away from the beautifully romantic world where you actually knew how to propose?!”

****

Potter eyed Puck, wondering if she’d just lost her marbles. For the past ten minutes she had been staring out the window totally ignoring him. A few times she had actually swatted at him, but never lifted her pretty little nose off the glass window. It wasn’t until he’d shook her that she responded to him.

“
Where were you just now? You were zoning out for the last ten minutes!”

“
Oh, that. I was just imagining what it would be like if I broke up with you. I really should you know. That was the lamest proposal in the history of mankind!”

Potter rubbed his chest and winced. “Words hurt you know.”

“Don’t be such a pansy,” Puck said dismissively. She waved a hand at him and continued, “Luckily for you, I don’t have the patience to be the victim for long. So here’s what we are going to do. You are never going to mention today again and I will pretend it never happened.  But I swear to god, if you ever ask me ‘do I wanna’ again I will punch you in the nose.”

Potter rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “Aye captain my captain. Whatever you say, my lord.”  Potter turned his head and then ignored HER for a change. What the heck was so wrong with him asking her to marry him? He imagined a world where he could strangle Puck all he liked and never actually hurt her.  A slow grin spread across his face as he lost himself in his own little world.

****

Puck slammed Potter’s stupid car door on her way out and stalked up to her door. She saw Perri curled up on the couch with the phone cradled against her ear. She was talking excitedly to one of her friends, completely oblivious to Puck’s mood. Puck scowled and threw one of her sandals at Perri’s head.

“What?” she cried as she jerked from surprise and dropped her phone. Perri glared at Puck and put the phone back to her ears.

“
No, that was just my psycho sister.”

Perri didn’t seem to have to explain that remark, Puck noticed slightly miffed. One would think that Perri would have to at the least say,
“Oh no, my sister hasn’t gone crazy and decided to hack off my arms. I guess I was just over exaggerating a little…No, she’s just a little upset right now and so she threw a sandal at me. That’s all….Yes, I know that calling her psycho was probably a bit much. I guess I should have said something like my quirky sister threw a sandal at me, sorry if I yelled in your ear…yes I know that I yell like a little pansy girl who is afraid of chickens. Oh by the way, did you know I wet the bed almost every night as a kid? Yup, I did. I was quite the annoying little brat.”

Puck grinned and climbed over to Perri, ready to wrestle the phone away from her. Such an excellent speech should not be wasted. If Perri wouldn’t say it, then Puck would just have to. Perri seemed to anticipate the forthcoming embarrassment because she quickly said good bye and hung up.

“What?” Perri asked again, hiding the phone behind her.

“
Potter proposed.”

“
WHAT?” she shrieked and threw her arms around Puck. She was talking in the official language of hamsters now, all high pitched and squeaky. Puck gathered from it all that Perri meant to say congratulations.

Puck gently pushed her little sister away and took a moment to stare at her gently rounded stomach. She wasn’t that far along, so there wasn’t much of a bump, but Puck still enjoyed picturing her little niece or nephew kicking back in there. She looked up to see Perri staring at her quizzically, so she mentally kicked her brain back into the subject at hand.

“I meant to say that Potter kind of proposed. He attempted it but bungled it so bad that I refuse to call that pathetic attempt a proposal. He asked me if ‘I wanna’. Can you imagine it? And then he got all huffy with me when I told him that that was NOT a proposal.”

Perri closed her eyes tightly and rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache. “Please tell me you were gentle with Potter.”

“What do you mean? I’m always gentle!”

“
God, Puck. You mean you just shot him down and laughed in his face after he proposed to you?!”

“
Hey! I never said I laughed at him! I was too busy yelling at him. Then I just sort of ignored him. He is such an idiot! I can’t believe you are on his side!”

“
I’m not on his side! I’m on yours! You love him, don’t try to deny it! Puck’s brand new cell phone started belting out a song by the Gorillaz. The maniacal laughter filled the room as Puck grabbed her phone and flipped it open. Saved by the bell, she thought happily. She glanced at Perri who was glaring at her, with her hands on her hips. Great, Perri was going to lecture her once she was done with her phone.

Puck bent her head over her phone and felt her heart leap when she saw who the text was from. Potter must have realized how stupid he was and had decided to declare his undying love for her. Oh! And of course admit that he was a big stupid oaf who didn’t know how to do anything right.

“U dented my car door”

Puck glared at her phone. What kind of text was that? And she had NOT dented his stupid car and if she had, how would he notice? His car was a piece of junk!

“I did not”

“
Don’t b immature. U dented my car”

“
Well what the heck do u want me 2 do about it?!
”

“
Admit u dented it!”
Puck was still glaring at her phone when it went off again.  “
And say sorry!”

Puck threw her phone on the floor and stood up to kick it. Stupid Potter! She was standing over the phone swearing when her phone went off again. She scowled and sat down so she could read the message.

“…
and come to dinner w/ me”

That was slightly better, Puck mused, but not nearly good enough. He had yet to say sorry.

“
Sorry.”

Wow. That was freaky; it was like he could read her mind.

“
I can 2 read yur mind.”

Puck’s jaw dropped and she looked around the room. Potter couldn’t really read minds, it was just coincidence.

“
I’m not in yur room.”

“
What the heck?!” Puck yelled as she jumped up. She glanced all around her, ignoring Perri who was staring at Puck as if she’d lost her mind. She wasn’t crazy. Potter had to be playing some kind of trick. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Potter standing in the shadows outside of her living room window, holding his sides in laughter.