Chapter 11

(A/N): This one is kind of weird, and very non-linear so it might be confusing. But you get to learn about Scarlett and James as a couple. For those who follow me on here as well as tumblr, check on there as I have the next few queued. I won't be able to post on here because Christmas and all.Hope you all have a lovely holiday season! :)

- James -

It had been five hours since I called the ambulance.I got separated from Scarlett, with her having to go into emergency treatment as she began vomiting and having seizures and myself having to get treated for my injuries.

When I arrived at Scarlett’s room, I came across a man twice my size trying to break into her room. My initial instinct was to stay calm, call 911 and let the police handle it. Instead, I asked him why he was trying to break into my room.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground and I could feel blood trickling from my mouth as we both threw punches at one another. Eventually, the hotel security came along and escorted him away. Before they could take me, I told them I was there to check on my friend.

When we opened the door, Scarlett was on the floor, rolling around in pain, surrounded by millions of shards of glass.

After getting treated for my wounds and spending a good hour or so speaking with the police, I sat and waited for any information about Scarlett. It then became apparent to me, that she was in a worse condition than I thought she was when she didn’t come back out.

"Let me see her," I growled, raising my voice at the receptionist.

"I’m sorry sir, no visitors are allowed, only intermediate family can visit."

Curling my hand into a fist, I slammed it against the countertop causing many people to stare and gawk at my outburst.

"I’m her fiancé," I lied, hoping that would make a difference. The woman at the desk merely shook her head and gave me an insincere apology as she waved me off, speaking to the next person in line. Sighing heavily, I ran my hands down my face as I debated on whether or not using my last resort option.

"Do you know who I am?" I said, lowering my voice at her, "Your answer might cost you your job."

Nodding slowly, she quickly typed away at the computer.

"Room 102. It’s just down that corridor on the left. I’m sorry for any inconvenience, Mr Franco."

"Thank you ma’am," I nodded, quickly racing towards the room. Looking across at Scarlett, I was overcome with an unpleasant mix of nausea and relief. Parts of her body were bandaged, though many bruises and cuts were still visible in certain areas. Blinking back the tears in my eyes, I sat beside her and carefully placed her hand in mine. My mind was racing through thousands of memories and I couldn’t stop them.

 

//FlashbackI was running late for Seth’s party.Keeping track of time completely slipped my mind since I was busy painting for my newest art collection. When I arrived, I spotted him across the yard talking to a woman I’d seen in a few of his photographs lying around his house. Throwing her head back, she laughed at what Seth was saying.

I wasn’t sure what it was about her but she was different, and I knew it. Just the way she looked, even the way she dressed singled her out from the crowd. She wasn’t from around here, I was confident in saying that. I wasn’t sure why but if her looks alone had the ability to stop me in my tracks, I wondered what her personality could do to me.

All I knew was that I had the overwhelming urge to talk to her. It was either the alcohol I’d consumed earlier finally kicking into effect mixed with the my increasingly high libido since I hadn’t slept with someone in a long time, or whether I was genuinely really attracted to her – I couldn’t tell.

Just as soon as I made it over to him, she already walked off with another woman who shared the same style as her, but she didn’t intrigue me.

“Who was that?” I asked.

"Don’t even think about it," Seth says sternly, easily reading the expression on my face as I my eyes pined after her.

Raising an eyebrow I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, “Think about what?”

"You know what," He replies, shaking his head. I shrugged in response to him, "Why not?" Seth rolled his eyes at me, "She has a boyfriend."Glancing around the room, I smirked, “Where? I don’t see him.”

"Back in Australia, wise-ass," Seth says with a chuckle.

With a sigh, I leaned back against the chair as Seth excused himself for the bathroom.

"They always have boyfriends," I muttered, opening a bottle of beer. Picking up my book, I decided to go find a quiet place to immerse myself in some literature to ease my loneliness.

-

“I really like your band,” I said, “How long have you guys been playing together?”“Since high school,” Scarlett replied. “Wow. And you’re not sick of them?”Scarlett laughed, “No. We have our moments but we’re thick as thieves. I should introduce you to them. I’ve told them about you, actually.”“Really?”“Yeah. They’re always asking me where I keep wandering off to.”“I guess we have been hanging out a fair bit recently,” I shrugged, looking across to her.

Laughing again, Scarlett sat up, “A fair bit? We see each other every day.”“And I still feel like I don’t know you.”

“That makes two of us,” She replied, “You’re a very complex man.”“Is that a good thing?”“Is it?”

Picking up the book that was resting at the top of Scarlett’s suit case, I peered down at the title. “A book on lucid dreaming?” I asked, a hint of surprise in my voice. Not bothering to move from her comfortable position in bed, Scarlett beckoned for me to join her. Crawling next to her, I propped myself up on her forearms and watched her smile as I opened the book.“Trying to lucid dream?” I inquired.

"Nope. I lucid dream every time I sleep so I thought that I might as well do some research about it," Scarlett explained, chuckling lightly. Peering up at me her, I flashed her a smile.

"Any other books you keep with you on tour?"

"As I Lay Dying,"  Scarlett replied, resulting in another smile from me. I had always been an aficionado for the arts, especially when it came to literature, even more so when it came to William Faulkner.

"I love William Faulkner," I exclaimed. "

“I know,” Scarlett smiled, “Actually, I think my copy belongs to you. It’s in my suitcase somewhere. Remember when we met? After you got up and left, you forgot to take your book with you. I actually kept it because I wanted to return it to you since you’d written some important notes in the margins.”“So that’s where it went.” I huffed, crawling on top of Scarlett so I could look at her, “I knew I had a copy of that book somewhere. I drove everyone crazy trying to find it. I’ve been thinking of adapting it into a film, so that’s why I wrote all over it.”

"I’ll get it out for you later, it completely slipped my mind until you mentioned it.”“Thanks! You have no idea how worried I was that I’d lost it,” I muttered.

"Why are you lying on me?" She laughed, pushing up on my chest.

"I don’t know…" I admitted, shifting so my full weight was no longer on her, "Shit, sorry, what am I even doing?"

I jumped at her sudden movement, as her fingers gently tousled my hair in her fingers, “Don’t move, I like it.”

I smiled, “Okay.”

"How do you do it?" She asks.

"Do what, exactly?" He chuckles.

“Be so creatively diverse and risky. It’s amazing.”

Sitting up, I stared down at Scarlett, seemingly surprised by what her honest. “You really mean that?”

I smiled, “Of course. I admire you, really.”

My eyes raked across her face, before resting on her lips. I moved closer, brushing mine against hers. The sudden contact sent a spark through my body, the chemistry between us was inevitable.

“I think you’re going to get a lot of chances, James,” Scarlett whispered, before pulling me in for a kiss.

- Scarlett -I retreated to a quieter area of the room in order to get some fresh air. Once I’d opened the sliding glass door to the balcony outside Seth’s room, I was surprised to find someone else there.

A man, to be exact.

He looks up from a book he seemed immersed in considering he was reading in such dark conditions.

"Hey," He says. I switched on the porch light and stepped outside, "That’ll probably make it easier to read."

He laughs, slowly nodding his head as he looks down at his feet, “Probably.”

When he looked back at me, a sense of recognition washed over me, yet I couldn’t quite place where I’d seen his messy brown hair and contagious smile that creased the corners of his eyes.

Nonetheless, he did remind me of many guys I see wandering around the city, or at gigs and art shows back at home.

"I’m James, by the way," He smiles, holding out his hand. I could have melted right there. If looks could kill, he definitely could kill me with that smile.I shook my head, snapping out of my thoughts as I shook his hand. His hand felt warm against my cold skin, and it completely engulfed mine.

And I thought my drummer Zach had abnormally large hands.

“Scarlett,” I smiled politely, “Sorry I was staring earlier…you just remind me of someone.”

He chuckles, closing the book and placing it on the table, “Is that a good thing?”

"Yeah. Not exactly someone, but you do remind me of a lot of guys back home."

Folding his arms, James shifted in his seat and suddenly seemed intrigued in me.“You’re not from around here, are you?”

I shook my head, “Nope.”

"Australian?" He inquires. I nodded, "Yeah. Let me guess, accent?"

James threw his head back and laughed before leaning towards me, “Well, kinda. I already knew who you were. Seth told me about you.”

"Good things I hope?" I asked. James pursed his lips and hummed, "Depends."

"On?"

"Are you single?" He replies.

I suppressed a laugh and made a mental reminder to tell Seth one of his friends decided to flirt with me. “No, I am not.”

"That’s a shame," James shrugs before standing up and walking away. Realizing that he left his book behind, I picked it up and ran to catch up with him but by the time I went downstairs he was nowhere to be seen.

-

 Opening my front door, I saw James standing before me holding a bouquet of roses in one hand and a gift box in the other while wearing a Cheshire Cat grin right across his face. My eyes almost brimmed with tears as I threw myself at him.

"What are you doing here?" I exclaimed, in between kisses.

"Spending your birthday with you," He replies as if it were the most obvious thing.

"But you’re meant to be working on your new mov—"

Nodding, he cut me off, “Yes. I made them reschedule some dates.”

My heart swelled at his gesture. James had travelled all the way from New York, to Australia just to be with me on my birthday. Kissing me on the forehead, I giggled as I accepted the flowers from him before we made our way to the lounge room.

"I’m sorry I couldn’t get flights any earlier to be here for your party," He sighs, resting his forehead against yours. My eyes met his and I swore I could have melted right there as I looked into those soft and sincere brown eyes.

"You’re here now and that’s what matters," I reply.

His hands travel down to my hips and he steadies me whilst reaching beside him and picking up the box.

"Open it," He smiles. Inside it were tickets for me to fly back with him. Before I could express my gratitude, James was already right in front of me.

"I have your real gift back at my apartment in New York," He says. I narrowed my eyes at him, "There’s more? James, this is all I could ever ask for. You didn’t need to get me anything more."

"Yes, I did," He replies, "If you don’t want it, then don’t come with me."

James flashed me his cheeky grin, the one where his eyes wrinkled in the corners.

He knew he had me. 

I smiled as James leaned across and kissed me deeply. Eventually breaking apart from the kiss, I rested my head in his neck, “I love you.”

"I love you too," He replies, gently picking me up and carrying me to my room.