Keys of Life

Chapter Twenty-Six: Autumn

Hey all,

I know this chapter is short. Just wanted to let you all know a little bit more about Autumn, since this is the last full scene she'll be in.

I have the story almost finsished - about another two or three chapters that I need to edit. I'm then going to go through the whole thing and put up a completely edited version at the end - there'll be a few extra lines and scenes, better use of language (hopefully) etc.

Thanks for everyone who has stuck with me, and please add this story to you're library/vote/comment/fan if you haven't already. Anyway, I'll let you get on with it.

SleepyBug.  

Chapter Twenty-Six: Autumn

   The train was packed, people sandwiched together awkwardly. Faces rested merely inches away from each other, too close for comfort.

   Things were normal. No drama, no sisters of ex-boyfriends turning up out of the blue. I hadn't heard from Faye in ages. I didn't really expect to. She'd found out all she could, for a day in a cheap coffee shop was the only help I could give her. A thousand memories wrapped up in the space of a few hours. So little.

    Life was so expensive. It seemed ironic that we had been discussing it over a 99p Americano.

   No Jason, either. No remnants of a devoted girlfriend unable to get over her grief. Just Autumn. The girl in the middle of a crowd, the blonde. The lady I hoped I would become someday starting to take shape within my soul. The grown-up, not the desperate teenager whining about her lost love.   

   I talked to Smithy, once. That was enough. It seemed weird, like he was part of another time, a forgotten era. I still didn't like him. I never would. There was something in the way he talked about Jason that rankled with me, made me feel jealous. That was mad, though, completely uncalled for. Wasn't it?

   A cute guy, tall and muscular looked over at me and caught my eye, thick hair gliding into his eyes for a moment. I blushed, and then looked away. I looked back again. He smiled. I smiled.

   It was déjà vu. Once upon I time I would have compared him to Jason, whether it be the way he grinned or cocked his head. I would have appraised him, and found him lacking simply because he had brown hair and brown eyes. He looked good; kind. Different.  

   I found myself shimmying over to him, weaving my way through the wavering crowd.

   "Hi," I said, my voice coming out a little breathless. I could feel more blood rushing to my cheeks, darkening the two pink spots resting high on my cheekbones.

   "'Hi' yourself," he grinned, his smirk becoming just a little broader. "What's your name?" I could feel a twinkle forming in my eye, a little spark of happiness starting to make itself know. Champagne bubbles were fizzing in my stomach.

   "Autumn," I replied. I waited for a smirk or a smart comment. It never came.

   "That's a pretty name." I almost laughed at how clichéd it was.

   "What movie did you get that from?" I laughed, a giggle escaping my lips. "No-one says that."

   "I do." I could feel myself warming to him. "And it's Clark at your service."

   "Well, superman," I said, allowing a small smile to play on my lips in what I hoped was a mysterious manner. "Do you like coffee?"