wait another day;;

Stephanie Parks. Twenty-six.

[stephaniexparks]

remyymoore:

Remy’s chest was puffed out at the pride of finally winning a battle with Steph. Though they had rarely spent any time alone, he knew he shouldn’t get used to winning. Steph was a whirlwind, and as much as Remy enjoyed winding her up, he wasn’t always prepared when she released her tongue upon him. Her personality was sharp where she was all smooth curves. It was something he could have loved about her, if he could stand to be in her presence for longer than five minutes. Any longer and he was always tempted to start pulling his hair out. It didn’t take long for the pride Remy was feeling to dissipate. It was becoming all too glaringly obvious that their time with the agents was coming to an end, which meant they would soon be by themselves. No one to protect them, from either the killers looking for them or each other. If their situation hadn’t already been serious, it would soon be, and Remy could feel the adam’s apple in the back of his throat rise. 

It was like Steph could feel the change too. As she accepted defeat, Remy’s eyes glanced over to her, watching and waiting for the spark of defiance to flare back up in her eyes, but none came. They were stuck. “I’m sure everything will be fine but… if it’s not, is there a way to get in contact with you?” For a grown man, the thought of being left alone in a foreign city with no one he knew, Remy felt a little anxious about it. The agent went on to explain how the chief of police knew about their predicament, and would keep an eye on them, but otherwise they were free to live their lives as Mr and Mrs Johnson. As soon as the agents left, their new life would begin. “Suppose we’ve survived a lot worse than a suburban lifestyle. This’ll be slow compared to back home.”

As the agent spoke, Steph anxiously bit at an immaculate acrylic nail. This was all far too real and she hated it. She knew the really gravity of the situation was scary, and she would never face anything anywhere near to this extreme again. Or, if she did, she may well be the unluckiest woman on the planet. At Remy’s words, she couldn’t help but smile a little. He was right. Boring suburban life would be a lot easier to handle than being in danger every single day of their lives. Of course, they could still be found one day, but it was best not to think about that. She was going to focus on the negatives of their everyday life, at least that was less terrifying than the true reality.

As the agents stood to leave, Stephanie rose too, following them to the door. Saying goodbye to them as if they were old friends, she shut the door, her eyes closing as she did so. “Fuck.” She murmured, her head banging on the closed door. Taking a deep breath, she stood up straight, fixing her expression into a smile. “Well, welcome to our life, I guess.” She laughed bitterly, shaking her head at Remy.

[stephaniexparks]

remyymoore:

Remy could already feel his hair turning grey by the arrogating back and forth with Steph. How they were going to stay together, under the same roof, he had no idea. Not without constant arguments, snide words and the occasional smashing of plates. It definitely wasn’t how he wanted to spend his life, wasn’t what he intended, but he did intend to live and that’s why he was here. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t have fun in the meantime. “I must have to have gotten you into the coffee shop in the first place.” He accused, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline in a challenge. If anything he looked a little cocky about the words that rolled off his tongue. It was like he was daring her to say otherwise, but nothing she said could would change the facts. Stephanie had agreed to go out with him. It didn’t matter that the date was a train wreck from start to finish. She had seen something in him, and she wasn’t going to get away with saying anything contrary. “There was no forcing your hand when you gave me your number.”

His lip curled into a frown involuntarily at the sickly sweet voice Steph used when addressing him. He wished he hadn’t shown her the weakness, but he couldn’t help it. If things had gone well on their date, well between the two of them, it might have been one of his favourite things about her, but that was all out of the window now. They may be destined to live together as ‘husband and wife’, but that didn’t mean they would be any closer than strangers living in the same house together. Remy sighed as he sunk back into his chair  — he was really going to miss his siblings. “Calm down, Sunshine. I’m sure they’ll have plenty of boutiques that’ll remind you of home.” He mocked with a roll of his eyes as he reached for his own file, noting how they were keeping their first names for convenience sake. “Construction?” Remy read from his own file, half impressed with what he had been provided. Once upon a time he had tried his hand in the trade, but the work was patchy and though it paid well, it wasn’t nearly constant enough to provide for him and his siblings. That was originally why he turned to stripping, a constant cash flow of dollar bills being thrown at him. He had been good at his job and Remy had taken pride in it, but he was glad to try his hand at something more socially acceptable. No one would ask him about his career choice when it was this bland. “I can make that work. Me and the Missus oughta blend in in no time. Ain’t that right, Doll?” Remy wasn’t sure if he believed his words, but he knew he had to. It was too late, and too dangerous, to back out now.

Stephanie glared at him. He was right, she had been attracted to him, and she had agreed to go on a date with him. She crossed her arms, her back hitting the chair with a thump. She wanted to argue, wanted to bite back, but they both knew he had won that round. Maybe if they hadn’t been forced into this situation, if they ever saw each other again, it wouldn’t be so tension-filled. She supposed the emotions were running high, making everything seem so much worse. Although this was pretty much her worst nightmare; being forced into domesticity with someone she thought she had nothing in common with. What was she meant to do around here? It didn’t look like it was exactly thriving with life.

Rolling her eyes, she threw another glare Remy’s way. She sighed when she heard the actual pleased tone in his voice at his job. Of course he was happy about it. Of course he was the one putting up less of a fight about it all. Steph wasn’t completely stupid, she knew it could easily just be an act. But she didn’t have the energy to put on an act. It was going to be exhausting enough to live a lie, why should she start now? Pursing her lips, she looked away, shaking her head. This was ridiculous. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Remy, then to the agents, a small smile on her face, although not reaching her eyes. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.” She sighed. She had no other choice. There was the chance she could end up in serious trouble if she didn’t just accept it all. So she had to. “It’ll take some getting used to, but what else can we do?” The question was rhetorical, and yet it was still the softest she had spoken, the most sincere she had been. She was admitting defeat, for now.

[stephaniexparks]

remyymoore:

Remy’s eyes bulged at Steph’s words, though he should have known better than to show a reaction. Or have any reaction at all. He hadn’t known her too long, only a handful of months whilst the trail was taking place, but he knew her well enough. He knew that she wasn’t afraid to speak what was on her mind and whilst most of the time it was frivolous things, today she seemed to have harsher things in mind. “Honey, you would be so lucky to end up with me.” He said, playing up to her words even though he didn’t exactly believe them. Really, he was just aiming for a reaction like she was out of him. So he leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms as if he was some kind of big shot. “Sometimes, babe,  people care more for what others have to say rather than what they’re wearing, or the places they go.” He shot, still bitter about the way their date had gone, even if you ignored the crime they were witness to.  Perhaps they could have found some common ground if she hadn’t been so concerned about where they were. He had hoped for that much. At least he had until he had gotten to know Steph more.

He had been ready to fight the matter more, but as he looked at the agents, he knew that it wasn’t their idea either. They were simply following commands from above and they were making life difficult for them. Remy knew they were fighting a losing battle, but why? Whose bright idea was it to pair them together, in such a ludicrous cover story? Obviously, the witness protection budget was stretched thin, which installed zero confidence in Remy. His life was in their hands, and the government couldn’t even afford to house them separately, or simply didn’t care enough about them to. His thoughts however were distracted by Stephanie’s agreement. He was amazed, surprised, and suddenly wondered what angle she was trying to work. He couldn’t come up with one, but he figured two could play that game. “Of course, Sweetie.” He said with a big, fat smile, uncrossing his arms so as to lean one across the back of her chair. “How hard can it be to play pretend? After all, you love to play dress up.”

Stephanie sneered slightly in retaliation. Maybe she was being a little bit childish. But it was her natural reaction when she wasn’t getting her own way. Spoilt? Totally. “And sometimes, people make an effort to make good first impressions.” They both clearly had issues with the other, which was why this was such a bad idea. How were they meant to live together under the same roof, acting as if they were in love, when neither of them could let go of how bad their date had gone? Maybe if she stopped being so stubborn, she would be able to look past what she already thought about Remy, to be able to get on with him. But that wasn’t likely. She was not one to give in first. She was the type to cut off her own nose to spite her face.

Narrowing her eyes, Steph glared at Remy. She hadn’t expected him to follow suit so easily. She tried not to flinch away as his arm rested on her chair. She heard the sigh of the agent across from them. Clearly they needed to work on acting like a couple. “Some of us just appreciate fashion, honey.” She smiled, batting her eyelashes slightly. She knew she was laying it on too thick, but she supposed it didn’t really matter here, this was the one place they could somewhat be themselves anymore. Reaching forward, she took hold of the file that contained the information about her new identity. She was grateful to read that they hadn’t changed too much, so it shouldn’t be too hard for her to remember. “Wait a minute.” She frowned, looking up. “It says here I work in retail.” She shook her head. That was not how she was going to spend her time. “What, because I like clothes I should work in a shop?” She was arguing for the sake of it now. In her old life she worked as little as possible, but she mostly freelanced as a beautician, mostly for her friends. She had never needed to work. “Can I at least try and find my own job, or have you decided which one I should work in yourselves?” She raised her eyebrow when she was told that she could find her own, and that they would be able to falsify references for her. At least she seemed to be able to control one thing in her life.

[stephaniexparks]

remyymoore:

Any complaints that he may have made were instantly silenced as Steph’s concerns were aired for all to hear. It didn’t surprise him that she wasn’t fond of the idea. From getting to know her, he knew that the suburban lifestyle was not was she was accustomed to, or would ever grew comfortable in. As far as Remy was concerned, she didn’t even live on this planet with the extravagance she was used to. It was why - even setting aside the murder - their date was a complete disaster. Remy could barely afford to rub two dollars together, yet he could imagine her rolling in money. Though he had worked two jobs before the incident, Remy had sent most of his disposable income over to his siblings, eager for them to have better teenage years than he’d had. Leaving them behind would be the hardest part of being in witness protection. That was, if living with Stephanie didn’t kill him first.

“Hey sunshine, this ain’t a walk in the park for me either.” Remy grumbled, the permanent frown etched onto his features since the trail now aimed at her. As if she thought she was easy to live with. Ha! Remy thought. They had spent time in passing with one another during the trail, often lumped together whilst their handlers were sorting arrangements out, and he could tell by the withered looks on the agents’ faces that she was - without a doubt - a pain in the ass. “I’m sure I stand more chance back at home, waiting for the mob to try find me than I do surviving living in the same house as her.” Yes, he was exaggerating, he knew that, but surely that was the only way the program would consider splitting them up. Though the look on the agent’s face begged to differ. “Seriously, you can’t expect us to be  — the Johnson’s. No one’s going to believe that.”

Steph just rolled her eyes, scoffing as Remy spoke up. She in no way believed she would be the difficult one to live with. “Please, go home, go wait for them, it’ll do us all a favor.” She shot back, her words harsh, the built up tension in her coming out like venom. “Why would I ever be married to him?” She asked, exasperatedly, as she let her eyes roll over him again. Sure, he was attractive but they were hardly a match. They had nothing in common, how were they ever meant to convince anyone that they were married? “Probably the only time I will ever agree with him, but he’s right. You can’t just expect this! Why can’t we just be put in different places?” Preferably far away from each other, she thought.

She wasn’t oblivious to the irritation that passed the agents’ faces, but Stephanie preferred to ignore them. She knew she was a hard person to get along with, and that’s how she liked it. It kept people she didn’t want in her life from sticking around. Until now. Now, she clearly was not going to have a choice in the matter. “Could we not have at least moved to somewhere that didn’t look like it had come straight out of Stepford Wives?” She sighed. There was no way she was going to fall into some housewife role, if that is what they expected. As was already quite obvious, she was an extremely fiery, independent individual. There was no way she could even begin to pretend like she was some doting wife. She hadn’t ever even entertained the idea of marriage before, she didn’t like the idea of commitment, not yet. And here she was, stuck. Was there even any point arguing with it anymore? They didn’t seem likely to budge on their decision. So, she decided a new approach was needed. Be the one who looked more willing, looked like the bigger person. She could fume all she wanted later. “Fine. I can be Mrs Johnson. It’ll be fine, won’t it, darling.” She smirked over at Remy.

[stephaniexparks]

remyymoore:

Remy hadn’t expected his life to turn out like this. Never in a million years did he imagine that one day he’d be forced to turn away from life and live a new one; one where he wasn’t even himself. At first, it had seemed like the right thing to do. Of course he would testify about of murder; of course he would place the killer at the scene of the crime; of course he would help put a murderer behind bars. He hadn’t even thought about not going to the police. Going forward was the right thing to do, but Remy didn’t realise how complication the whole situation was - or would become. The killer wasn’t just any killer, hell bent on revenge. No, the killer was the son of a local mafia kingpin; a man with a million connections and a taste of blood of those who had wronged him or his family. Suddenly, doing the right thing spiraled into something unimaginable, and that’s how Remy found himself in the back of an FBI car, being transported to his new life.

As if being uprooted from his life - his family - wasn’t bad enough, Remy was also forced to spent the rest of his days with the one and only Stephanie Parks. If it wasn’t for her, he wouldn’t have been in the mess he now found himself in. He wouldn’t have been at the cafe; he wouldn’t have suffered through the worst date he’d ever had, he wouldn’t have witnessed the murder. The date had seen like a good idea at the time. Even now, Remy could admit that Stephanie was beautiful. She had everything he would ever look for in a woman, but the two were from completely different worlds. That much was obvious not five minutes into their date, yet they had still tried to salvage it. They’d tried to find common ground and were interrupted by gunshots. Since, the two had been in multiple shared rooms, locked in to protect them from the outside world and Remy wasn’t sure he could survive it much longer. 

Soon, the car pulled up in a driveway of a painfully suburban house and the pair were ushered inside. There was no time to look around, not just yet. The FBI had other plans for the two and sat them at the kitchen table instead, ready to go through the rest of their lives with them. They weren’t in the house two minutes before the case files were brought out, the FBI agent who had been overseeing their protection ready to inform the pair of their new identities. Of the people they would be until they were finally safe from harm - if that ever happened. As the agent spoke, she handed both Remy and Stephanie a book pack on their new identities, before dropping the biggest bomb on them yet. “Wait, hang on a minute… Did you just say married?”

It was certainly not the best date she had ever been on. Stephanie knew straight from the get go that it was going to go horribly. Who has a date in a café? After that, it was clear that the two were not suited to each other in the slightest. She found Remy extremely attractive, but that was pretty much where it had ended. They had tried, trying to find common interests, something that might possibly link them together and salvage their evening. Maybe they would have found it, although she doubted that, if they hadn’t been interrupted. Of course, it was no normal interruption. They’d managed to become witnesses to a murder. A murder which meant that they would have to up-heave their whole lives. Steph knew there was no choice but to testify, knew she would never be able to live with herself if she didn’t. But by testifying, she could no longer live with herself. The FBI had explained they would have to be put into witness protection.

At first, this hadn’t seemed so bad. Until she actually began to think about it. Stephanie’s whole life was built on being social. She had a large circle of friends, and near enough every day was spent with at least one of them. She would miss her parents, but she was hardly that close with them, she was sure she would get over it eventually. She had gone silent, stewing over all of the things she was going to be missing out on. She was meant to be a bridesmaid next month, for god’s sake. Staring out the window as the car drove them to their new destination, she willed herself not to get upset. She just had to deal with it. Maybe one day everything could go back to normal, she would get her real life back. It could just be like a vacation. A long vacation, where she had a different name and identity.

Scrunching up her nose as they pulled into a driveway, she had to stop herself from making a noise of disgust. From the outside it looked like the typical American Dream House. A far cry from her penthouse apartment. She could only imagine how plain it looked inside. Being ushered into the kitchen, she tried not to look around. Sat at the table she listened to the agent speaking, her eyes widening at the piece of information. Her head quickly snapped to look over at Remy. “No. No way.” Steph protested, crossing her arm. “I am not playing happy families with him!” She was not used to not getting her own way, and so when the agent informed them that there was no getting away from this, she scoffed. “This is ridiculous. I thought giving up my life was bad enough, and yet you managed to make it worse!”

[griffinslaw]