Post by britchick on Oct 20, 2007 13:10:45 GMT -5
Hi Everyone - welcome to part 7! Am a little unhappy with this one ... I couldn't quite seem to get the wording right no matter how hard I tried ... let me know your thoughts!
Title - Apolo & Julianne - What Happened Next? Part 7
Author - Britchick1980
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - This story is a complete and utter figment of my imagination. I have never met either Apolo Anton Ohno, Julianne Hough or any other celebrity that features and the occurrences in this story have been completely fabricated.
Note - Please note that this is my first attempt at writing fiction so please be kind! Any constructive criticism is most welcome because it is the only way in which I will be able to develop my writing skills. Also, please remember that I am British and therefore there will be some disparity in spelling etc.
What Happened Next? Part 7
As I leant into Apolo to kiss him goodbye the tantalising musky smell of his aftershave flooded my senses and made me ache for the life that we had once shared together.
He may have changed over the years but his aftershave had not and the smell of it brought back such intense feelings of love and pain that I feared would shatter my heart into a million pieces if I did not leave him immediately.
Walking towards airport security, I turned one last time to take a mental picture of him that I could carry with me back to LA. Blinking rapidly to suppress the tears and swallowing hard to try to fight the lump that was forming in my throat I forced a smile and waved at him. The agonizing look in his eyes pushed me over the edge making me re-treat quickly through security before I lost the battle against my tears completely.
It was after I cleared security and was heading towards my gate that the tears began to fall with ever increasing speed. By the time I had reached the ladies restroom I was convulsing with the pain and my face had been wiped clean of any make-up.
As the sobbing erupted from me grew louder I retreated to a cubicle locking the door behind me. Crouching down with my back to the cubicle door I put my head in my hands and tried to regain my composure.
Grabbing around in my purse I located some tissues and pressed them against my face to try to stem the flow of tears. Each time I thought I had my emotions under control I remembered Apolo’s eyes in departures and the agony I had seen in them which would start another storm within me sending tidal wave after tidal wave of tears down my face.
I sat there in that cubicle until the first call for my flight was announced. Unlocking the door I walked slowly towards the hand basins. The mirror above the basins recorded each particle of harsh light that reflected off my pale face and red eyes. Retrieving some make-up from my purse I quickly splashed my face with cold water and then applied a happy mask to cover the distress I was still feeling. The tears may have stalled temporarily but my internal organs still felt twisted making me nauseous. Closing my purse and planting a strained smile on my face I headed out of the restroom door and towards my flight.
As the plane sped down the run-way and into the air I leant forward to see the sparkling lights of Vancouver disappear beneath a blanket of cloud. Sitting back in my seat I finally began to face the truth of what had happened that day. Whilst Apolo had acted like a complete gentleman and, at times, had relax enough to let some of the old Apolo shine through there was this seemingly impenetrable wall that he would have erected most of time to stop me from getting too close. This wall was reflected in his gaze. When the wall was down you could see into his soul but soon enough the wall would re-appear to block out all emotion and left his eyes lifeless.
Oh! What have you done Julianne? You made a break through his steely exterior when teaching him before but now it was back with vengeance and you have no-one to blame but yourself.
The soft rocking of the turbulent plane and the exertions of my hysterics earlier soon lulled me into a light sleep, but even in my dreams I was not free of Apolo and my guilt. Memories from the night that I left him and the subsequent wedding flooded my brain. Crawling out of his bed just before dawn, dressing in silence, kissing him gently on the head before walking out of his life for what I thought was forever. The despair I had felt as I walked down the isle and hammered the final nail into the coffin of mine and Apolo’s relationship. Why did you do it? Why? Why? Why?
“Ms Hough, Ms Hough, are you OK Ms Hough?” I was woken by the gentle voice of the air-hostess who was looking at me sympathetically as I opened my eyes. I stared at her for a second confused as to why she would think that I wasn’t ok. It was then that I felt a tear drop roll down my cheek. I had been crying in my sleep.
The rest of the flight went by in a whirl. After reassuring the air-hostess that I was fine and thanking her for her kindness I resumed my sleeping position. Whilst I could not get back to sleep for the fear that the dream would return I did however enter a dazed state which allowed me a little bit of peace from the reality of my life and the tiring emotions that went with it. After the plane docked at LAX airport I went through the motions of disembarking and going through passport control.
On the other side it took all my remaining energy to hail a cab to take me home. Climbing into the back of the cab I still felt detached from everything that was going on around me. I wasn’t sure whether it was physical tiredness or emotional over exhaustion that was causing this detachment but what I was sure of was that I just wanted to get home and crawl into my bed.
After being in the cab for what seemed like hours it finally pulled up outside my house. After paying the driver, I collected my mail and slowly made my way up the same drive I had walked down only 19 hours earlier but without the faint hope I had harboured back then that Apolo might find it in his heart to forgive me.
Sighing, I unlocked my door, threw the mail on the hall table and then headed for my bedroom to crawl between the soft sheets and submerge myself in the comfort and reassurance they provided.
I awoke late morning to the smell of pancakes and the clatter of dishes coming from my kitchen. Slipping on my robe and slippers I padded quietly downstairs to see who was responsible for waking me from my slumber. I am not expecting any visitors today, Should I be nervous? Has someone broken in? Don’t be so stupid Julianne! Why on Earth would an intruder be cooking pancakes and making so much noise!
Opening the door to my kitchen I hesitated for a moment and then moved slowly into the room. To my surprise, there stood by brother with a perplexed look on his face, covered in flour and wearing a flowery apron that I had inherited from my mum when I had left home.
“Derek! What are you doing here?” I ask somewhat relieved.
Trying to wreck the joint by the looks of it! I thought as I surveyed the mess in my usually spotless kitchen. Every bowl, dish and kitchen utensil that I owned was covered in pancake mix and there even appeared to be a splattering of it on the ceiling.
“Um hi Jules” Derek said whilst shaking his head trying to get the flour out of his hair. “I thought that after your trip yesterday you might need someone to talk too.” He said looking over at me questioningly. “I rang the bell but you didn’t answer so I figured that you were still asleep so I let myself in and decided to cook a lovely breakfast for us whilst I waited. Except I don’t think that this breakfast is going to be so lovely after all” he said looking forlornly at the watery mix simmering in the frying pan.
I suppressed a giggle. Oh bless his heart, he meant well! He had guessed that I would feel low today regardless of how my trip to Vancouver had gone and wanted to comfort me. Taking the spatula from him that he was brandishing, I gave him a hug (dousing myself with flour at the same time) to show him that I understood his actions and then set about making us the perfect breakfast. The perfect breakfast for the perfect brother!
Breakfast was ready 20 minutes later and was perfectly timed .... just as Derek emerged from the bathroom having showered and looking a lot less like a little boy helping his mother bake a cake. As we sat down we toasted the feast that we were about to enjoy with our coffees and then began to tuck in.
We must have sat there for about five minutes in almost pure silence apart from the crunching of waffles, slurping of coffee and the appreciative murmurs that were coming from Derek as he devoured his food. Suddenly he put his knife and fork down quietly and stared at me intently, I knew what was coming next .......
“So Jules, do you want to talk about it?”
My eyes flickered from the clock on the cooker, to the vase of flowers on the window sill, to the jug of orange juice on the table in front of me .... anywhere, to stop me from having to meet Derek’s eyes.
“Do I want to talk about what? I enquired hesitantly trying to stall for time.
“About yesterday, Vancouver, your meeting with Apolo”.
All I could do was shrug my shoulders and reply “It was OK thanks”. I really didn’t want to go there just now. I was still feeling delicate and I couldn’t trust myself to talk about things without crying.
Sensing my reluctance to talk he tried a different approach. Moving from his seat opposite me, Derek came around and sat beside me. Taking my hand and making me meet his eyes he reassured me that if I didn’t want to talk about it he wouldn’t make me but that he was always there to listen if I ever did.
His kindness brought me to the brink of tears. I felt that I didn’t deserve it. My actions had reduced Apolo to a shadow of his former self and here Derek was treating me like I was the one who had been wronged.
Seeing the tears in my eyes Derek impulsively drew me into a hug. “It can’t have been that bad Jules! Did he get angry? Did he shout?”
Feeling as though I owed Derek an explanation for my over-emotional state I sat back and tried to explain yesterday’s events to him.
“No, Apolo didn’t get angry, he was a perfect gentleman as always. Opening doors for me, carrying my bags, it’s just that he did all these things for me with no emotion. In the old days he did those things with love in his eyes, but yesterday, it was as if he was on autopilot and he did those things in the same way he would have done them for any other woman who was in his company.”
The tears began to fall as I continued “And he was so cold at times. One moment he would be relaxed and we would be chatting away like in the old days and then suddenly he would clam up and withdraw into himself as though he had just remembered what I had done to him”.
“Oh Jules, I’m sorry if this seems harsh but what did you expect? Apolo was devastated after what happened. After you married I ran into him one day and he was broken Jules. You can’t just expect everything to spring back to the way it was. It is not impossible to sort out though. It will just take strength and patience and I know that you have those attributes in abundance. When the time is right you have to tell him the truth, it is simple as that Jules!”
Looking over at Derek I smiled through my tears. You could always rely on Derek to be straight with you, tell it like it is, and if you didn’t like what you heard then he would tell you how to fix it. You are very lucky to have a brother like him Jules, very lucky!
After Derek left to meet Bruno Tonioli I set about my tasks for the day. If I kept myself busy then I wouldn’t have time to sit around and worry about the Apolo situation so I gave the house a quick clean and then sat down to try and book a studio for our rehearsals. Over dinner last night Apolo had told me that he had just bought a house in LA and that he would be returning here later in the week after the closing ceremony to sign the final papers and that once he had moved in we could start training. We had decided that a fortnight would give him sufficient time to do this and that training would consist of two five hour sessions a day. I thought Apolo would have protested when I had suggested such a full-on schedule but the champion in him had took it on the chin.
Just as I had finished making the final arrangements with the studio there was a knock at my front door. Closing my diary I got up to answer it. Peering through the spy-hole first as a precaution I was greeted with the sight of the most beautiful bunch of flowers I have ever seen. My breath caught in my throat. Could they be from Apolo? Could Apolo have sent me flowers? In my excitement I flung the door open and grabbed at the flowers like a woman possessed. I glanced apologetically at the delivery man before signing the docket he was holding and then rushing back into the house letting the door slam behind me.
Setting the flowers on the table I removed the note attached to them and with shaking hands opened the envelope:
My Darling Julianne,
Pink roses are the flower of friendship,
The pink Heather represents luck.
Had I known the truth I would never have agreed to the marriage.
But as one door closes another one opens ... may our friendship last forever and I wish you all the luck in the world for your future.
With love
Zack xx
Standing back I stared at the flowers for a second somewhat confused. What was he going on about? As one door closes another one opens ...... It was then that I noticed the mail on the hall table where I had left it the night before and in particular a letter marked “Confidential, Important Document Enclosed”. I picked it up and opened it carefully. Unfolding the document I read it quickly. When finished I walked into the living room with mixed emotions and sat down letting the text flutter to the floor. I had a waited along time for that document. My “Decree Absolute”. That was it, my marriage was officially over and now the whole world would know about it.
Title - Apolo & Julianne - What Happened Next? Part 7
Author - Britchick1980
Rating - PG
Disclaimer - This story is a complete and utter figment of my imagination. I have never met either Apolo Anton Ohno, Julianne Hough or any other celebrity that features and the occurrences in this story have been completely fabricated.
Note - Please note that this is my first attempt at writing fiction so please be kind! Any constructive criticism is most welcome because it is the only way in which I will be able to develop my writing skills. Also, please remember that I am British and therefore there will be some disparity in spelling etc.
What Happened Next? Part 7
As I leant into Apolo to kiss him goodbye the tantalising musky smell of his aftershave flooded my senses and made me ache for the life that we had once shared together.
He may have changed over the years but his aftershave had not and the smell of it brought back such intense feelings of love and pain that I feared would shatter my heart into a million pieces if I did not leave him immediately.
Walking towards airport security, I turned one last time to take a mental picture of him that I could carry with me back to LA. Blinking rapidly to suppress the tears and swallowing hard to try to fight the lump that was forming in my throat I forced a smile and waved at him. The agonizing look in his eyes pushed me over the edge making me re-treat quickly through security before I lost the battle against my tears completely.
It was after I cleared security and was heading towards my gate that the tears began to fall with ever increasing speed. By the time I had reached the ladies restroom I was convulsing with the pain and my face had been wiped clean of any make-up.
As the sobbing erupted from me grew louder I retreated to a cubicle locking the door behind me. Crouching down with my back to the cubicle door I put my head in my hands and tried to regain my composure.
Grabbing around in my purse I located some tissues and pressed them against my face to try to stem the flow of tears. Each time I thought I had my emotions under control I remembered Apolo’s eyes in departures and the agony I had seen in them which would start another storm within me sending tidal wave after tidal wave of tears down my face.
I sat there in that cubicle until the first call for my flight was announced. Unlocking the door I walked slowly towards the hand basins. The mirror above the basins recorded each particle of harsh light that reflected off my pale face and red eyes. Retrieving some make-up from my purse I quickly splashed my face with cold water and then applied a happy mask to cover the distress I was still feeling. The tears may have stalled temporarily but my internal organs still felt twisted making me nauseous. Closing my purse and planting a strained smile on my face I headed out of the restroom door and towards my flight.
As the plane sped down the run-way and into the air I leant forward to see the sparkling lights of Vancouver disappear beneath a blanket of cloud. Sitting back in my seat I finally began to face the truth of what had happened that day. Whilst Apolo had acted like a complete gentleman and, at times, had relax enough to let some of the old Apolo shine through there was this seemingly impenetrable wall that he would have erected most of time to stop me from getting too close. This wall was reflected in his gaze. When the wall was down you could see into his soul but soon enough the wall would re-appear to block out all emotion and left his eyes lifeless.
Oh! What have you done Julianne? You made a break through his steely exterior when teaching him before but now it was back with vengeance and you have no-one to blame but yourself.
The soft rocking of the turbulent plane and the exertions of my hysterics earlier soon lulled me into a light sleep, but even in my dreams I was not free of Apolo and my guilt. Memories from the night that I left him and the subsequent wedding flooded my brain. Crawling out of his bed just before dawn, dressing in silence, kissing him gently on the head before walking out of his life for what I thought was forever. The despair I had felt as I walked down the isle and hammered the final nail into the coffin of mine and Apolo’s relationship. Why did you do it? Why? Why? Why?
“Ms Hough, Ms Hough, are you OK Ms Hough?” I was woken by the gentle voice of the air-hostess who was looking at me sympathetically as I opened my eyes. I stared at her for a second confused as to why she would think that I wasn’t ok. It was then that I felt a tear drop roll down my cheek. I had been crying in my sleep.
The rest of the flight went by in a whirl. After reassuring the air-hostess that I was fine and thanking her for her kindness I resumed my sleeping position. Whilst I could not get back to sleep for the fear that the dream would return I did however enter a dazed state which allowed me a little bit of peace from the reality of my life and the tiring emotions that went with it. After the plane docked at LAX airport I went through the motions of disembarking and going through passport control.
On the other side it took all my remaining energy to hail a cab to take me home. Climbing into the back of the cab I still felt detached from everything that was going on around me. I wasn’t sure whether it was physical tiredness or emotional over exhaustion that was causing this detachment but what I was sure of was that I just wanted to get home and crawl into my bed.
After being in the cab for what seemed like hours it finally pulled up outside my house. After paying the driver, I collected my mail and slowly made my way up the same drive I had walked down only 19 hours earlier but without the faint hope I had harboured back then that Apolo might find it in his heart to forgive me.
Sighing, I unlocked my door, threw the mail on the hall table and then headed for my bedroom to crawl between the soft sheets and submerge myself in the comfort and reassurance they provided.
I awoke late morning to the smell of pancakes and the clatter of dishes coming from my kitchen. Slipping on my robe and slippers I padded quietly downstairs to see who was responsible for waking me from my slumber. I am not expecting any visitors today, Should I be nervous? Has someone broken in? Don’t be so stupid Julianne! Why on Earth would an intruder be cooking pancakes and making so much noise!
Opening the door to my kitchen I hesitated for a moment and then moved slowly into the room. To my surprise, there stood by brother with a perplexed look on his face, covered in flour and wearing a flowery apron that I had inherited from my mum when I had left home.
“Derek! What are you doing here?” I ask somewhat relieved.
Trying to wreck the joint by the looks of it! I thought as I surveyed the mess in my usually spotless kitchen. Every bowl, dish and kitchen utensil that I owned was covered in pancake mix and there even appeared to be a splattering of it on the ceiling.
“Um hi Jules” Derek said whilst shaking his head trying to get the flour out of his hair. “I thought that after your trip yesterday you might need someone to talk too.” He said looking over at me questioningly. “I rang the bell but you didn’t answer so I figured that you were still asleep so I let myself in and decided to cook a lovely breakfast for us whilst I waited. Except I don’t think that this breakfast is going to be so lovely after all” he said looking forlornly at the watery mix simmering in the frying pan.
I suppressed a giggle. Oh bless his heart, he meant well! He had guessed that I would feel low today regardless of how my trip to Vancouver had gone and wanted to comfort me. Taking the spatula from him that he was brandishing, I gave him a hug (dousing myself with flour at the same time) to show him that I understood his actions and then set about making us the perfect breakfast. The perfect breakfast for the perfect brother!
Breakfast was ready 20 minutes later and was perfectly timed .... just as Derek emerged from the bathroom having showered and looking a lot less like a little boy helping his mother bake a cake. As we sat down we toasted the feast that we were about to enjoy with our coffees and then began to tuck in.
We must have sat there for about five minutes in almost pure silence apart from the crunching of waffles, slurping of coffee and the appreciative murmurs that were coming from Derek as he devoured his food. Suddenly he put his knife and fork down quietly and stared at me intently, I knew what was coming next .......
“So Jules, do you want to talk about it?”
My eyes flickered from the clock on the cooker, to the vase of flowers on the window sill, to the jug of orange juice on the table in front of me .... anywhere, to stop me from having to meet Derek’s eyes.
“Do I want to talk about what? I enquired hesitantly trying to stall for time.
“About yesterday, Vancouver, your meeting with Apolo”.
All I could do was shrug my shoulders and reply “It was OK thanks”. I really didn’t want to go there just now. I was still feeling delicate and I couldn’t trust myself to talk about things without crying.
Sensing my reluctance to talk he tried a different approach. Moving from his seat opposite me, Derek came around and sat beside me. Taking my hand and making me meet his eyes he reassured me that if I didn’t want to talk about it he wouldn’t make me but that he was always there to listen if I ever did.
His kindness brought me to the brink of tears. I felt that I didn’t deserve it. My actions had reduced Apolo to a shadow of his former self and here Derek was treating me like I was the one who had been wronged.
Seeing the tears in my eyes Derek impulsively drew me into a hug. “It can’t have been that bad Jules! Did he get angry? Did he shout?”
Feeling as though I owed Derek an explanation for my over-emotional state I sat back and tried to explain yesterday’s events to him.
“No, Apolo didn’t get angry, he was a perfect gentleman as always. Opening doors for me, carrying my bags, it’s just that he did all these things for me with no emotion. In the old days he did those things with love in his eyes, but yesterday, it was as if he was on autopilot and he did those things in the same way he would have done them for any other woman who was in his company.”
The tears began to fall as I continued “And he was so cold at times. One moment he would be relaxed and we would be chatting away like in the old days and then suddenly he would clam up and withdraw into himself as though he had just remembered what I had done to him”.
“Oh Jules, I’m sorry if this seems harsh but what did you expect? Apolo was devastated after what happened. After you married I ran into him one day and he was broken Jules. You can’t just expect everything to spring back to the way it was. It is not impossible to sort out though. It will just take strength and patience and I know that you have those attributes in abundance. When the time is right you have to tell him the truth, it is simple as that Jules!”
Looking over at Derek I smiled through my tears. You could always rely on Derek to be straight with you, tell it like it is, and if you didn’t like what you heard then he would tell you how to fix it. You are very lucky to have a brother like him Jules, very lucky!
After Derek left to meet Bruno Tonioli I set about my tasks for the day. If I kept myself busy then I wouldn’t have time to sit around and worry about the Apolo situation so I gave the house a quick clean and then sat down to try and book a studio for our rehearsals. Over dinner last night Apolo had told me that he had just bought a house in LA and that he would be returning here later in the week after the closing ceremony to sign the final papers and that once he had moved in we could start training. We had decided that a fortnight would give him sufficient time to do this and that training would consist of two five hour sessions a day. I thought Apolo would have protested when I had suggested such a full-on schedule but the champion in him had took it on the chin.
Just as I had finished making the final arrangements with the studio there was a knock at my front door. Closing my diary I got up to answer it. Peering through the spy-hole first as a precaution I was greeted with the sight of the most beautiful bunch of flowers I have ever seen. My breath caught in my throat. Could they be from Apolo? Could Apolo have sent me flowers? In my excitement I flung the door open and grabbed at the flowers like a woman possessed. I glanced apologetically at the delivery man before signing the docket he was holding and then rushing back into the house letting the door slam behind me.
Setting the flowers on the table I removed the note attached to them and with shaking hands opened the envelope:
My Darling Julianne,
Pink roses are the flower of friendship,
The pink Heather represents luck.
Had I known the truth I would never have agreed to the marriage.
But as one door closes another one opens ... may our friendship last forever and I wish you all the luck in the world for your future.
With love
Zack xx
Standing back I stared at the flowers for a second somewhat confused. What was he going on about? As one door closes another one opens ...... It was then that I noticed the mail on the hall table where I had left it the night before and in particular a letter marked “Confidential, Important Document Enclosed”. I picked it up and opened it carefully. Unfolding the document I read it quickly. When finished I walked into the living room with mixed emotions and sat down letting the text flutter to the floor. I had a waited along time for that document. My “Decree Absolute”. That was it, my marriage was officially over and now the whole world would know about it.
More, more, more please. 
