Larger then the moon, my love for you
World's collide, as heaven pulls us through
The secret of the world is written in the stars
I'm carrying your heart in mine

What a beautiful smile
Can It stay for a while
On this beautiful night
We'll make everything right
My beautiful love

Maybe a greater thing will happen
Maybe all will see
Maybe our love will catch like fire
As it burns through me

Beautiful Love © The Afters

.:Fourteen:.

"What in the hell are you doing back here?" I snarled quickly turning around towards the voice.

"Had some business 'ere and thought I'd check up on my wifey pet," he told me with a slight smirk to his expression. Raising an eyebrow at his cocky attitude I stared at him taking in minor changes that have happened between the past few years.

"Well as you can see, I'm perfectly fine. Besides I never knew you had any concern for little old me," I told him sweetly batting my eyes him in a coy fashion. He merely laughed in response and offered to give me a ride home. I turned back around to Travers and gave him an apologetic look before heading towards Ian's car.

Ian and I have a slight history together. We had once been together and agreed to marry one another until he picked a flower for another girl and pretty much destroyed any chance of a marriage. We had been in kindergarten at the time and it was a high impact during my life then. My father and his parents were close friends who often seemed to get together on various business deals. Therefore it seemed only fit their children who once held interest in one another would marry each other one day.

"Who was the pillock?" Ian asked giving me a glance sideways as he backed out of the school parking lot and sped off towards my home.

"Just some boy," I said with a wave of my hand as if to dismiss the topic.

"A boy who's obviously bloody in love with you, luv," he told me in all seriousness.

"I know," I sighed leaning my head against the window.

"Do you return those feelings pet? Because that may be a problem once we're married," he told me with a hint of humor.

"I don't know," I told him truthfully wondering when Ian and I had ever gotten along. Especially to be talking of someone who could ruin this perfect business arrangement.

"How your mum?" I asked him wondering how Mrs. Woodsworth was after all this time.

"Darling of course although she keeps reprimanding me that I be more serious since I will be taking da's position and all that. Bloody hell I missed the street," Ian cursed making an illegal U-turn in order to turn on my street.

"And your da?" he asked politely.

"I don't know I never see him," I told him sighing wondering what would greet me at home.

"Pet we haven't always been friends but I'm here for you to talk to. At least until I head back home to the mother country," he told me in a friendly gesture and pulled into my driveway shutting the car off and looking at me intensely.

"Thanks love," I told him truthfully wondering if our marriage would be such a disaster. We could learn to live with one another, while it wouldn't be passionate love it would be a mutual bond and friendship and maybe one day turn into love.

"So now tell me about this boy luv," Ian prodded as I unlocked the front door and gestured for him to enter the house.

"Boy, what are you suddenly a man?" I asked with a slight snort. He looked at me as if I were crazy before I laughed and realized that he was already legal technically but things over in Europe were different than America. "What are you old man, almost twenty?"

"I'm nineteen you bloody nuisance," he muttered under his breath following me as I made my way to the living room.

"Old," I proclaimed laughing at his facial expression. We usually got along unless of course we happened to be talking about our marriage; things usually went downhill from that topic. Otherwise we were quite good friends and enjoyed the company in a no strings attached sort of way.

"So seriously why are you in town?" I asked him curiously settling myself next to him on the couch. He removed his shoes and put his feet up on the coffee table and regarded me thoughtfully.

"Business as I told you; I'm not at liberty to discuss such matters. But luv, there's a gala that I thought we could attend to so you'll need to be free Saturday night and look bloody presentable," he told me with a slight warning tone in his voice. I nodded unhappily but understanding what he meant. It was the type of events I loved to avoid but Ian on the other hand was not as lucky as I and forced to attend in order to keep business appearances up and keep his family's company afloat. I would have to dress up without my usual look and act like a lady that I knew I certainly wasn't.

I heard my cell phone ring and I excused myself handing the remote control to the TV over to Ian while I went off in search for my cell phone.

"Hello," I answered cheerfully.

"Meet me outside your house."

The phone clicked and I looked at my screen staring at my wallpaper which indicated the person had hung up. I rolled my eyes not wanting to face Travers or his questions currently. I walked outside and sat on my front step waiting for him to pop up from somewhere.

"When were you planning on telling me?"

I looked up and for the first time noticed he looked hurt. I bent my head in shame and looked back up at him wondering if his opinion of me changed for keeping such a secret.

"I've known this was an arrangement for quite some time and I didn't figure you'd ever need to know," I told him truthfully as he sat down next to me on the step. His spikes towards the front of his head were messed up a bit and I couldn't help but want to fix them. "My father arranged this."

"Can they even do that?" Travers asked me looking as if I had just said the craziest thing in the entire universe.

"Apparently, I mean wouldn't my father know, he is a lawyer after all," I said rolling my eyes wondering why the hell he was here now.

"How did it happen?"

"Well you see my father is really good friends with his father and his father has been dying for some time now. In order for him to receive everything his grandfathers will states that he has to be married first. Well my father owed him a favor and that's where I come in," I told him bitterly trying to place everything in the back of my head like I generally did.

"When are you getting married?"

"As soon as I graduate," I told him truthfully glancing at him sideways.

"I see," he told me. "Well I'll be off I need some time to think or something."

I watched him with sad eyes leave knowing that I had most likely ruined any chances with him. While we had passion and possibly love, it simply wasn't enough and part of me was sad to see him leave. I knew I had to be strong and I reprimanded myself in letting someone get close when I knew this would happen.

"You 'lright luv?" Ian asked leaning into the doorway looking down at me concerned, or as concerned as he could be for me.

"I'm fine," I told him hastily. "Let's get you out of the suit into some real clothes so we can go out and do something."

He nodded and went outside to what I figured was his car to get some things. He returned inside with a handful of items and I rolled my eyes at his vanity. I told him we could go out to a pub type place and he readily agreed since it was something he was familiar with.

I made my way up the stairs to my own room in order to get changed from my school clothes into something, cool. I changed into a black mini skirt and a ribbed tank that I accessorized with a few rings, bracelets, and a belt. I slipped into a pair of flip flops wanting to be comfortable.

What about Travers? I tried desperately to ignore that train of thought and figured why not have a good night with my soon to be hubby since we would have to tolerate one another soon enough.

I redid my hair and left it down to fall past my shoulders and redid my make up also taking off some black eyeliner and smudging it in order to make my eyes look less drastic. I smiled in satisfaction and allowed myself to head downstairs waiting patiently for Ian.

"Ready luv?" he asked coming up from behind me. I turned around and appraised him silently taking in his good looks. He was completely unlike Travers and Ian was a professional looking man. While he was only nineteen sometimes I would forget and believe him to be nearly twenty-five. His light brown hair was spiked up messily in a carefree but spent a lot of time doing, sort of way. His grey eyes held mirth and youthfulness, while his outfit was a simple pair of hip hugging jeans that showed off his slim figured and a black button down shirt.

"I was born ready darling," I told him sweetly laughing at my own words. We left the house and I gave him instructions towards the local pub type place I had been talking about. After entering with a fake ID and an excuse that Ian was out of his country therefore carried no ID on him, we sat ourselves in a booth and ordered some drinks.

"Now tell me about this boy who wants to shag you luv," Ian started with a slight smirk. I kicked him from under the table and stuck my tongue at him.

"There will be no shagging," I muttered.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist pet, you know what I meant," he said kindly in his own way apologizing for his callous words.

"It's just so complicated Ian. I don't even think he'll talk to me after us and I mean come on, I don't blame him. I never told him about this nor you and suddenly you show up out of the blue claiming to be my fiancé? No matter how much he may like me, that will certainly scare a guy off," I said expressing my feelings for once without having to hide them or bury them away.

"You know, our situation isn't exactly permanent," Ian stated slowly with a calculated look on his face.

"You know it is so don't even try that shit," I said pushing his shoulder slightly wondering why he would be cruel and give hope to a situation that was hopeless.

"No it isn't and we can make it that way. I mean my grandda may be an old coot and a prick but my da wants what he believes is the best for me. 'ust because grandda never changed the will doesn't mean that my da can't. So we'll have to come up with a plan to outsmart the two of them. I mean think about it Rowan we'd have our own lives ahead of us," Ian stated with a slight sliver of hope in his normally mischievous grey eyes.

"Ian you know with your da passing away means your grandpop has all the control and he won't give the money to you until you plan on marrying. We've already heard this story before now stop trying to fantasize for the future and face what it really is," I said rather harshly before closing off myself towards the situation. Ian could tell I was retreating in myself and nodded in defeat. I insisted that we would still have a good time no matter what.

A/N: Finally an update after practically two years. New chapter, new focus on the story, might be revised the earlier chapters. So I finally cranked it out, expect a new chapter about once a month maybe? Something like that, maybe even a little sooner. The story will be about a projected twenty to twenty-five chapters.

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Preview:

"Travers correct?" a distinctly British voice rang out.

I turned and stared at the two from my spot near my car. I could see Travers stiffen slightly and wondered what the hell Ian was up to since he certainly wasn't there to pick me up from school.

"Can I help you?" Travers asked turning around slightly showing Ian only his profile.

"Yes I have a little deal we could make. You scratch my itch, I scratch yours kind of thing," Ian said with a calculating smile which made me extremely suspicious of him.

"I'm not some faggot; I'm not scratching anything of yours," Travers told Ian with a slightly superior tone in his voice. I rolled my eyes and watched to see what happened next.

"Well then thankfully for you I'm interested in women also meaning I don't like you much prat," Ian said cheerfully in only a way that he could make it insulting with a kind tone at the same tone.

"Fine what do you want?"

"It's about Rowan …" Ian started.

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Merci: Private Puddin, roxy-babe912, FlamingHeart109, Holder of the Pen of Anarchy, Anatidaephobiac, gonnabefamous, yellow-eyed-pirate, lil anmei, morikoT, Always Swimming, asdf.

Jorja-Mae Andrews: Thanks I am a cliff queen as my friends used to say. Glad you like the plot but don't worry I'm a romantic at heart so eventually they'll get together. Of course they'll be dragged through mud and worse before it happens ;)

Shaina: Thanks for the suggestion about character pics. I'll probably look around myspace and find some pictures I find suiting to my characters and post them.

Mediator