• Different Kind of Pain •

[Margaret Rose Warren]

The house wasn't a home yet. It was bare walls and cardboard boxes; a blank canvas for Meg to destroy as she pleased. She was excited, sure, but it was going to take some effort to really make the rooms and hallways into a place that she could call hers. Her father didn't really mind what she did with the actual house, so long as he got his own room, but Meg wanted to please him, as well. They'd been looking at furniture together online, and selling off some of their old pieces in order to get new ones. She had a good amount of it arriving soon, but there were still those little things that needed to get bought and brought into the house.

Meg still couldn't believe she'd found Theo so soon. She'd been back less than 24 hours, and, already, they'd somehow fallen into each other's arms again. It had been one of the many reasons why she hadn't slept last night, though the amount of coffee she'd drank could've been the main one. Meg didn't know what she wanted from Theo now. He'd been a perfect boyfriend; the memories between them were fond and beautiful, but she didn't know if that kind of love could blossom again. They'd both been college kids then, on the brink of beginning their lives. That cliff had torn them in two different directions, and she hadn't planned on reuniting with him. Now that they were back together, she didn't know what could happen. The skipping heartbeats yesterday had been obvious clues to the feelings lingering in her heart, but Meg had to be smart. She didn't know if she still loved Theo, or if he even still loved her. This could all just be a friendly favor for an old girlfriend. For all she knew, he was crushing on someone else and only taking pity on the blonde who was temporarily all alone in New York.

She wanted to see him, though. She didn't want to spend a moment away from the guy who'd won her heart so long ago, and this afternoon would give them some alone time to gain stable footing with each other. Theo was coming over to help unpack boxes, move furniture, and just generally help Meg set up house. She'd barely found enough essentials to shower and half-sleep the night before. Hopefully, after this, the big empty house would feel a little comfier for her.

Meg was lounging on the couch with a cup of tea and a home decor magazine when she heard the new doorbell chime. She jumped up off the couch, quickly running to answer the door with a big smile on her face. She unlocked the heavy piece of wood and grinned brightly at Theo. "You made it!"

[/b] She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, locking him into a tight hug before yanking back and staring awkwardly at the ground. "Sorry, I-I... just come inside," she laughed shyly, stepping back and allowing him entrance into the maze of boxes. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

TAG: Theo-Bear! <3
LOCATION: Her New Place!
WORDS: 542!
MUSIC: "Home" by Daughtry
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

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[Theo Anthony Sterling]

Theo couldn’t believe that he had bumped into Meg again after all that time had passed. He had returned to a late night rehearsal with a smile on his face, and it was still there when that wrapped and he made his way home. It didn’t take much of Lilia’s pestering to get the story out of him and then he had to talk his sister into taking care of Issy after the day care class let out the next afternoon. Theo would have been home to collect his happy little girl, but he had agreed to help Meg out with the move, and he was just fortunate enough that Lilia could play the doting aunt again. If she had been unable to then it would have just been one of those things that came with being a parent and he was sure Meg would have understood.

Since that wasn’t the case though, Theo rushed through the usual morning chaos of getting Issy ready for her few hours at the bright centre just a few blocks away from where they lived. Once she was happily playing with her little friends at the costume box, Theo left, making a few stops on his way home to complete mundane errands that he had been putting off for most of the week. He had no rehearsals that day, since the director had a prior engagement. He couldn’t help but think that fate was dealing him a nice little hand this time around. He knew not to read too much into anything since Meg had only just returned to the city, but he couldn’t exactly stop the thumping of his heart or that nervous flurry in his stomach when he thought about her.

Shaking his head free of the thoughts, Theo only stopped at home to drop off the parcel he had collected during his errands, and to make sure that there was nothing that immediately needed his attention before he made his way to Meg’s new house. Everything seemed pretty sorted, so he locked up again and fired a text to Lilia as he climbed back into his car and double checked the address he had scribbled down the day before. The drive wasn’t too long, and after a third and final check over the black scrawled street name and house number, Theo cut the engine and walked up to the front door, ringing the doorbell before habitually scrubbing his fingers through his short hair.

Seeing Meg only erupted that butterfly feeling again and he chuckled warmly at her greeting, his arms automatically moving to return the hug out of old habit. “O’ course I came, hen!”

[/color] He laughed, stepping inside and glancing around, letting out a low whistle at the sight of everything that was already there. “Someone’s got their work cut out for them.”[/color] He said, glancing over his shoulder at Meg with a playful twinkle in his light eyes. He didn’t mind helping out today; he was that kind of guy, plus he got to see Meg again, which he just couldn’t say no to. “Do you have a plan or are we jus’ grabbin’ a box and seein’ what comes out?”[/color] He asked, his accent still as thick and strong as though he had only just arrived in New York himself.
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• • •

TAGGED! Meg!
WORDS! 555!
OUTFIT! Daddy Cool!
LYRICS! Till We’re Not Strangers Anymore - - - Bon Jovi & Leann Rimes
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Margaret Rose Warren]

The idea of marriage and a happy family hadn't been on Meg's mind since she'd left New York. The thoughts had died when she'd left Theo, and she'd never found someone to rekindle them. In her head, she'd seen herself living by herself with her dad and just marrying her work. Relationships were hard with her job, which was probably why she'd never found herself moving on from the doting father she'd left behind in New York.

Now that he was back, Meg didn't know how her life would be changing. The move back already turned her world upside down and it was going to take time to find her footing once again in the Big Apple. Throw Theo into the mix, and she knew it was going to be an interesting ride. Even if they didn't revive their romantic relationship, it'd still be a battle to forget all the memories that surrounded the dark-haired man, and Meg didn't want to go through the pain of a broken heart while she was starting a brand new job.

She closed the door behind Theo, clicking the lock into place and turning to face her partner in this unpacking. It was going to be hard, she knew that, but it was worth it if she got to spend some alone time with him."There's a little bit of a plan. The boxes are organized by room. Kind of," she laughed, shaking her head and shrugging. "I tried, at any rate." Meg, her hands on her hips, looked around the living room, trying to see where to start first. Everything had to get unpacked, from the bedrooms to the kitchen pans, and she didn't know how much they would be able to get done for the small amount of time she was borrowing Theo. "Let's start upstairs, huh? I would really love a bed to sleep on tonight instead of just a mattress," she joked as she headed for the stairs. There were picture frames somewhere that would get hung up here, and other knick knacks to decorate the upstairs hallway.

Meg proudly led the way through her humble house, excited to show it off to her first real guest, even if it was only filled with cardboard boxes for the moment. "The one down that way is Dad's, and the guest room's over there, too. He forced me into taking the master room," she said, walking towards the only door on the other side of the hallway. It was the biggest bedroom in the house, complete with it's own little bathroom and walk-in closet. Meg had made sure to spoil herself. "And this one's mine," she said, opening the door and waltzing into the room. A big unopened box was in the center of the room, and Meg sighed as she gestured to it. "You ready to get to work? You are my strong, manly man for the day," she teased, giving him the playful smile that was always on her lips.

TAG: Theo-Bear! <3
LOCATION: Her New Place!
WORDS: 551!
MUSIC: "Home" by Daughtry
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

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[Theo Anthony Sterling]

After graduation, Theo had only really focused on getting his career started and on Issy. The little girl came before anything else in his life and it would probably always be that way for the young Scotsman. He hadn’t thought about settling down with anyone else or exploring any of those romantic avenues that might have opened up as he took roles here and there to fill up his resume a little more. With Issy growing more every day, Theo had been happy to just spend his time making the most of these early years, spoiling his little girl silly and grinning when he thought of the look he would have been given had Jenny seen the pair of them eating ice cream on the beach for breakfast. The little girl had him wrapped around her little finger and nothing could unravel him. He didn’t want that to change either. He’d have gladly spent the rest of his life looking out for his little girl and putting her before everything else.

He wasn’t letting his heart get out of reach of his head. He knew that bumping into Meg could mean nothing at all. Theo was merely helping her out today, trying to push those re-kindled memories to the back of his mind and keep everything simple. There was no promise that they were the same people anymore and these sparks and butterflies could be leftover from their goodbye. He didn’t want to ruin anything he had in his life by acting impulsively, so he wouldn’t. It might not be the easiest task, but he could do it for today; at least until he understood more about what could happen between them and until Meg was a little more settled back in the city she had once called her home.

Laughing, Theo simply nodded his head in understanding. The last move he had made had been from Scotland to New York, so he had plenty of tales of stress, boxes and makeshift furniture. They had bought quite a lot once they had arrived stateside, but that still had to be brought into the home and put away or assembled. It had taken a month and a week to really sort everything out and then there had still been a spare room of things that went unorganised for another few months. “It never ends up that way, eh? Dinnae worry; I’m sure we’ll survive this.”

[/color] He said, keeping that warm and friendly smile in place as he turned back around to look at the boxes again. This was one of those tasks that seemed impossible to start, but went along fairly easily once a momentum picked up and a person got into the right mood with it. “Right, let’s make this look more like a home and less like you’re squattin’.”[/color] He joked, clapping his hands and then rubbing them together as he followed Meg through the box maze and around the blank canvas of a house.

He listened as she pointed off down to other rooms, nodding to no one in particular as he kept his pace behind her. “Definitely treated yourself t’ the upgrade.”[/color] He teased, bumping his shoulder against hers before placing his hands on the large box that she had gestured to. Luckily for them both, Theo hadn’t long put together Issy’s new bed and it seemed like it hadn’t been more than a few months since Lilia had strolled into their house and informed him that she had gone and bought a new bed for herself. When his sister came home and announced things like that it was her way of asking him to help her put it together. “Well, I’ll do my best not to disappoint.”[/color] He flashed a lopsided smirk and then reached for the box again, glancing to see what kind of task they had ahead of themselves first.
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• • •

TAGGED! Meg!
WORDS! 650!
OUTFIT! Daddy Cool!
LYRICS! Till We’re Not Strangers Anymore - - - Bon Jovi & Leann Rimes
NOTES! <3 <3 <3