FicWad

Paulina danced from foot to foot on the step, shifting her weight nervously. She bit her lip, then remembered that she had lipstick that could smudge or stain her teeth, and instead tried to delicately chew on her thumbnail.

“Stop that.” Frank pulled Paulina’s hand away from her face and set it to her side. She glared anxiously at him. “Have I told you that you look beautiful?”

“Yes,” Paulina mumbled, looking back that the door, wishing it would open already.

“Well, I’ll say it again. You look stunning. Really. I don’t know if anyone will be able to keep their eyes off you when we walk in. Please, don’t leave me for someone else.” Frank used his index finger to tip Paulina’s chin up. He lowered his face to hers and placed a soft kiss on her lips, which made Paulina gasp, but not pull away. The cool metal of his lip ring pressed into her lips, making her gasp again, this time pulling away.

“Your piercings!” she hissed, reaching up and unhooking the hoops in his lip and nose, gently removing the studs from his ears. He smirked down at her as she did so, chuckling when she dropped the handful of jewelry into her small purse.

“Oh, Paulina, you do care,” he said, running his index finger down the bridge of the younger girl’s nose. She blushed and turned away.

“I just--” What she was just, they never found out, for at that moment, the large, oak door opened and behind it stood a man in a tuxedo, a napkin draped over his arm.

“Good evening,” he said formally.

“Evening,” Frank replied, straightening his form and allowing the smile to drop from his face. “Iero,” he added. Paulina wondered what that was. A password? Perhaps…a name? It didn’t sound like a name. She shook it off; it was probably insignificant. “Be careful,” Frank murmured as they were led into a large ballroom that made the one that Paulina was used to look like a broom closet. “These people can smell fear.”

“Frank! Honey! You came!” A woman with dark hair and eyes that were identical to Frank’s approached them.

“Hello, Mother,” Frank said curtly, turning his head when she went to kiss him, her lips landing on his temple.

“What, are you too much of a big boy now to kiss your mommy?” The woman grinned broadly, a glazed look in her hazel eyes.

“How much champagne have you had already? Cocktail hour isn’t even over yet.” Frank looked disdainfully at his mother, who was a few inches shorter than him, but whether that was by design or the fact that she was slumping over drunkenly, Paulina couldn’t be sure.

“Honey, it’s always cocktail hour somewhere!” she exclaimed, laughing and throwing her arms around her son’s neck. He pried her loose and stepped back, taking Paulina with him.

“Mother,” he said loudly, as though she were deaf instead of drunk. “This is my girlfriend, Paulina.” The girl gasped; in all her six months, she’d had hundreds of names, but when they were out in public, not one of them was ever Paulina. Had he really just used her real name?

“So nice to meet you, honey!” Frank’s mother exclaimed, matching her son’s volume. “You can call me Linda! Because that’s my name!” Paulina chuckled politely while Linda guffawed.

“That’s nice, Mother,” Frank said, steering Paulina away from the, still laughing, woman. Paulina just stared at him. “What?” he asked defensively.

“You look like her,” Paulina said, glancing back at Linda. “But I can’t believe that that woman is the source of your upbringing.”

“Meet my father, and then decide who you think I take after,” Frank muttered.

“Is he here?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Does he know you’re here?”

“That’s probably why he’s not around.”

“Oh.” Paulina looked around the room at all the people, elegantly dressed, noses up, champagne glasses dangling from their palms. A young woman was approaching them.

“Frank!” She was petite, about Paulina’s height, if not a bit taller, and blonde. She had blue eyes and perfectly straight, white teeth. She had a snub-nose and flawless skin, not to mention long, healthy nails that she obviously hadn’t bitten a day in her life. Paulina felt herself growing to dislike this girl already. Frank smiled.

“Olivia!” he exclaimed, trying to slip Paulina’s hand out of his arm, which she began to grip even tighter. Eventually, he worked his arm free and wrapped it around the pretty woman’s waist. Paulina narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. “How are you?”

“I’m great, I’m great. And you?” They pulled out of the hug and stared at each other with foolish smiles on their faces. Paulina chewed angrily on the inside of her lip.

“I’m great, too.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah…” Frank rubbed the back of his neck, then remembered the makeup covering his tattoos and drew his hand away again. Paulina cleared her throat quietly. “Oh…” he said, looking at Paulina as though just remembering she was there. “This is my…this is Paulina. Paulina, this is Olivia, an old…friend.”

“Hello,” Olivia said, her smile gone. Almost as an afterthought, she held out her hand to shake, which Paulina took after a moment. They let go quickly.

“Honey,” Paulina said, turning to Frank. This Olivia was obviously…well…she was just obvious. Obviously dumb, Paulina thought lamely. She wanted to get Frank away from her. “Darling, would you mind getting me something to drink?”

Frank, for one, seemed glad of an excuse to leave the awkward company of Olivia, and rushed off to find Paulina (and, perhaps, himself) a drink.

“So…you and Frank are dating?” Olivia did not beat around the bush. Fine. Paulina could be blunt.

“Yep.”

“How serious are you guys?” Really? Paulina fumed. Was she really asking that? Really?

“Quite. We’ve talked about marriage; it’s just a matter of time, really.” It was a lie that she could be caught in if Frank didn‘t catch on, yes, but Paulina didn’t care. She wanted Olivia to go away. She wanted Frank to come back so she could fit her arm through his and feel somewhat safe again. Paulina realized that she was out of her comfort zone and was, therefore, vulnerable. Frank needed to come back. She regretted sending him away. As though on cue…

“Here you are, darling,” he said, handing Paulina a flute of champagne. He was also holding a glass between his fingers that was already down to half-full. Paulina took the cup, but didn’t drink.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Paulina said, not taking her eyes off of Olivia now that Frank was back safely, winding his arm through hers. “I’m not thirsty. You take it.”

“You know me too well,” he muttered, glancing around at all the other people at the party and downing the rest of his drink. He set the empty glass on a nearby table and relieved Paulina of her drink.

“So, Frank,” Olivia said, glaring at Paulina for a moment before smiling at her former…something. Paulina suspected boyfriend, or even fiancé. She was too jealous to just be a friend, even a smitten friend. “Paulina here was just telling me that you two are planning to get married sometime.” Bitch. She was obviously trying to catch Paulina in a lie. Conniving bitch.

“Yep,” Frank said, paying no attention as he drank down his second champagne. “When the time’s right,” he added, trying to sound like he was attempting to stay in the conversation. His blasé attitude frustrated Paulina. No way was Olivia going to believe that tone. In a fit of desperation, Paulina slid her fingertips beneath Frank’s lapel, pulling him down until their lips gently met. He hesitated at first, but leaned into the girl, slipping his hands around to rest at the small of her back. Paulina could taste the champagne on his tongue, still fresh, and very potent. After a moment, she pulled away, smirking to herself (and to Olivia).

“Oh,” Olivia said, her face falling. “I see. Well, I’m going to go mingle. I’ll see you later, Frank.” She left without acknowledging Paulina, which the latter was just fine with, since she didn’t care for the blonde, anyway. Frank looked around.

“I wonder if they have anything stronger than this,” he murmured, rolling the empty champagne glass between his thumb and forefinger. “I could use a scotch.”

“We haven’t even been here for an hour, yet,” Paulina told him. “You should pace yourself. You don’t want to get drunk.”

“I don’t?” Frank bit his lip, his tongue finding the miniscule pin-prick where a small, silver hoop usually resided.

“No. When you’re drunk, you’re honest.” Paulina couldn’t believe that she was the one warning Frank, of all people, against their secret getting out.

“Oh, darling, my love for you couldn’t be more honest.” He was obviously already feeling the buzz.

“Are you sure you’ve only had two glasses of champagne, Frank?”

“I may have stopped for that something stronger you heard tell of on the way back to you and Olivia.” Frank was leading them back to the bar.

“Frank.” The couple stopped, and Paulina was glad for the distraction for Frank. They turned to see a tall man, older, walking very stiffly over to them. His voice was quiet, but stern, and sounded oddly familiar.

“Dad,” Frank replied, in a voice that almost matched his father’s. “I wondered when you’d make your way over.”

“Were you going to introduce me to your friend, Frank? Or should I stand here staring at a stranger while you hold grudges?” Involuntarily, Paulina flinched at the man’s tone. Yes, she did see which parent Frank took after. Frank sighed, as though he were trying to keep his temper in check, before answering.

“Dad, this is Paulina. Paulina, this is my father.” The man held his hand out to shake, which Paulina did.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr.--” Paulina realized that she didn’t know his last name.

“Please, call me Frank.” Paulina was saved by the father’s quick recovery.

“Oh. Alright…Frank.” It was strange to call someone else Frank; it was almost like a bad taste in her mouth.

“Please tell me you’re not dating my son. You’re far out of his league.” Paulina was taken aback. She didn’t know how to answer that. It was a compliment…maybe…

“I’m standing right here, Dad.” Frank spoke loudly, his tongue finding that empty piercing again.

“Glad to see you at least had the decency to cover those disgusting tattoos.” Frank immediately seemed to regret drawing attention back to himself. “And take out those piercings. I don’t know why you have to look like a hoodlum. You’ll never get a real job with those foolish things, and don’t think you can just wait for me to die, Frank. I’ll live to two hundred to keep you from getting my money and turning into a bum.” Paulina would have laughed if the situation wasn’t so serious and awkward.

“Believe me,” Frank said, stiffening and tightening his grip on Paulina’s arm. “If it comes down to it, I’ll go first.”

“Your mother was crying,” Frank, Sr. continued. It was as though everything his son was saying went in one ear and out the other, not fazing him. “She said you wouldn’t talk to her.”

“She’s drunk,” the son answered, looking around as though he wished he could say the same for himself.

“I know that, but that doesn’t make her a liar.”

“She married you, didn’t she?” Frank, Sr. finally reacted to his son’s words, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brows, slightly.

“Don’t ask foolish questions,” he hissed. For a moment, father and son just glared at each other, fists clenching, teeth grinding.

“Come, Paulina,” Frank finally said. “We’re going.” With that, Frank swiftly steered her out of the large, beautiful house that she now realized belonged to Frank’s parents.

They descended the steps and whistled into the night. Their car came cruising up the drive, Frank diving for the doors before it had come to a complete stop. He shooed Paulina inside before following, slamming the door and snapping at the driver to take them back to the apartment before shutting the window partition that separated the front and back. He reached for the bottle of wine that was sitting in a bucket of ice beside the seat. He popped the lid and fisted the neck, tipping back a good amount of the drink and gulping it down as quickly as he could get it. When he finally surfaced for air, he wiped his face on his jacket sleeve.

“I told you they could smell fear,” he said to Paulina before bringing the bottle to his lips once more.



Ooookkkaaayyy...So, I'm sorry for two things: that it took me kind of long to update and that this chapter is reeeeeaaallllyyy long. It was about five pages, give or take, in 10-point, Times New Roman font, so that's pretty long. You probably had to take a coffee break while reading it. Anyway, I had to make it so long so I could just get the whole party scene out of the way. Now we'll advance on to the beginning of the end of the story. I have it planned out in my head EXACTLY how I want to end it, dialog, scene, feeling, everything. So...there's that. Anyway, please go comment, rate, and subscribe, and be on the lookout for the next installment. OverAndOutxx