You Vandal

By Twig

Note: I got the idea for this story while I was just sitting around at home, listening to music, so I hope you like it!!

@----8----

Chapter 1

      She woke him up at five on a Tuesday morning with a phone call. The sound of her voice was at the same time welcome and extremely irritating to him. Throughout the course of their five-minute conversation, he found himself longing for her and longing to wring her neck at the same time.
When she hung up, he rubbed his face in exhaustion and wondered how it was possible to love someone and hate someone so much at the same time.
It had been two weeks since he'd last heard from her. Since she'd shown up at the Book Café, her auburn hair pulled back into a casual ponytail, dressed in capris and a Hawaiian print shirt. She was leaving for Costa Rica. Wanted to clear her head.
What she didn't say, but what she clearly implied, was that she was leaving him.
Not that they were together in any typical definition of the word anyway.

      The fact that his heart bled for her obviously meant nothing.
The nights they had spent together in the days following Ethan and Theresa's wedding were, as she so delicately termed it before she left, "a mistake."
They would talk more when she got back, she assured him.
He wondered what more there was to talk about. And yet, his heart was still pounding with exhilaration from the mere fact that she had thought to call him.
Their conversation had been nothing spectacular...he was still half-asleep and she was thousands of miles away and on a phone with bad reception.
But she had called.
It was that one foolish little thing that made him believe there was still hope.

      Hope for what, he didn't know. But it was something to hold onto. As he flopped back onto the mattress and closed his eyes, trying to snare a few more moments of sleep, his mind wandered to her face.
He wondered if she was happy. He had forgotten to ask her that.
He pictured her exploring the tropical paradise, and felt a flash of jealousy as he imagined her flirting with other men. She was so far away from him.
But he forced the feeling down.
She wasn't his. He had no right to be jealous.
He should hate her.
But he couldn't.

      He briefly considered swearing off of love in its entirety. Romance obviously wanted no part of him.
But...he had thought this would be different. And it was, at least for him.
With Sheridan, it had been her beauty AND her bank account that had first attracted him to her. And in time, he had grown to love her, and got his heart trampled on for his efforts, but his initial interest had been sparked by something other than romantic interest.
With Gwen...he couldn't care less about her bank account. What drew him to her was a feeling of kinship, as though he was the only other person in the world who could possibly understand her.
What he saw reflected in her eyes was the same expression he had so often worn around Luis and Sheridan. She was hurting. And he longed desperately to reach out to her, to show her that there was life after heartbreak. He had moved on, after all.
So could she.
And he would be just the guy for her.

      Obviously, fairy tale endings were not his forte. But he wasn't supposed to want a fairy tale. He was a wanderer. He didn't put down roots.
Hank Bennett did not want to be tied down.
He had always found fairy tales to be somewhat boring. And yet, when he was with Gwen, he couldn't help but imagine a future with her.
It scared him, because he knew that there was no way in hell that would ever happen.
He wasn't her type, after all.
But she had called him, his mind reminded him, almost against its own will.
And that gave him hope.

@----8----

      Gwen stood on the glistening white sand and gazed out at the glistening azure water.
It was almost painfully beautiful.
And painfully lonely.
She cursed herself for thinking of him again. She wasn't supposed to be thinking of him. She was supposed to be clearing her head, dammit.
It was bad enough that she had called him.
What had she been thinking? She had told herself countless times that Hank Bennett was just a fling. A meaningless, brief fling.
So why, for the love of god, was she still thinking about him?

      She shook her head, auburn hair flying, and sat down in the sand, digging her toes into the soft substance. She was in paradise. She should be enjoying herself.
Her eyes scanned the length of the beach, taking in the few other people that had ventured onto the sparkling sand.
She let out an irritated sigh when she realized she was searching for him. What would she do if he showed up on the quiet little beach, a goofy grin on his face, and open arms?
"Stop that," she muttered to herself, "You want to get *away* from him."
But the truth of the matter was, she wanted to escape her feelings for him. Because no matter how much she tried to deny it, no matter what excuse she gave him, her heart fluttered when he was around. And that not only scared her, it pissed her off as well.

      Why wasn't she capable of having a meaningless, no-strings-attached fling? According to her mother, they were nothing unusual. And so what if she ended up breaking some poor guy's heart in the end? That was the way you played the game.
Except, the rules of the game never seemed to apply to Gwen. She'd been in love with one guy her entire life, and he'd gone and left her. And now...as she attempted to extract some revenge by having the aforementioned fling, she found herself falling...and falling...
She shook her head quickly. She wouldn't let herself fall in love.
She'd stay away in her little island paradise until she'd forced herself to believe that he meant nothing to her, and then she'd return to Harmony a changed woman.
No more wearing her heart on her sleeve.
So what if he *was* in love with her. She'd learned the hard way that love meant nothing these days. It would only be a matter of time before he left her for some doe-eyed, overly-cheerful little tramp anyway.

      Letting a soft sigh escape her lips, Gwen relaxed against the sand, letting the golden sun warm her skin. Her eyes fluttered closed, and she lost herself in dreams.
Damn him, she thought as she slowly fell into sleep. He wouldn’t even leave her alone while she was dreaming.

@----8----

      It was raining; a rare occurrence in Harmony. Hank cringed as a loud clap of thunder boomed over head, followed by a bright streak of lightning.
He wondered if it was sunny where Gwen was.
He hoped so, for her sake. She hated the rain. He sloshed his way down the street and finally managed to step inside the sanctuary of the Book Café, shaking the water from his clothes.
His eyes automatically scanned the crowd, looking for her familiar face. He would often find her there in the afternoon, sipping a latte and reading a magazine. Then he'd slide into the booth across from her, grinning infectiously and watching as she tried to pretend that she didn't enjoy his company.
But today, of course, she wasn't there.

      Ignoring the little pang that shot through his heart, Hank found an empty booth and sat down, letting out a depressed puff of air.
She had been gone for two weeks.
For a brief, panic-stricken moment, he wondered if she planned on staying in Costa Rica forever, but then his mind went back to the fact that she had called him that morning.
She had called him.
She wouldn't be able to stay away forever.
His gaze fell upon a travel guide, which was lying unassumingly on the magazine rack. A slow smile played at his lips as he wondered how she would react if he showed up in Costa Rica.
She would probably haul off and punch him, he realized with an amused smirk. He could already see her blue eyes blazing with indignation that he had tracked her down.

      He briefly weighed his options. He could stay in Harmony and mope around, something he'd gotten quite accustomed to, or he could take a chance and head off to Costa Rica. It was a chance in a million, he knew. But just the thought of seeing her again made his heart rise to his throat, and he knew.
He knew he had to go.
What the hell, he thought, standing up and heading back out into the rain.
Maybe...maybe she'd even be happy to see him.
He laughed as he tried to imagine the day that Gwen Hotchkiss would be happy to see him.
He could dream, couldn't he?

@----8----

      There was a shadow looming over her. Gwen felt it as soon as the warm rays of the sun left her skin and were replaced by cool shade.
She opened one eye, peering up at a silhouetted figure who stood over her.
"You're in my sun," she said, somewhat crossly.
She was moping. She wasn't in the mood for socializing, dammit.
The figure didn't move, and she glanced back up, her face a mask of indignation.
"Can I help you with something?"
"I guess I should feel privileged to know that you're this pleasant with *everyone*," he said, a laugh rumbling from his chest, "I was beginning to think it was just me."
She shot up at the sound of that voice, not daring herself to believe what her ears were telling her.

      Sure enough, there stood Hank Bennett, arms crossed, staring down at her with amusement twinkling in his eyes.
She gaped at him for a moment, certain that he must be a mirage, brought on by too many hours in the sun.
But he didn't move.
"What...what are you doing here?"
Hank felt his heart beat slightly faster. She sounded almost...happy to see him.
"I felt like going to the beach," he shrugged innocently.
She eyed him as she stood up, "I can't believe you came all the way here."
"You're a tough person to track down, you know that?" Hank smirked at her, "After I got off the plane it took me almost a whole day to find someone who recognized your picture."

      "I don't know whether to be flattered or frightened," Gwen laughed nervously, unable to take her eyes off of his face. The face she had dreamed of for the past two weeks.
Despite what she'd tried, she hadn't been able to banish him from her heart.
"Flattered," Hank whispered, leaning close enough to her that she could feel his breath on her face, "Definitely flattered."
His proximity made her knees weak.
"I hate you, you know that?" she murmured back, but her heart wasn't in it.
"And I love you, you know that?" Hank replied.
"I know," she nodded slowly, her eyes locked with his.

      "Well," Hank laughed lightly, "That's a start."
Gwen replied by leaning up and brushing her lips against his, unable to stop herself.
And she realized, as she kissed him, that she didn't want to stop herself.
"I don't hate you," she whispered as they broke apart slightly.
"I know."
And he kissed her again, and all of the thoughts that had been weighing so heavily on her mind for the past two weeks suddenly vanished from her mind.
She had taken a vacation to get away from him and clear her head, but her head was only clear when he was around.

      She pulled away from him slightly and relaxed into his embrace, glancing around at their surroundings.
The sun was setting over the water, casting beautiful orange and pink hues.
"Walk into the sunset with me?" Hank offered teasingly.
Gwen bit her lip and nodded, reaching for his hand and twining their fingers together.
And they slowly walked off down the beach.

THE END

I know it was short, but for some reason it was begging me to write it, so I hope you all enjoyed!!
Feedback is cherished!

:o)

~Twig