Running Into You [Josh <3]

[emma]

December 18th, 2008

Emma was in the veterinary practice, the day before she'd had to put a cast on a little puppy's leg because it had somehow got broken, the owners hadn't said how it had happened, but they had been so upset, she had to assume it had indeed been an accident.

The puppy in question was a six month old Dalmatian and already quite big, to make sure she could walk properly Emma wanted to take her out for a walk. The owners hadn't been very clever with the name and called her Perdy after the dog in 101 Dalmatians. Emma remembered she had to keep a straight face when they told her the dog's name.

Going over to the cage where Perdy was she opened it, and stroked the dog's head, then give her a kiss. "Hey girl, you up for a walk? Let's see how you're doing" Emma spoke softly to the animal, as she gently lifted her out and put her onto the ground. Of course she was limping as a four legged dog with problems does, but she seemed to be coping alright.

Emma went over to the door, opened it quietly, and locked the door as she decided to take Perdy for a walk around the block. On doing so though, Perdy saw another dog, and started to make a run for it which had surprised Emma considerably after all the animal only had an operation the previous day to set a bone into place. "Hey girl, you shouldn't be running" Emma said, her English accent very clear. It was almost as if Emma had no control over the puppy at all as she went bounding toward the dog on the other side of the road. However, Perdy's attention was averted from the dog when it's owner put it into his van, and because she was already running so fast pulling Emma along, she headed instead for this guy who was right in Perdy's path.

Being the fluffy, sweet dog that she was she jumped up onto the guy with quite a force, and started licking his face. With her free hand, Emma put it up to her mouth.

"Oh gosh, I'm terribly sorry" she said again her English accent very strong. "I don't know what's come over her, she just had an operation yesterday" Emma rushed, trying to explain away the reason why it was a miracle the dog had even run in the first place.

[joshmoore]

It was the perfect day to go out and walk. Josh decided that he needed to get out and do something other than just sit around and play video games all day. In fact, Josh wanted to do just that, but knowing Katie, she’d yell at him until he did something productive. Josh could always argue with her and tell her that playing video games was productive. Before thinking about joining Primatech, Josh had thought about becoming a video game creator, which, if you knew what you were doing, paid good money.

However, Katie would complain that he was becoming a vampire—hell, he wanted to become a vampire—and so would kick him out of the house. And Katie probably would kick him out of the house for all he knew. So, instead of being kicked out of the house by his twin, Josh decided to save Katie the trouble and kick himself out.

“Yo, Bomber?” Josh said over his mic, “I’ve got to go. I’ll get back on later, then we can play co-op again. Try and find the last skull for ya, okay?”

This prompted Bomber—actually Bomberman2.0—to say, “Of course, JoBro, just come back and tell me if you run into any hot girls.”

Josh laughed, and said, “Will do, Bomber.” Then he signed off of Xbox live, put his headset and controller down, and turned off his Xbox 360. If only Katie could see him now.

Josh pulled on his sweatshirt, but it really didn’t make much of a difference, because it was cold and he always, for some strange reason, stayed hot. He slipped on his Vans, and locked the door behind him, taking along with him his trusty key. Then, after slipping his key in his pocket, he started off. He chose a random direction, and smiled when the random direction took him downtown. Normally his random directions took him to old friend’s houses, or worse, Gramma’s house.

Josh was beginning to like the outsides when he heard a girl yelling. He looked up just in time to see a half-grown black and white furball ram into him. He went sprawling backwards, landing on his butt, and getting dog slobber up his nose. The first thought that came to his mind was, ‘oh god, please not Katie!’ but he realized that Katie was not around, and this dog was just being cheerfully licky. After a second of relief, Josh heard a voice.

He didn’t hear what the voice had said—he had sorta been all tied up with the ferocious mutt—but he did know that the voice had a strange accent. He looked up at the girl, and gawked. ‘Oh, Bomber, I wonder if you prophesized it.’ Josh thought, and pushed the dog off of him. ‘I’ve just met the hottest girl on the planet.’

But all he could stammer out was, “O-oh, it’s your dog?”

[emma]

Emma couldn't believe Perdy had knocked the guy over, jumping up onto him was bad enough but knocking him down onto his backside was just awful, and Emma didn't quite know where to look. Normally that kind of thing would have made her laugh but she felt it was hardly the right time to laugh. He was still on the ground when he stammered something about the dog being her own.

"I really am very sorry" Emma said again, "Here, let me help you up" she said kindly, as she offered her hand to help haul him back to his feet. Now Perdy decided to sit by her side like a good girl as she whimpered slightly. Emma knelt down to the puppy's level and stroked her head a few times. "There, there, you silly girl, you shouldn't have been running like that" she said almost scolding the dog, but saying it in such soothing tones. The dog soon stopped her whimpering.

"Well at least I know the operation didn't go wrong" she said to nobody in particular and laughed a little. After being so embarrassed at Perdy knocking the guy over, and realising just how devilishly handsome he was, the words finally reached her brain. The words the said guy Perdy had knocked over said. She waved her hand a little and shaking her head, "Oh, no, she's not my dog. I'm a veterinary doctor, she was my patient yesterday" Emma explained with a glowing smile.

"I hope she didn't hurt you" Emma said, still very embarrassed about the fact the dog had knocked him over onto the ground. Where had he come from anyway, she hadn't seen him when Perdy started running for the over dog, how come she only saw him now? Was he dropped from heaven for her?

"Anyway, I'm really sorry again, I should get her back to the practice, her owners will be collecting her soon" she said with a smile as she began to walk away from him. However, something stopped her from continuing, "I'll be closing the practice for the day once Perdy's owners come for her, you're welcome to wait, and then I can buy you a drink by way of apology" Emma said, still feeling slightly sheepish that the dog had knocked over this guy.

"Emma Woods by the way, not that it's been much of a pleasure for you I imagine" she said with a grin as she made her way back to the practice.

[joshmoore]

Did he really just say that? Did he really just say, ‘oh, is that your dog?’ What the heck was he thinking? Josh mentally punched himself in the side, knowing he’d really need to get better pick-up lines next time he met a hot girl like this one. He wasn’t terribly embarrassed about falling on his rear—he was used to Katie doing things to him in public all the time. He grabbed the girl’s hand and stood up, which felt a lot better than sitting on the ground. He wiped off his face, and smiled lopsidedly.

“Oh, a doctor for animals.” Josh said, which wasn’t much better than, ‘oh, is that your dog?’ But at least it wasn’t as crappy. He watched as the lady soothed the dog, and mentally thought about punting the thing halfway across the street—a dog like that had hurt Katie, and he’d never really liked dogs since. Of course, though, this one was a puppy, and the only harm she’d done was put slobber up his nose.

“Oh, not at all.” Josh said in answer to the lady’s query about if the dog had hurt him. How would a puppy hurt someone? When she began to walk away, Josh groaned, knowing he’d let a pretty lady walk out of his grasp. But when she turned around and told him she’d buy him a drink as a way of apology, he brightened. Maybe he hadn’t let this lady slip away so easily. However, Josh never drank. “Umm, that’d be awesome, miss.” Josh said, and mentally slapped himself again.

Then the lady said her name, which Josh thought matched her perfectly. “Emma Woods,” Josh echoed, “nice to meet you. I’m Josh Moore. And it is a pleasure to meet a woman, even if I have to fall on my butt in the process.” Josh said, following her. Hey, if she was going to buy him a drink, he’d rather wait around.

[emma]

Emma just grinned when Josh spoke of her being a doctor for animals. "That's right, you can indeed call it that" she agreed as she smiled at him again. She still couldn't believe Perdy had knocked over such a handsome looking guy, it was almost as if it had been planned, although Emma didn't really believe in miracle people falling from heaven, but she was sure going to make the most of this.

"I'm sure glad she didn't hurt you, but I didn't think she could hurt anybody, not on purpose anyway, she's such a softy" Emma said, and fluffed up the dogs head, "Aren't you Perdy, you're just a softy" the dog licked her hand in agreement to what Emma said to the dog, as she then walked back to the practice, pleased to hear the guy say he'd be happy to go for a drink.

She smiled as he repeated her name, "Well it's nice to meet you Josh Moore" Emma said and blushed ever so slightly when he then went on to say it was a pleasure even if he had to fall on his butt. She looked back again and was happy to see he was following her.

She opened the practice up, collected together all the personal items for Perdy and just as she did so, her owners came into the practice.

"Is she ready?" Mrs Jones asked with a smile.

"Of course she is Mrs Jones" Emma said, as she brought Perdy out to the correct side of the counter, "This is painkillers she may need them, only give them to her if she seems in any discomfort" Emma explained softly, with a smile. "But she seems to be doing just fine, and we'll see you back in four weeks to remove the cast and I'll send the bill to you" Emma explained still continuing the smile.

"Thank you Miss Woods" said Mrs Jones as she and had daughter walked out of the practice with their little puppy Perdy. Now Emma could turn her attention to Josh full time.

"So, I'm done for the day, I'm all yours now" she said with a grin, as she hung up her white coat, leaving her in a strappy pale blue satin top, and a black crushed velvet skirt, she then took the pin out which had been holding her hair in a bun at the back of her head, and it fall loosely around her face, with soft curls hanging down either side.

"Let's go" she said as she stepped outside the practice, waiting for Josh to leave behind her, so she could lock the practice and head to her local bar. She wasn't old enough to drink alcohol, but she usually got her favourite non alcoholic drink which consisted of fresh orange and lemonade.

[joshmoore]

Josh followed Emma to her store-thing, and waited outside. No need to go in just because she’d opened the store. Hadn’t the girl said something about closing shop when the mutt’s owners came? Then he would wait for the owners to come outside. He really didn’t feel like sitting there awkwardly while Emma rushed about the store doing Emma-things.

A couple walked up to the store, okay, not a couple, a mother and her daughter, but they were still together, right? He watched as they entered the store, and came out a minute later with the overactive dog. That mutt should be taught some lessons or something. He watched them walk away, and didn’t notice Emma closing up shop until she turned to him.

“All mine now?” Josh asked, dazed. Wait, when had Emma ever been his, and why the hell would she when they just met? But that did sound fun, having a hot babe like Emma all his. However, Josh had spent too much time with Katie to really think of the consequences of what Emma had said.

“Uh-huh, so where’re we going to go? I, personally, like hanging out at Seven Elevens and making the staff mad at me.” Josh said, grinning. He really did like making the staff of Seven Eleven mad, and he’d been kicked out more than once. “But, if you were thinking of a better place, you should tell me. I don’t really get out with… girls… that often.”

[emma]

While Emma had been getting Perdy ready for her owners, she noticed Josh had waited outside. She figured from his reaction so far he wasn't very keen on dogs, well just because she was a soft touch for animals, didn't mean everybody had to be, right? She was pleased however when Perdy's owners had finally came for her, because not only did it signal the end of her working day, it also signalled the start of some fun with the sweet guy who was standing outside her practice right now.

When he seemed a bit dazed at her saying she was all his now, she hadn't even realised that it might sound different to an American, as it was a typical British phrase. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't really mean anything by that, it must be a typical British thing to say, I just meant that now I was finished, we could go for that drink I mentioned earlier" she explained, or hoped she had explained with a smile on her face.

Emma could only smiled at Josh as he spoke of where they were going to go. She really didn't mind. Shaking her head softly and smiling, "Well I was only going to go to my local, nothing very lush, we can go to Seven Eleven if you want to though, it's really not a problem" she said very kindly. After all she was treating him for the dog knocking him over, so it really should be a place he would rather go.

She never said anything when he mentioned not going out with girls often, but to herself she was wondering why, because he was simply gorgeous, why would any female resist him, how could they? She was going to find it very difficult to keep her composure around him, she certainly didn't want to come on too strong and frighten the guy away.

[joshmoore]

Josh looked at Emma when she said they could go wherever he wanted. Wait, wasn’t it supposed to be the girl who suggests places to go? Katie did that all the time… or maybe it was just Katie. Josh didn’t want to look like he was awestruck at the girl, but in truth he was. He was awestruck because she put him first… did she do that to everyone? If she did, he was going to really like her, ‘cause she was almost just like Katie… though different.

Even if one of those differences were Emma’s voice.

Not that Emma’s voice was bad. In fact, Josh thought Emma’s voice made Emma who she was. He doubted that, even though he’d just met her, she would be the same Emma without that wonderful English-accented voice.

“No,” he decided firmly, wanting to hear her speak again. He was suddenly fascinated with that English voice. “Not somewhere I want. You may be buying me a drink, but I want you to pick out the place.” He stuck his hands in his pockets—a childish thing to do for him—and looked at Emma. He wondered if she’d just take it like that, or if she’d complain with him. ‘Katie complains,’ Josh thought, ‘so why wouldn’t she?’

Of course, Josh didn’t really have that many girl friends—he usually stuck to his gender or his Xbox.

[emma]

Emma stood, or rather walked with Josh as he made up his mind what he wanted to do, where he wanted to go. Emma didn't mind either way, but she wanted him to have the choice because as far as Emma was concerned she was treating him for the dog knocking him over.

When he did speak however, he said no, that it was to be her choice. So with that in mind, she decided that maybe she would just stick with her original plan and go to her local which was where she was going to go in the first place. She could get her favourite drink then, and the barman there knew exactly how much of each to put into the glass to make it perfect for her.

"Alright then, if you insist" Emma said grinning broadly at him, "I was planning on going to my local which is called The Red Lion, it's run by English people, so of course they do the most wonderful English food and they know how to make my perfect non alcoholic cocktail" she explained, her accent very strong against Josh's own wonderful American accent.

She hoped that Josh would like the place, it was really nice, it was very British with its interior she felt. Nice soft seats which had their own little booths with a table each. The walls were covered with framed photos of British scenic towns, Union Jack flag, the English flag and of course framed photos and porcelain wall plates of Prince Charles, The Queen, The Queen Mother and Princess Diana herself.

"It's across from where I live actually" she added, as they both continued to walk, and after about five minutes they were there. As she approached the place, she stopped and turned to face Josh with a smile, "Well this is it" she said, as she opened the door and held it open for him.

[joshmoore]

Not that Josh had ever gone to a bar, but he hadn’t gone to this bar. And, tell the truth, Josh had never even heard of the bar Emma was taking him to. Sure, he’d heard there was a British bar somewhere, but he’d never heard the name of it.

And if it was across the street from Emma, maybe he would try to remember it once in a while. What was stopping him from just disappearing here and now? She’d done nothing to him but have her dog jump on him. Why should he still be here? Why was he still here? Oh, because she was hot. And her accent could kill a young man’s heart.

It had certainly killed his heart. That was why Josh was still following Emma. He followed her blankly, thinking nothing. Absolutely nothing. He just walked, almost like a robot but not as mechanic, following close behind her. She smelled pretty. And she wasn’t exactly an eyesore—quite the opposite.

“This is it?” Josh echoed, looking at the bar. It didn’t look really different on the outside, but looks, Josh knew from experience—maily his brothers—could be deceiving. “No, let me get it.” Josh said, suddenly realizing that a girl was holding the door open for a boy. He reached across her and took hold of the door. “Proper etiquette, and don’t go all women’s activist on me; I’m holding the door open for you whether you like it or not.”

[emma]

While walking along with Josh, Emma kept giving him little side glances, she wasn't entirely sure why, but there was definitely something she liked about him. Some sort of attraction possibly? She couldn't quite explain it, but it was almost like he was a drug she craved. A drug that the minute she'd seen him she had to be with him no matter what it took. It was also quite scary in a way as well.

She could quite easily have apologised for Perdy jumping up on him and left it at that, yet she had felt compelled to treat him to a drink by way of an apology. It was like it was an automatic thing for her to say and do. Like she had no control over her actions yet at the same time she found herself liking the way she was acting.

Emma grinned, "Yes this is my local bar, my apartment is just over there" she said pointing to the big gray building which stood quite a few storeys high and had plenty of windows. "I'm on the fifth floor, so not too high" she added, and then turned to face the bar again, still holding the door open for Josh, however after saying he would hold the door open he leaned across her to do so.

"Why thank you kind sir" Emma said smiling, it was certainly nice to have such a gentleman in her midst, it had been a very long time since she'd been in the company of such a gentleman before. "I wasn't about to stop you, chivalry is still alive, which is very nice to see" she added giving him a warm smile as she walked into the bar after had taken hold of the door for her.

She smiled at Edward the bar manager as she walked in, "Just take a seat Emma, I'll be over soon" he said to her with a smile. "Thanks Edward" she said back to him as she walked to the booth she usually sat in which was fairly near the bar but also away from the door.

"Edward is lovely, he always comes and serves me at the table and brings the drinks over" Emma explained to Josh, as she sat down in her little booth and unbuttoned her jacket and lay it across the remainder of the seat on her own side.

[joshmoore]

Josh walked into the bar after Emma. Immediately, the smells of a regular bar assaulted him. He didn’t breathe the smells in too deeply, for second-hand smoke and the like wasn’t something he much liked smelling. Either way, he followed Emma in. He’d followed her thus far, and he’d learned where she lived. He must return the favor. How? By buying the drinks? No, that’d be mean—Emma had insisted she needed on buying drinks, and he wasn’t going to upset her.

He nodded to the Edward dude, and sat opposite Emma. He slid his jacket off and did the same with it as Emma had done with hers. He looked around the bar and found it to be very comforting, not at all like some other bars. He leaned back in the chair, “I could get used to this place.”

Then his stomach growled. He checked his watch and groaned when he saw the time. It was 2:45 PM, “Oh, wow am I hungry.” He said, looking back up at Emma and smiling. “You’ll buy the drinks, I’ll buy the food. You must be hungry, too, right?”

Then he looked around again, “What is there to eat around here?” He asked, questioningly but with a hint of happiness and what could be called sarcasm in his voice. He really didn’t feel like hearing his stomach voicing its complaints one more time.

[emma]

Emma frequented the bar so often she was used to the smell of stale smoke when you walked in. However she had made her way to the non-smoking area, so the air should be slightly clearer where they were sitting. She wished indoor places had the same rules as indoor places in the UK, no indoor places were allowed smoking in them anymore. If you wanted to smoke you had to step outside. It was great.

"It's great, all the bars in England are like this" she said waving her hand around in a circular motion meaning exactly like this bar was laid out as she leaned back in her seat and smiled at Josh. She was finding it very difficult to keep her eyes off of him, he really was very handsome.

Emma hadn't even thought about food or feeling hungry until Josh mentioned he was hungry himself. She looked at the time on clock on the wall of the bar, and when she realised how late it was, she had to laugh slightly, because her own stomach would normally have been shouting for food by this point. "I am hungry as it happens" Emma said softly, and she wasn't about to argue with him. If he wanted to buy the food she'd let him. "And that's fine with me, thanks" she added.

When he asked what there was to eat, it took her all her time not to say herself, but she realised it was too much of a flirt, one he might not even get, so she kept her mouth closed and bit down on her tongue to refrain from saying it. Instead smiling, "They have a menu, it's mainly bar food, and mainly British, but they do have a section for fast food, burgers and things" Emma replied, and smiled over at Edward.

"Hi, can you bring over a menu with you please Edward" she said to him kindly.

Edward came over after a few seconds and handed a menu to Josh. "I don't have to give Emma a menu, she gets the same thing all the time she's in here" he said with a grin. "So what can I get for you?" he asked Josh with a smile.