Terry Heaven OWBC 1

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Terry Heaven – An OWBC Chapter 1 By Mzyra All I Want for Christmas is You Or: it’s not stalking if you’re both doing it

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It was raining in Heaven as he arrived. Somehow he couldn’t help but feel that that wasn’t a good omen.

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He headed towards his new dorm dispiritedly. He’d told ‘Mzyra’ he’d do this ‘OWBC’ thing, but really… Out here he had nothing. No family, no friends… He’d moved like a million miles away from anyone he’d ever known, on the off-chance that he’d be able to start a proper family of his own here.

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Terry had known it sounded crazy, but the girl just seemed so confident about it. He really had to stop listening to eccentric girls who seemed to be stalking his family. Still, there wasn’t much he could do about it now, so he headed inside to check out his new home for… however long.

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He picked a room upstairs by the common room, but quickly realised that none of his fellow dormies had arrived yet. Not wanting to sit alone just hoping that somebody nice would turn up, he figured he would go out and discover more of the campus and hopefully find a friend somewhere out there.

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Not that talking to random strangers was at all easy. “Er, hi, um- I’m Terry, and, uh, um- I haven’t picked a major yet, have you?” he mumbled uncertainly to a pretty girl out at the boutiques. “I’m Jan, and no, not yet; I’ve only just arrived here. I’m still thinking about it.” “Er- er, no, me neither…” he tried to think of something else to say, but an attractive woman at a close proximity seriously inhibited his ability to think straight. Jan just looked at him curiously. “Um, I- I have to go. Uh, see you around!” “I hope so,” she said thoughtfully as he shuffled anxiously away. Why did he have to be so shy all the time?

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Heading into one of the shops, it was unnerving how many girls there were around. How was he going to make any friends if he couldn’t talk to them without stuttering all the time?! A blonde girl in pink did start a conversation with him, but it was rather one-way, since Terry was still thrown off by his attempt to talk to Jan. He stood there and simply nodded until he eventually regained his power of speech enough to say something and get away.

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Okay, so there were plenty of nice people around and that was good, Terry supposed as he headed back to his dormitory, but he really had to get past the way he’d always freeze up talking to anyone of the opposite sex. And he hadn’t been very good at making friends with guys either, but he’d have to sooner or later, wouldn’t he?

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It was easier when they talked over meals – Terry could hide himself behind his food and stuff his mouth so full that the girl didn’t expect him to be able to say anything or look at them. What had happened all of a sudden? Girls never used to pay any attention to him, now they were everywhere!

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He later discovered that the blonde girl from the shops – Kelly – had moved into his dorm, and she often turned up when Terry was doing something in the common room, even if she couldn’t actually coax him into a conversation. She seemed nice to him, but his nerves still wouldn’t permit him to speak understandably to her, nor hardly anybody else.

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And then he discovered that Jan had moved in too. He saw her leaving the dorm as he arrived back from a lecture and waved, but apparently she wasn’t looking. He tried to ignore how very much that bothered him as he headed inside to do some more skilling.

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Skilling was at least a break from all the anxieties of socialising, especially stargazing through the telescope during the peaceful nights. To be honest, it never got all that dark on campus with all the buildings around lit up, but that was how Terry liked it anyway, even if it did obscure the stars a little.

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Early the next morning, as Terry was waking up, Jan walked straight into his room. “I need to borrow your computer – my room doesn’t have one.” “Er, uh, um, uh- O- okay…” Why couldn’t he talk normally for once?! She sat down and started working on whatever while Terry stood watching. He ought to say something. Think of something clever to say, or something funny. But as soon as he thought that his mind went completely blank. Darn it, he thought and gave up, leaving to have a shower instead.

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He then went down to breakfast and thought hard over his pancakes. He liked Jan. She was pretty and nice and his stomach went all funny whenever she was around. But he could barely talk to her because of it. If he could barely hold a normal conversation with her, how could he ever tell her what he felt? His stomach churned even more at that thought. The only time he’d ever been able to be straight with a girl was when he’d been about to give up his life the next day. He’d just have to try and recreate that feeling somehow if he had to. The next time he saw her.

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But, the next time he saw her, she was headed out to a lecture and he’d been headed in to have a shower because the campus coach had been making him try to work out – needless to say to no avail. He didn’t manage to say anything, and she barely even glanced at him. I give up, he thought as he went inside. Maybe if I go through college without finding anybody Mzyra’ll let me move back to Simfield.

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So he threw himself into his degree instead – he picked Literature for his major, since he liked all the romantic stories and poems, even if he couldn’t get it in real life. Writing his term paper – and trying to ignore the fact that Jan had been sat where he was, typing on the same keys, not long before…

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And skilling some more. He struggled to think of anything to paint, especially since, as he tried not to think about Jan, all he could think about was Jan. It was very annoying.

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A few hours later, when Terry had settled for trying to recreate a painting he’d seen at school once and was rather absorbed, he was disturbed. “Terry?” He felt like his stomach had filled with lead or something and was very glad he hadn’t tried to paint Jan, or this would have been very embarrassing. “Y- y- y- yes?” he asked, turning around nervously and trying to steady his breathing. “H- h- hi Jan.”

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“Oh for god’s sake,” she said, rolling her eyes and then pulling Terry into a close hug. Terry couldn’t have said anything had he been able to think of something, but he did hug back. “You like me, don’t you? You know, like like me?” Terry managed to swallow and nod. “I’ve been waiting what feels like forever for you to do something about it! I was always around – I walked straight into your room!” Terry felt his face get hot. He should have been able to do what she expected – Sean certainly would have done, he was sure.

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“I- I- I’m k- kinda shy…” he managed to mutter. “Yeah, I noticed,” she sighed. “But you’re also kinda adorable,” she laughed. “There are plenty of guys who strut around and expect all the girls to fall at their feet, so somebody who doesn’t think they’re god’s gift to women is rather refreshing. But you didn’t have to be shy with me.” “B-b- but you’re b- beautiful and nice and friendly and… what’s not to be intimidated by?”

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“The fact that I think you’re the most attractive guy I’ve ever seen?” she said with a smile. “Y- you can’t possibly mean that,” Terry said with a small frown. “I- I mean: I’m shy, I’m messy, I’m not that good looking, I’m overweight-” She rolled her eyes again. “As I said: shy is kinda adorable, I’m not hyper-clean myself – I need a shower right now, in fact – you are that good looking, and all the more for a girl to love!* Shall we do this properly now?” she asked teasingly before putting on an accent. “Tu es l’homme de mes rêves,” she said before kissing his hand. Terry laughed and pretended to swoon. “I- I think it’s meant to be the other way around. And I can’t speak French.”

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She smiled widely and took both his hands in hers “You’ll have to look up what I said later then. And feel free to take over the romancing whenever you’re ready.” “I- I don’t know what to say. My mind goes all blank around you. You’re too beautiful,” he said, blushing, but just about managing to make eye contact as he said it. “Oh, is it my turn to be coy now? But I’m so plain! I don’t wear make up and I never do anything with my hair and I don’t get fashion at all…!” she said melodramatically.

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Here we go then, he thought. “I- I don’t think you’re plain at all. You really are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and you’re not even trying to fit in with everyone else. You may not be the only person I struggle to talk around, but you’re the only one who turns my stomach to jelly in a good way…” he swallowed and hesitated before he went any further. “See, was that so hard?” Jan asked, but her smile was genuine rather than teasing

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“Yes, it was that hard. B-but I’m very glad I did it,” he smiled. “So am I – I’m all of a flutter!” she proclaimed, pretending to swoon as he had done before. “Perhaps we should go inside before the cold gets to me?” “Er, yeah, okay…”

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They then spent a while dancing together in the common room while the rest of the students gave each other significant looks – most of the guys saying ‘Ooh, what’s going on there then?’ and most of the girls saying ‘About time!’. But Terry was oblivious to anybody else, all of his focus was on Jan. And his next move.

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His hand was shaking slightly, but he couldn’t duck out half way through, and, once he touched her face, Jan rubbed his arm reassuringly while he caressed her. “Y- you’re amazing. I can’t believe you really like me.” “Believe it,” she smiled back at him.

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It had been the best night of his entire life so far, and, as such, he’d never slept or dreamt better than he did afterwards.

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Tempting though it was to just spend all of their time in each other’s company, the rest of uni life went on and they had to find other things to do, so they decided to go the next day without doing anything together. Some things, like computer games, were fun to do, especially while Jan was out at lectures.

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And Terry was so engrossed in it that he didn’t even notice that Jan had come back at first – until she ran her hand across his back as she passed, sending an exciting shiver down his spine. He lost any enthusiasm he had for the game right then and had to find something else to do.

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Other things, like course assignments, weren’t so fun, whether Jan was around or not. Doing his own writing was one thing, but trying to write essays about other people’s books was hard.

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“How am I supposed to know what the author really meant when he wrote chapter thirteen? He died ages ago!” he sighed and scribbled out the sentence he’d written before. “This is why I didn’t go to university in the first place! Work is hard…” Then his mind wandered and when he refocused he realised he’d doodled Jan’s name, some hearts and a rough picture of her face in the margin. “Just as well this wasn’t good enough to hand in anyway…” he sighed and added some more details to her face.

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Trying to spend a whole day without Jan was extremely difficult, it had to be said. The stars through the telescope were still pretty, but not as beautiful as Jan was, and nowhere near as interesting, especially when Terry knew she was just inside. He gave up on stargazing fairly quickly. Maybe interacting with other people might be easier.

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It really, really wasn’t. Not with Jan sat just a few metres away while Terry struggled to hold a conversation with some guy from down the hall he’d never spoken to before. “And so I told my lecturer that the reason the presentation wouldn’t work was because they hadn’t plugged in the computer properly to the projector, but then she flew off the handle at me, just because- hey, if you’re not listening, I’m not going to bother talking.” Terry looked back at the guy with alarm, “Oh, no, no – sorry, I- it’s just…” he gestured helplessly towards Jan who was sat with a small smile on her face, definitely listening. “God, why don’t you just go over there and kiss her then?” he said, rolling his eyes. Terry flushed deep red and mouthed wordlessly before walking off quickly. Jan continued to smile innocently.

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The next day Terry got a call from his ‘mother’. This was extremely weird. Mzyra had got in recreations of all of Terry’s family (bar Kimmy) in Heaven, except… they weren’t really his family members. Mzyra insisted that they were accurate representations of who his family members were at the time he was originally the age he was now, but they weren’t the original family members because a) they were nearly all dead, and b) if these ones were linked them to the originals in the afterlife they’d be forever making references to what happened to him and that wouldn’t be what he wanted anyway. They were all like ‘what ifs’, as was this whole thing. Though Terry appreciated the sentiment, it was all more than a little creepy, but apparently creepy was what Mzyra did best, so he reluctantly went with it and just avoided them all where he could.

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After an extremely awkward phone conversation, Terry went to lunch, where he was almost joined by Jan – before Kelly got there first. “I was about to sit there Kelly,” Jan said with more than a slight hint of annoyance. “Too slow,” Kelly replied pleasantly. “And some of us actually have food to eat, so there.” Terry looked between them and buried himself in his bowl of macaroni and cheese rather than get involved in an argument. He may have been pretty certain that he was in love with Jan, but that didn’t mean he could tell another girl to go away if she wasn’t really doing anything wrong. He just hoped Jan wouldn’t be angry for that.

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Luckily she wasn’t and, after he was done eating, they played some kicky bag in the kitchen for a while before she had to leave for a lecture. He tried to suppress how much he wanted to hold her hand and hug her again. Or maybe even kiss her, which he couldn’t get out of his head ever since that guy had suggested it before, but he was absolutely terrified at the prospect of.

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With Jan out of the dorm, he had to work on his body skill and took to skipping, which was actually surprisingly fun, and possible indoors in such a large space.

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And again he was so absorbed in doing something – counting the beats so he jumped at the right time – that he didn’t notice when Jan arrived back, but that was okay with her, as she just took a seat and watched him for a while with amusement. But she didn’t have endless patience, and she wanted to spend time with him as much as he did with her.

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So when he stopped skipping and moved on to reading, she joined him. “Hey Terry.” “H- hi Jan,” he stuttered, surprised, before internally berating himself for stuttering again. “What are you studying?” “C- cooking.” “Didn’t realise you needed that for Literature.” “Oh no, you don’t really, but you know, when I have a family-” he suddenly realised what he was saying and flushed deep red. In his mind he’d quite like Jan to be an integral part of that family, but they hadn’t even kissed and-

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“I think it’s great that you’re preparing for the future already,” she said kindly, but with a smile that suggested she had noticed his blushing and knew exactly what he was thinking. “Y- y- y- y- yeah,” he said, avoiding eye contact. Why was this all so difficult?! “Terry, look at me,” she ordered gently, and he did what he was told. “It’s okay, calm down. We’re fine.” He nodded fervently. She just referred to us as ‘we’! He thought half-anxiously, half-extremely excited. He didn’t learn much more about cooking that evening.

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“So have the two of you kissed yet?” Jan’s friend asked her over dinner. “No, not yet,” Jan sighed. “And it’s not that we don’t want to! I know I want to kiss him and I can tell that he wants to kiss me, but he’s so shy! And, don’t get me wrong, it’s adorable and it means everything he does do is that much more significant, but it’s mega-frustrating!” “I can imagine.” “I just wonder what happened to him that’s made him so nervous about everything, you know? Maybe he was just born so shy, but if something happened… I guess he wouldn’t want to talk about it though…” the girls sat silently in thought for a while.

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And then Terry came downstairs to talk to Jan. “Mr Ryman! To what do I owe this pleasure?” she joked at first, before noting how nervous he seemed again and deciding to lay off the humour for a little while. “Oh, y- y- you know, I was- I was just thinking about how very beautiful and everything y- you are…” “Mhmm,” she said encouragingly, hoping this meant what she thought it might. “And, uh, I was just- I was just wondering if, uh…” “Yeees…?”

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And then he seemed to take a chance, forgot about asking her explicit permission, and leaned in to kiss her. It was just as sweet and magical as she had expected of him. And she didn’t want it to end. But it had to eventually and they both broke apart, breathing slightly unsteadily, but smiling widely.

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But some people just don’t appreciate other people’s happiness. “Oh, you think you’re so great, all over your girlfriend in public, rubbing it in other people’s faces? Get a freaking room, you fat, ugly jackass!” “I- I-” Terry tried to protest or explain, but the cow just made a noise of disgust and walked away.

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Emotions already high, Terry didn’t take it well. He’d been focusing so much on finally kissing Jan that he hadn’t thought whether it might bother anybody else. Now he’d made somebody angry and he hadn’t meant to…

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“Oh, come here you,” Jan said reassuringly, pulling him into a hug. “Don’t listen to that stupid cow mascot – going around upsetting people, causing trouble and creating drama is their job. Trust me, it’s nothing personal, and you could have just been eating spaghetti and he would have found something to shout at you for.”

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“W- well, at least he’s given us an excuse to hug now,” Terry said happily. “You think you need an excuse to hug your girlfriend?” Jan asked in mock surprise. “G- girlfriend?” Terry asked in actual surprise.

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“Well yeah,” Jan said with a grin. “That is, if you want me to be.” “Oh yeah, I- I do! B-but… I- I’ve never had a girlfriend before.” “You don’t say?” she said with a teasing smile. “H-hey! I… I was just busy as a teenager. And I hadn’t met you back then…” he added seriously. “If I’d known I was going to, I would have had a much happier life when I was younger.” Jan was surprised by the sudden thoughtfulness and maturity in his voice as he said that. It was new, but she liked it, and she pulled back into the embrace.

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Reflective maturity was not Terry’s natural state at the moment however, and it disappeared as quickly as it came, and he could be found outside happily skipping for body skill points the next day.

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Until his mother called again. “Hi Mum… Yeah, I’m doing well, trying to work hard… Yes, I’m eating plenty and everything… Um, well, I do kind of have a girlfriend now… Jan Beckett… Yeah, she’s great, I’m sure you’d love her… Er, I don’t think we need to have a family get together just yet…” Jan smiled and rolled her eyes as she eavesdropped from nearby when she arrived back from a lecture. Then Terry spotted her. “Oh, uh, she’s here now Mum, gotta go.”

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“Hi, how’d your lecture go?” “Fine,” she smiled. “How’s your mother?” “Oh, uh, um, she’s okay… Keeps checking up on me and everything.” “I’m sure she’s just worried about you. You said you’re a youngest child, didn’t you?” “Yeah, I am, and I know. But still…” “You know, I wouldn’t mind meeting your family one day. Once you’ve told me more.” Terry looked quite panicked for a moment. “Oh, uh, um, there’s n- not much to tell. Hey, shall we go inside and get some food?” he said suspiciously quickly before leading her inside. Jan frowned slightly – there was clearly something going on there.

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But she didn’t want to force the issue too much, so she let it drop then. She pondered it later though, as she played darts while Terry continued his skilling. He seemed fine with his parents, who were apparently still happily together, but he’d go a bit evasive when talking about his siblings, who there were three of four of. She’d heard him talk fine about a brother Sean, and two sisters – Nicole? Nicola? And Marie? Marina? – but it sounded like there was another… sister? He always went very quiet around that subject. And he’d also gone very quiet after mentioning someone called Tom, and she had no idea who that was! But it was so nice to see him happy like he normally was, so she decided not to bring it up. She’d have to wait until if and when he wanted or needed to talk about it, and try not to let curiosity get the best of her until then...

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Terry and Jan weren’t the only ones with romance in the dorm, however; Jan’s friend started seeing one of the guys from downstairs, which took some of the pressure and attention away from the other couple.

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“Mr Ryman! What are you doing in my, an unmarried girl’s, room? Whatever shall the neighbours think?!” Jan teased when Terry unexpectedly joined her. Terry was almost certain she was teasing him again, but defended himself anyway, “You walked straight into my room once – at least I knocked first.” “Ah, but it is quite different for a girl to be in a guy’s bedroom, but vice versa?!” she said with mock shock. “Is it?” he asked, puzzled. “I don’t know,” she shrugged, “I’m just teasing you. Anyway, what did you want?”

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“Well, as you might be able to tell, I only really just woke up, but… I was dreaming about you,” he said, not quite looking her in the eye. “Oh really?” she considered asking and teasing him about what exactly happened between them in this dream, but she thought that might put it off coming true in real life, so she kept quiet for now. “Yeah. And then I woke up and I couldn’t stop thinking about you, so I knew I had to come and see you now.” “Well I haven’t been asleep, so I can’t say the same, but I’m certainly glad you’ve come to visit me anyway.”

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Then she noticed Terry become very serious again while he looked at her curiously. “You know, if I was writing the story of my life before, it would have been a tragedy, with every bright spot just there to accentuate how very dark the dark patches were. But now…” he hesitated slightly, but continued to look her in the eyes. “Now I’ve met you, I think it could be a fairytale and I really could have the happy ending. You could turn my entire life around, Jan Beckett. I daren’t believe my luck really, but… I love you. I don’t know what I’d do without you now.” “Oh Terry…” she said quietly. Shy Terry was adorable, but serious Terry was very handsome indeed.

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“I don’t expect you to say anything-” he started to continue before she cut him off. “Well you should expect it, because you should know I’m going to. Of course I love you too. I tease you a bit sometimes, but it’s because I love you. I do know what I’d wind up doing without you, but it would all feel meaningless and I wouldn’t want to. You make everything so much more worthwhile. As for your past… I don’t know much about it. If you want to tell me, I’ll be more than happy to hear it, but if you don’t want to talk about it – or not yet – I’ll understand.” Terry gave her a wry smile, “You wouldn’t believe me if I did.” “I don’t think you’d lie to me like that.”

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He gave her a massage while he thought about it. “What do you know or believe about the paranormal?” he finally asked. “I’ve heard people claim they’ve seen ghosts, but I’m not so certain…” Jan said. “Why?” “If you don’t believe in ghosts you’ll never believe me; my story involves aliens, vampires and children of the grim reaper,” he said with a laugh. She hesitated, “…You’re kidding, aren’t you?” “Maybe one day I’ll tell you,” he laughed again before she began protesting.

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And, for the first time since he-couldn’t-remember-when, Terry dared to dream about the possibility of a brighter future.

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Helped by how well he was doing at his degree, despite his adamance that he had no idea what he was doing. With several 4.0s under his belt, he’d gathered a fair amount of money…

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“Hey honey, how’d your exam go?” Jan greeted as he came back. “Huh? Oh, yeah, great. I was just- I was just wondering whether, um, you know, if you were tired of living in the dorm, maybe… we could move out and get a place together?” he suggested tentatively. “Well yeah, that sounds great!” she said enthusiastically. “Great! I’ll- I’ll go find us something today!” he said before heading to the phone, slightly dazed but excited.

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And very shortly after, Terry was stood outside a nice two bedroom bungalow for the two of them. He just hoped Jan would like it…

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“Mmmph!” “Oh s-sorry,” Terry apologised once they pulled apart. “I- I kinda missed you. A lot. And was nervous that you wouldn’t like the place.” Jan laughed, “Well firstly, you don’t have to apologise for that – I’ve spent more than a year wanting to do that to you myself, or hoping that you’d do it to me.” Terry smiled sheepishly.

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“As for the house – it looks great,” she said reassuringly. “It has two bedrooms!” he explained. “Oh. Right. Okay.” Do we need two bedrooms? I really wouldn’t mind sharing, myself… Maybe he wasn’t ready for that yet, she thought disappointedly. “Only one of them has a bed in it at the minute though and I’m not sure we can afford another yet, so I figured I’d sleep on the sofa for now.” “Oh. Well, that doesn’t sound very comfortable, so, you know, if it gets cold or is uncomfortable, I’ll be happy to share…” “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he smiled obliviously, “I used to sleep on the sofa all the time and it wasn’t as comfy as this one…”

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As much as she wanted to live with Terry, Jan thought as she painted while Terry was out at a lecture, maybe they should have stayed in the dorms. If they still weren’t going to be sharing anything more than they had done, it probably was better somewhere that they got cooked for everyday and had other people around to talk to while the other person was out. Oh, Terry Ryman. I love you, but you certainly can be frustrating. But your cluelessness just makes me love you all the more… She sighed and continued painting.

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Terry, meanwhile, was ecstatic at the new arrangement, sat on their new – though kind of old – sofa, reading a book from their bookcase, learning how to cook decent meals for the two of them. He was living the dream.

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“Hey Jan- Oh, you’re just going to have jelly for lunch?” he asked, concerned. “’Fraid I can’t cook much else. I always just ate out of the cafeteria in the dorm,” she said morosely. “Oh, well I would have cooked something if I knew you were hungry already. See – I’m learning how to cook pork chops!” “That’ll be nice.” “Yup, just got to find the right recipe for apple sauce now…” “Mmm.”

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“Are you sure you can’t manage any more, Jan?” he asked later. “I made hamburgers!” “No, I’m full thanks. And I’ve got lots of skilling to do for my degree now that I’ve chosen to major in Maths.” “Oh, that’s too clever for me, but if you need food…!”

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Jan just really wasn’t having a very good day. She later discovered that leaving the dorms hadn’t even meant being free from mascots and cheerleaders, who were prone to getting into physical fights right where you needed to go. She wound up going to bed early. And very alone.

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And Terry was still having the best day ever. There was a better view of the stars from their new place…

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And he managed to finish off a parenting book he’d found before he finally got so tired that he couldn’t do anymore, so he went and curled up on the sofa.

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“Terry?” Jan asked tiredly as she felt somebody slip in the bed beside her just as it became daylight again. “Yeah, um, I hope you don’t mind – the sofa’s not as comfy as I thought; there’s a spring that sticks up through the right cushion and it was hurting my spine, and I know I said that I wouldn’t, but I hoped that maybe-” She smiled and laughed a little to herself, “Terry, Terry, Terry – it’s fine. This bed is designed for two people, I was struggling to keep warm in here by myself.” “You’re cold?” he asked anxiously before moving closer to her and cautiously wrapping his arms around her.

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They fell asleep together like that. Now Jan was happy.

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Now that Terry’s life was all set up, nothing seemed to bother him anymore; not even the cow mascot, who’d been so mean to him before, hanging out around their house. “So if we have mascots, we must have sports teams, right? So which university holds the trophy for whatever sport you’re a mascot for?” “Look mate, I know people call us mascots, but really… The cheerleaders and llamas are just there for school spirit or whatever, and we just dress up like this because it gives us the chance to go around anonymously and do whatever we want. Sport is irrelevant. Unless you count the cheerleader/llama vs cow fights. Which we’re totally winning, regardless of what they might say.”

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Terry also worked on his preferred hobby – painting and art. But he tended to be so absorbed that only Jan or need desperation could distract him from it. Art guy: “Why does everybody ignore me? Hello? Hot, open-shirted, face two guy at six o’clock! Fine, forget you all…”

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And Jan enjoyed spying on the neighbours – especially when they managed to afford a more expensive telescope after demolishing the second bedroom (which was deemed increasingly unnecessary) to make more space inside.

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Not everything was fun though – term papers still had to be done, and final exams came and went, but both students did very well at everything.

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And then there were completely different things altogether… “A-a-a-are you r-really sure about th-this?” Terry said nervously, stutter returning in all its glory. “Yes. Yes I am,” she said firmly “How about you?” “I-I-I- I don’t know- I want to,” he managed to emphasise, “b-b-but-!” “Well if you want to,” he nodded certainly, “then we just go a step at a time. It’s not like I’ve done it all before either, so relax.”

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And so they did go slowly, from kissing…

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To making out…

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To the full thing. “Wow... Any regrets?” she asked him across the bed. He shook his head, still slightly out of breath, “No way. You?” “As if,” she laughed. “I love you so much,” he observed dazedly. “I love you too, Terry.”

Slide 82: 

And she really, really, really did. Yes, she did wish that sometimes he’d take charge with things for once, that he might occasionally sweep her off her feet without stopping to ask her full permission and be so proper and everything, but it was better that he be too nice than too crass. She knew he’d always treat her right and that, should the time come, he’d be a very loving father too. And she wanted to help him overcome whatever problems he had because of the past. Now she just wondered how long it would take him to pluck up the courage to ask her to marry him. Bless him.

Slide 83: 

The only thing that was stopping Terry being any happier than he was, was sheer disbelief. Surely nobody had a life this amazing and, if they did, surely it couldn’t be him? Bad things happened to him. Bad things always happened to him. There was a catch here somewhere, he was sure. It was true that Mzyra had said that the whole point of him moving here was his being happy and getting a family, but… It would go wrong somewhere. But just because that was what his logic was telling him, it didn’t mean he was listening. The stars and the snow had never looked so beautiful, and the world was a much better place.

Slide 84: 

Art guy: “Hi, congratulations, you’ve reached ‘the zone’, have a plaque. Are you going to acknowledge that I’m here this time? No? Didn’t think so. Enjoy your pointless plaque you don’t realise that you have. And the knowledge that artists are hardly ever appreciated until after they’re dead.”

Slide 85: 

Terry’s art was quite appreciated though – he painted very nice portraits of Jan and himself to hang on the walls so that their children- So that the next inhabitants could remember and appreciate them.

Slide 86: 

The thought he’d almost had kept him up most of the night. Jan and he had been together for quite a while now, and he was about to graduate. Did he want to marry her? Yes. Definitely yes. Did she want to marry him? … He thought so. They both seemed to want kids. He wasn’t much fussed with work, she wanted to go into the gaming career – so, once the kids were born, he could stay at home if he needed to, and she could go out to work. They might be a bit tight on money, but it couldn’t be much worse than what he’d grown up with. There were no logical problems with him proposing, there were no emotional problems with him proposing. He should definitely propose. But god only knew how long he’d be stuttering for before he’d finally get the words out.

Slide 87: 

So the next night, when he arrived back from a late lecture, he found her out stargazing and took his chance. “Y-you look beautiful tonight,” he said, cursing himself inwardly for giving away that something important was going on as he saw the look of recognition in her eyes. “You look beautiful every night, of course. And every day.” She didn’t say anything, and he knew it was because she wanted to tease him, but was stopping herself out of recognition that he was clearly doing something serious.

Slide 88: 

“A-anyway, I was thinking that, instead of cooking for us tonight, we could go out downtown somewhere to eat instead?” he asked, trying to sound casual. “That would be lovely,” she said calmly. He was certain she knew exactly what he was thinking and wondered whether he ought to drop all pretence, but that felt wrong somehow, so he carried on. “Right. Well, I’ll just call a taxi then…”

Slide 89: 

Of course, it was a long taxi ride with the traffic and so, by the time they arrived, they’d already gotten much closer out of habit, and had to pull themselves apart in order to get a table.

Slide 90: 

But even that didn’t stop all contact as they held hands across the table. Luckily the waitress was reasonably patient with them when they hadn’t even looked at the menus the first time she came over.

Slide 91: 

Once they got the food, Terry practically inhaled his out of nerves, and Jan tried to eat hers just as quickly so Terry wouldn’t have to sit there getting even more nervous while she finished.

Slide 92: 

“I have no idea how you don’t get heartburn doing that,” she observed. “I’ve been told it’s because half of the food doesn’t actually wind up going in my mouth,” he said sheepishly. Jan laughed and then watched patiently as Terry sipped his drink nervously to stop his throat drying up before he’d even started.

Slide 93: 

“R-right. Well. C-continuing where we left off earlier… You really d-do look b-beautiful tonight.” Jan pretended to blush shyly before smiling at him to continue. “Y-yeah. So, um… I-I’ve told you before that you could turn my life around, and you have. I’ve never been so happy in all of my life and, g-given that I didn’t think this was even possible, I’m certain that you’re the only person who could have done that for me. I don’t know how to make you as happy as you have made me, but I’d try everything to try and make that happen. W-w-what I’m trying to say, and will probably say all wrong, is…”

Slide 94: 

“Tu es la femme de mes rêves. Je ne peux pas vivre sans toi. Et… Tu veux m'épouser?” he pronounced slowly and carefully before sliding the velvet box across the table. “Oh, mon Dieu! Nous nous marions!” she said, and couldn’t help squealing slightly. Terry stared at her slightly and looked embarrassed. “I um, I don’t know what that means… I only learnt those three phrases.”

Slide 95: 

She smiled at him fondly from across the table as she opened the box and took the ring out and sighed as it glittered in the light. “I said ‘Oh my god! We’re getting married!’” “We are?” he said hopefully. “Oui, Monsieur Ryman, we are,” she said happily. “Unless you were meaning to tell me that you want me to pass this ring on to a friend, in which case you really need to work on your French,” she teased.

Slide 96: 

They didn’t say much more after that, French or otherwise.

Slide 97: 

Their romantic escapades did lead to Terry getting beaten up by Mrs Crumplebottom – in the men’s toilets no less! “You know, for somebody who frowns on over-familiarity, you don’t seem to have a problem with going into the other sex’s bathroom, Mrs C.” Amin Sims pointed out. “Do you want some of this too, Sims?! Then keep your mouth shut! There is nowhere to hide from me!”

Slide 98: 

But it would take more than a psychotic old woman to ruin the day they were having. Now there was just one more thing to sort out before Terry had to graduate…

Slide 99: 

Somebody to look after their house until their children were old enough to take over. And what better friend did Terry have than Kelly Fuchs, who he’d known almost as long as Jan? She happily accepted and everything was sorted.

Slide 100: 

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard for Terry to have to drag himself out of bed and out of Jan’s arms in order to move back to Heaven proper. He told himself it wouldn’t be long without her, but he missed her already and he hadn’t even left the house yet. Still, he didn’t have a choice…

Slide 101: 

And so, in a rather artistic outfit, Terry left to set up house and prepare for when Jan could finally join him again. And then their children would follow in their footsteps to that very place.

Slide 102: 

And he had just about had time to do a portrait for Kelly too.

Slide 103: 

Deprived of her fiancé, Jan threw herself into her degree and making it the best she could so she could earn more and progress faster later. But it still wasn’t as good without him there, and it was no less distracting since now she wound up thinking about him even more.

Slide 104: 

She was also taking it out on Kelly a little. She knew full well that Kelly fancied Terry herself, and, while Jan could understand that, she wasn’t going to be accommodating with it. Of course she trusted Terry not to go off with a pretty blonde, but if Kelly tried anything…!

Slide 105: 

But with so much work to do, Jan didn’t get to socialise much out of the house, and she gradually found herself having to spend her time with the bubbly blonde and even, begrudgingly, becoming kind of friends with her. But still, if she went anywhere near Jan’s man…!

Slide 106: 

Besides degree work, Jan also kicked back by studying her favourite hobby – tinkering. She vaguely recalled some guy with a long red ponytail coming to talk to her about it, but she was too absorbed to really notice at the time. And she had no idea why she had a plaque in her pocket later.

Slide 107: 

In fact, by the time it came for Jan to graduate, she and Kelly were normal friends, though Jan still harboured suspicions – that may or may not have been rooted in her own insecurities – but she was nice enough and they had stuff in common, such that Jan accepted that her children might well have to live with Kelly one day. Actually, she pondered, if they had a son she supposed she wouldn’t mind Kelly for a daughter-in-law. So long as she kept her hands off Terry. He was hers.

Slide 108: 

And then, soon enough, came Jan’s graduation, though it felt like forever for them both. Jan had luckily already been by their ‘house’, so she wasn’t in for any unpleasant surprises, but she did have big plans for it. “Once I get back, and get that job I want, we’ll be able to get tiles in the kitchen and bathroom so it’ll be easier to clean-” Terry just let her talk. Anything was going to be better than the grass that all the rooms had right then. It looked like things were going to be more challenging than he’d realised, but, so long as he had Jan, it would be okay.

Slide 109: 

And then Jan grew up into an outfit that could have been a lot worse considering what some people got, and university was finally and irreversibly over for the both of them. As for what awaited them afterwards… ~~~~~End of Chapter 1~~~~~

Slide 110: 

Also: This is the waitress from when Terry proposed to Jan – she and Jan look uncannily related. I think said waitress noticed this because she started calling for Jan everyday, and now I have decided that they’re totally long-lost sisters or something. [/random] Brief stats: Jan Beckett: Knowledge (Family) – Reach the Top of Gamer, Pisces 5, 3, 7, 3, 7. Has three bolts with Terry, one of her turn ons is ‘fatness’ (so no, Terry will never lose weight), graduated Magna cum Laude in Mathematics.