Those Shadows • •

[Margaret Rose Warren]

If Meg wanted to go, this was her chance. She had graduation to survive, job offers to respond to, and a future to plan; these few weeks were her last possible moment for an escape. Maybe a trip home was what she needed to clear her head, even if she didn't find her biological father. She hadn't been back in years; hadn't talked to anyone from her hometown since high school. That bus ticket could be her shot at a mental vacation before her life really transformed her into an adult.

Meg threw things into the case, pausing to stack and rearrange things so it would all fit. She could cram her laptop in later, along with her purse; a few pairs of shoes and she'd be done. Theo blocked the path to those, though, leaving her trapped between Issy and himself. "I didn't say I was giving up; I said I was going to find answers because that's what I do, Theo. I bend and twist and toy with pieces of a puzzle to make them fit together, and then I find out the truth; that's why I'm going," she said calmly. She bent down to settle her case again, giving her an excuse to keep busy; she couldn't stand to look at him for long when his eyes would've held her back in a heartbeat."I was going to call you at the bus station," she added, folding a shirt and standing up again, finally looking at him as he spoke.

"No, Theo," she said, shaking her head at him. How could she make him understand? How would he ever relate to it? "The temporary solution would be staying here and letting it drive me insane. This changes everything; what I knew about her, why I turned out how I did, the reason my dad still holds onto her wedding ring. This person is a part of who I am, and I want to find out who he is; I have to." Meg kept her distance from him as she spoke, pacing the small amount of floor not occupied by child or suitcase. "I'm not running away from this; I'm running to something else, something that might tell me more about who I am," she whispered.

Meg laughed; a harsh, sarcastic, throaty laugh that had her shaking her head again. She didn't expect him to wait; he had places to be, afterall. It didn't matter that she'd waited time and time again for him to figure out his own problems, each time being patient and comforting; none of that mattered when the roles were reversed. He could take his time and wade through his dark corners, but he wouldn't wait for her to go chase after the person who could bring her one step closer to her mother. "Don't wait. I never planned on asking you to," she said back, forcing her way around him to pick up a pair of tennis shoes from her closet floor.

TAG: Theo-Bear! <3
LOCATION: Her Place!
WORDS: 550!
OUTFIT: LOOK AT ME!
MUSIC: "Breaking Your Own Heart" by Kelly Clarkson
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

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[Theo Anthony Sterling]

Theo knew that everything was going to change anyway in a few more weeks. It had to. Both of them were graduating and would be looking for their dream jobs and trying to get a foothold on the long ladder they had to climb for their careers. It wasn’t easy and it probably promised a goodbye at some point, but he had been trying not to think about that until the time came and he knew exactly what was going to be happening.

“So I would’ve got some vague phone call and no real explanation? That’s just great, Meg.”

[/color] Maybe she didn’t understand just how many fears and worries he had pushed aside to give this relationship a try, because something like that would be enough to send him scampering back into his shell and if she ever returned to New York she probably wouldn’t be greeted with the same Theo she had left behind.

Theo didn’t understand why she couldn’t see the bigger picture right now. She seemed to be blindsided by this and not thinking about everything. “Right, so, you’re just going to vanish and leave the man in hospital all alone? He’s going to need help, Meg and after everything you’re going to abandon him for this wild goose chase on which you might find nothing?”[/color] He rubbed his fingers through his short hair and sighed. “I’m not saying that you should never go and look for your biological da, but right now you’re emotional and that’s going to do you no favours when you get there. This sort of thing needs you to be in control of everything so that no matter what the outcome is you can deal with it. Right now, you’re still the same mess you were in my arms ten minutes ago and a bus ride isnae going to change that.”[/color] He told her calmly, trying to make her see that this was not the best course of action for her right now, regardless of how she was feeling about Mr Warren. If she stayed in the city for a little longer, give herself time to cool off, to process everything then he knew that she’d come around and see sense before she made the decision to go and find her biological dad. She might even get more help with it if she saw all of this out instead of diving head first into something she knew nothing about.

“Seems like you never planned on asking me anything.”[/color] The last time he had checked, relationships were about a partnership, but if he hadn’t come around to the house when Meg hadn’t shown on their date then he probably would still be in the dark about everything and she didn’t even want his advice it seemed. They may have been two completely different people, but Theo had foolishly believed they were equals. Right now, he didn’t feel any of that and Meg was just too highly strung to see anything clearly right now. She didn’t want his help, she didn’t want anyone’s help and it was only going to get her hurt if she kept it up, Theo knew that only too well.
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• • •

TAGGED! Meg <3
WORDS! 584
OUTFIT! Scottish Summer Chum!
LYRICS! Safe And Sound - - - Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars
NOTES! Dx I hate this, Theo is not cooperating! <3

[Margaret Rose Warren]

In a matter of weeks, none of this would matter anymore. Meg would be packing her bags for the job she'd accepted miles away, and Theo would be going to chase his dreams of lights and curtains. This relationship they'd worked so hard to build would shatter with a goodbye; it wouldn't matter anymore. But, her biological father would matter, and he was a problem that wasn't going to go away with time; he'd always be there, pulling at her mind and making her wonder what her life could've really been like if he'd been in it. Was it so wrong of her to want to find out before the rest of her life began?

A trip home sounded nice. That was one of the big reasons for her buying the ticket so quickly, other than finding her dad, of course. She hadn't been back to Forks in years; hadn't seen her mother's grave, or her old friends, or the house she'd grown up in. She wanted to go back see all of that before she really moved on to the next step of her life; finding her father there would just be a huge bonus on top of it all. Meg didn't want Theo or Mr Warren or anyone to come with her though because she wanted to do it alone for once. She'd always been watched over by someone, but, right now, she didn't want that. She wanted to be alone and she wanted to weed all the doubts out of her head; she wouldn't be able to do that when she had a worried father or boyfriend trailing one step behind her.

"When am I going to get another chance for this, Theo? After graduation, neither of us is going to have time to run off; we'll barely have time to breathe between everything. Right now, I can afford to go, and I can do it without anyone yelling at me that I'm so wrong about wanting to. That's why I didn't tell you and why I'm not telling my dad either; both of you are so obsessed with me behaving and staying in one place and not doing anything crazy. But, I can't do that -- I can't be the girl who thinks too much and loses everything because of it," she said. Meg ran a hand through her hair, zipping the suitcase and standing it up. "I'm going, whether you want me to or not. Call me stupid, never speak to me again, I don't care; but don't wait for me. You've got better things to do than sit around and mope," she added, walking towards him. Gently, she rested her hands on his chest, looking up into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Theo," she whispered, pressing her lips softly to his. Meg pulled away, dragging her suitcase towards the door. Looking over her shoulder, she said, "I wasn't aware that I had to ask for your permission. You aren't my dad, Theo, and I'm not some little kid; I can make my own decisions."

TAG: Theo-Bear! <3
LOCATION: Her Place!
WORDS: 560!
OUTFIT: LOOK AT ME!
MUSIC: "Breaking Your Own Heart" by Kelly Clarkson
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

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