Quick Fanfiction Contest Archive

[-Kevin-]

Wow!

All entries are amazing!

Entries #2 & 3 stick out for me personally, but I think I'm gona have to go with #2.

The descriptions of Rachel's emotions and character were amazing!

Some really greats fics in this contest!

[charmed60]

Voting has now closed and I can announce that the winner of the Quick Fanfic Contest #16 is........

KirstyEkua which was entry number 2!

A huge congratulations to Kirsty and also to matticus who came second place with entry number three and tessalove for her entry number one. They were all fantastic entries and I was really impressed with the standards of writing. Also thank you so much to those that gave feedback on entry number 4; to answer your questions I believe there is a possibility it will be made into a longer fic so fingers crossed!

I was overwhelmed with the amount of people who commented on the fics so thank you to all those who did and gave great detailed, constructive feedback to the authors who I'm sure will be really grateful. Hopefully this amount of feedback will continue in future fanfic contests.

It is now Kirsty's turn to hose the next contest so I'm looking forward to seeing the topic And thank you Jen for letting me host this one.

[KirstyEkua]

I received 3 amazing, brilliantly written stories for this contest so a big thank you to all the writers for their hard work; i honestly couldn't pick a winner! I loved reading all 3 of them and think the standard of writing was extremely high. So again, big well done to you all! *claps*

A quick reminder of the topic:

Basically i've started the story off and all you have to do is finish it. It can be about any character(s) you wish; the only rule is that they have to have lived in Summer Bay at some point. The first few sentences are below:

The wind howled as the rain battered the windows, causing them to shake and rattle. The storm was getting worse. Dark clouds hovered dangerously in the sky as the trees swayed angrily. (Insert character(s) name) shivered and closed his/her/their eyes wondering when this was going to end and how they were going to come out of it alive.

Entry 1

A Not-So-Romantic Evening?

The wind howled as the rain battered the windows, causing them to shake and rattle. The storm was getting worse. Dark clouds hovered dangerously in the sky as the trees swayed angrily.

Belle shivered and closed her eyes, wondering when this was going to end and how they were going to come out of it alive.

“So much for a romantic evening, huh?” Aden murmured, taking a sip of beer from the bottle he held in his hand, leaning into the back of the sofa, the shape of his muscular body moulding perfectly into it.

Turning on the spot to face her husband, Belle sighed, wrapping her arms securely around her petite frame. Dragging her feet along the floor, the heel of her yellow pumps clinking as she walked, Belle slumped onto the sofa next to Aden. Her eyes averted around the room, the interior design and decor to her taste. Only Aden Jefferies could arrange for them to have a romantic evening in the diner and decorate it tastefully.

The atmosphere had changed since the beginning of the evening, candles having been lit after the power cut affected Summer Bay.

“How much longer is this going to last?” Belle groaned, the rain smashing against the window panes with great force.

“I dunno babe, but at least we’re indoors, right?”

Belle tutted. “I kind of hoped to be snuggled up in bed. It’s 11 o’clock, Aden! But no, instead, we’re stuck in here until all of this stops” she moaned, the weather now signalling how she felt. “I mean, seriously, talk about pathetic fallacy!”

“Pathetic what?” Aden asked, his expression confused.

“Pathetic fallacy” Belle repeated. “It’s basically a description of the weather which reflects your mood” she explained simply.

Aden shook his head, putting his bottom lip. “Never heard of it.”

“We make such a perfect married couple. I have the brains and you have the hotness” Belle smiled, taking her glass of wine in her hand and curling up comfortably in the corner of the sofa.

“Well ... obviously” Aden grinned, joking, as he placed his beer bottle on the table and unbuttoned his white shirt, although leaving it covered over his muscular arms, his bare chest and tanned stomach showing.

“Very hot Mr Jefferies” Belle giggled as she placed her glass on the table next to the bottle, the rain pattering against the window being the last distraction on her mind. “Very, very hot” she murmured quietly to herself as she sat upright, her feet curled underneath her body. She gazed intently at her husband’s perfectly toned abdomen, his breathing soft as his plush lips allowed oxygen to pass through them.

A sudden crash brought them both back to reality, Aden pulling his mind away from noticing just how beautiful his wife really was, just how perfect her features were. Belle’s body suddenly jumped at the noise, both of them standing up.

“Jesus” Aden muttered, slowly standing up and heading towards the window to see the commotion the storm was corrupting outside. Belle followed closely behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso, her fingertips trailing up and down his body, from his abdomen to his chest, sending tingles and electric impulses through him.

He groaned in pleasure as Belle giggled, pressing her lips to his shoulder appreciatively. “What’s going on?” she asked worriedly as Aden emitted a slight gasp.

“The oak tree has fallen down” he murmured, not amazed at the event, his face so close to the window that his breath caused it to steam against the raindrops that trickled down the window pane, hailstones crashing against the glass, instantly turning to water vapour. “But we’re safe in here, baby” he added just as quickly as he had spoken his original words as his wife made no attempt to prevent the slight whimper that escaped her lips.

Turning around to face her, Aden pressed a kiss to her forehead, one hand resting on the back of her head, the others placed on her shoulder.

Closing her eyes, Belle placed a hand over his arm. When Aden pulled his lips away from his wife’s, she spoke.

“Make me feel safe, Aden” she whispered seductively, wanting what was supposed to be the romantic evening worthwhile.

Pulling away further, Aden observed his wife’s features, a variety of adjectives swimming into his mind in which he was proud to say could describe his wife. Sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, intelligent, irresistible, the list continued. She was the woman he loved, the woman he wanted to protect and love and make love to. He wanted her to make her feel special and unique. But she had requested that she felt safe; an item, a couple who couldn’t be separated and come to no harm, to merge into one body.

His lips instantly came crashing down onto hers like the sea on the sand, their tongues meeting each other’s and deepening the already intense kiss. A groan of pleasure emitted from Belle’s fine lips as she pulled at Aden’s unbuttoned shirt. Seductively removing it from his muscular arms, she allowed it to fall carelessly onto the floor of the diner behind him.

Aden’s hands worked their way up Belle’s body, running softly up towards the top button of her perfectly fitted white dress, slowly beginning to unbutton it as Belle reached for Aden’s belt. Holding it, she tugged at it gently, pulling his body closer to her own as she moved backwards towards the sofa in an attempt to make themselves more comfortable.

With their lips still in contact with each other, Belle had finally removed the leather belt from the loops in Aden’s jeans as he attempted to wriggle out of the bottom half of his clothing, revealed now only in his boxer shorts. A few moments later, Aden had managed to remove the designer branded dress from his wife’s slender body, who was now stood in his arms, wearing red, lacy underwear, finally collapsing on top of her on the sofa as she lowered her body underneath her husband’s.

“You are so beautiful Belle” he murmured into his wife’s lips before pulling away from her body and straddling her waist, observing her dress which was now on the floor. Looking back and forth between the dress and Belle’s body, Aden twitched a smile and emitted a breathy laugh. “Definitely better off” he spoke confidently, more convincingly to himself rather than Belle as she giggled, before their lips finally met once again, the pair of them taking turns to communicate their pleasure through breathy moans.

Slowly removing his boxers to reveal his body, he progressed to admiring Belle, lowering his head to press soft kisses to her thin and flat stomach, before exposing her body too.

Their lips interlocked once more as Aden entered, his body thrusting against Belle’s as he drove into her, his love passionate, both continuing to groan into each other’s lips as their sexual activity excited them more so.

After both of them reached climax, Aden rolled off his wife and perched himself on the edge of the sofa, as Belle raised herself onto her elbow.

They allowed their erratic breathing to slow down before either of them spoke, Aden being the first one. “Irene won’t be too happy if she ever found out” he laughed tirelessly and breathlessly.

“You’re thinking about Irene? Now? As in right now?” Belle asked him, raising an eyebrow, giggling as Aden held his breath out of shock. He instantly shook his head. “Good” she whispered, “otherwise I have gone severely wrong somewhere” she joked, sitting up and pressing a kiss to her husband’s lips. “Thank you” she added genuinely, “for all this” she gestured. “It’s been a lovely evening.”

“I hope you mean all this and not the weather” Aden joked. “You’re welcome” he told her seriously. “It’s no more than you deserve.

After a long pause, falling into a comfortable silence, Belle spoke again. “I suppose Irene would be angry if she found out but what about Roman? And could you imagine Colleen.”

“Okay, babe, seriously. Now who’s the one thinking about both Colleen and Roman as they’re sat there naked?” Aden laughed, taking his turn to raise an eyebrow as Belle giggled before pressing another kiss to Aden’s lips, losing themselves for a moment, the only noise in the background being the rain smashing violently against the windows.

“Ready for round two?” she asked seductively, running a hand up his chest in an attempt to seduce him. No words were needed as their lips locked and the kiss intensified, both of them easing into it as it deepened, Aden making Belle feel safe as their bodies merged into one, once again.

********************************

Entry 2

The wind howled as the rain battered the windows, causing them to shake and rattle. The storm was getting worse. Dark clouds hovered dangerously in the sky as the trees swayed angrily. Rachel shivered and closed her eyes, wondering when this was going to end and how they were going to come out of it alive. A tear rolled unexpectedly down her cheek and she breathed in deeply to try and compose herself; she couldn’t cry in front of Harry, she had to try and be strong for him. But she was frightened. She wished Tony was here.

A noise across the room startled Rachel and she froze; holding a sleeping Harry closer to her chest as she hid her face in his neck. He felt cold. She carefully leant forward and slipped her cardigan off of her shoulders, wrapping it around her son as quietly as she could. She didn’t want him to hear her. She’d found the darkest corner in the room to hide in and just prayed that he wouldn’t see her there; the thought of what would happen if he did made her feel sick. Trying to control her frantic breathing she pulled her feet in closer to her body and shifted Harry from one leg to the other, wincing when the floor length velvet curtain shimmered as her foot brushed it. She was so thankful that Harry was sleeping; if he was awake she knew she wouldn’t have been able to hide so effectively; he’d learnt how to talk only a few months ago and there was no way she’d be able to stop his babbling. She gazed down at her little boy and smiled at his angelic face, the way his eyes twitched from side to side underneath his eyelids as he dreamt. It was so unfair on him. “Please Tony, come and get us out of here” she whispered, flinging her hand tightly to her mouth in order to quieten her sobs. What if he couldn’t find her?

The sound of the wind whistling through gaps in the brickwork became more intense and Rachel looked up towards the small amount of window she could see from the floor. It was so dark outside and a single tree branch was tapping ferociously against the glass. How was she ever going to get out of here Rachel questioned, her cheeks reddening in frustration. She’d watched him lock the door through the gap in the curtain. There was no way out.

Her thoughts turned once again to Tony; he was her only hope. He’d left early in the morning for a fishing trip with Elijah; she’d begged him not to go as the weather was so awful but he was desperate to try out the new line he’d bought for his fishing rod. “Wouldn’t you rather just snuggle up on the couch all day, we could get our duvet off of the bed and watch films” Rachel had persuaded, batting her eyelids with an optimistic smile.

“The last time you suggested that, we ended up watching Peppa Pig all day which I’m sure Harry enjoyed but Daddy did not ” Tony had chuckled.

“Peppy pig” Harry had gurgled excitedly, his ears pricking up at the mention of his favourite television show.

“Great thanks, now look what you’ve done” Rachel replied sarcastically; rolling her eyes as Harry repeated the name over and over.

“Enjoy” Tony cheekily smiled, pecking her on the cheek and rustling Harry’s chestnut coloured wavy hair before leaving the house, fishing rod in hand.

I should have tried harder to make him stay Rachel mused. This wouldn’t be happening if he was here. Another lone tear trickled down her cheek gently as the rhythm of the tapping of the branch on the window increased. It was becoming more frantic as if it was begging to come in for shelter, the wind and rain menacingly shrouding themselves around it, trapping it. Yet the branch didn’t give up the fight and it banged harder against the fragile glass as if it was fighting for its last breath. Suddenly glass shot across the room and the rain poured in in forceful showers. Rachel held Harry even tighter, instinctively placing her hand over his ears as she resisted the instinct to scream. Her heart pumped faster as she heard a door crash open, he’d heard. He was going to find her.

“We need to get back to shore” Tony screamed against the rain, resting his fishing rod on the floor of the boat and pulling the anchor in. The wooden shell was rocking side to side as the waves lashed against it, causing puddles to form on the floor.

“Good idea” Elijah agreed, disappointed that the trip had come to an end without having caught any fish. He began to tidy up and pulled his raincoat tighter around him as he glanced over at Tony and saw him trying to start the motor.

“Need some help mate?” he offered, noticing that he was having some difficulty. He stood upright and began to walk over to Tony as a giant wave caused the boat to tip violently to one side. Elijah lost his balance, it all happened so quickly.

Rachel’s body shook as she heard the defiant footsteps marching towards her, the echo of his heel resonating around the building as it got louder and louder. Tears were streaming down her face as she tried with every ounce of strength left in her body not to move. There’s still hope Rachel mentally reprimanded, ashamed at her timid, pessimistic attitude. As long as he doesn’t look behind the curtain they’ll be okay. Suddenly Harry began to stir in her lap, he rubbed his eyes in a sleepy fashion. A crack of thunder shook the building and Harry jumped in her lap, his bottom lip trembling. Rachel’s felt her heart move to her mouth and she tried every effort to comfort him but he was only a little boy; he didn’t understand. He began to whimper, his cries becoming more frantic. The footsteps stopped and Rachel could see the shadow of his shoe slip underneath the curtain. Her heart dropped.

“Elijah” Tony screamed, his eyes wildly scanning the surface of the sea for a glimpse of him but he couldn’t see a thing. The sea was too dark, the rain too strong. As he considered jumping in he heard his phone begin to ring, causing him to hesitate. Pulling it from his pocket he saw his wife’s number flashing urgently at him. “I’m sorry” Tony apologised, feeling guilty at ignoring her before removing his jacket and diving straight into the icy cold water.

“Don’t touch me” Rachel screamed, clambering to her feet with Harry clinging to her for dear life as she pushed him out of the way and ran towards the door. She pulled on the handle despite knowing it was locked but she didn’t know what else to do. “Let me out please” she begged him, banging on the door. He looked bewildered as he froze.

“Rachel…” he began, the grit of his deep voice causing chills to shiver down Rachel’s spine.

“I don’t want to talk, just let me out” she growled, her defensive side beginning to overpower any fear she had.

“But there’s a storm” he insisted, walking towards her in an attempt to comfort her. “Please trust me when I say that if I could change things…” He reached out his hand to touch her arm but she pulled away and took three steps back; anger raging in her eyes. He nodded; he had to respect her wishes. He’d hurt her enough. As the lock was opened Rachel pulled frantically on the heavy wooden door to the Church she had used for shelter and threw it open, running down the marble steps into the gardens as she took a deep breath. The rain had miraculously began to clear and so she lowered Harry who was wriggling in her arms to the floor and clutched his tiny hand tightly. She could walk this route with her eyes shut, counting the number of plaques they walked past until they reached his. Her heart shuddered as the ache in her chest deepened. She wiped her hand across the stone to remove the rain that had splattered itself across the words.

Anthony Holden 1965 - 2010

Loving husband, father, brother and son.

Life will never be the same without you darling

Always in our hearts

“Hello Daddy” she heard Harry whisper as she watched him wave to the headstone he understood to be the father he’d lost. Her heart shattered into a million pieces, tears streaming down her face and as she crouched down next to him and tenderly kissed the side of his head she caught him watching her from behind the stained glass windows. The man her husband had died trying to save.

“Show Daddy the picture you made him” Rachel whispered to her son, not taking her eyes off of Elijah’s gormless, regretful face. He looked so sad and Rachel suddenly felt something she hadn’t before; guilt. She knew it wasn’t his fault, deep down she knew it but she couldn’t ignore the anger which rose in her chest every time she looked at him. Maybe one day she would be able to forgive him but not yet. Not while she was watching her son babble to his Daddy about the picture he’d drawn and what all the scribbles meant. He didn’t understand it all and that’s what broke her heart; although maybe it was a good thing. It protected him from the pain that was plaguing her every single moment of her life.

“Harry look” Rachel gasped, her watery eyes glistening as she noticed a bright rainbow stretched across the sky, arching over the Church. Rachel felt her heart skip a beat in her chest.

“Come on Rach, smile” Tony teased, tickling her arm as he kept one hand on the steering wheel.

“Tony stop it” Rachel bit back, resisting the urge to smile. “I’m in a bad mood and you’re being really annoying.”

“You love me” he winked mischievously.

“I might love you but that doesn’t mean I have to like you right now or forgive you for making me go on this boring drive. It’s cold, I’m wet and I just want to get home” she stubbornly replied, smacking his hand away.

“I needed a new surf…” he drifted off as he noticing something in the distance.”Look Rach” Tony beamed, pointing in the distance as he laughed hysterically.

“What have you never seen a rainbow before” Rachel sarcastically mocked, raising her eyebrow at his strange reaction.

“Yes” he mocked back; “but my Mum always told me that rainbows are a sign of grace; I think she’s trying to tell you that you need to forgive me my love” he chuckled proudly.

“Wainbow” Harry gurgled, pointing in amazement at the pretty colours.

“It’s Daddy sweetheart” she sobbed, pulling him in close to her. “I think he’s trying to tell Mummy something” she reflected, remembering Elijah’s grief stricken expression.

“Dadda” he repeated, giggling, clenching his fists open and closed.

“That’s right bubba, Daddy’s here right now” she smiled, feeling the anger dissipate and the tightness in her chest relax. “He’ll always be here.”

*************************************

Entry 3

Follow What You Feel Inside

--

The wind howled as the rain battered the windows, causing them to shake and rattle. The storm was getting worse. Dark clouds hovered dangerously in the sky as the trees swayed angrily. Mitch shivered and closed his eyes wondering when this was going to end and how they were going to come out of it alive.

“Bit depressing, isn’t it?” Selena asks, peering over Lucas’ shoulder at the screen. Lucas sighs in response.

“It’s the only decent thing I’ve written tonight.”

She quirks her eyebrow but doesn’t take her eyes off the words. “What about that other thing you were working on? The one with the boy with magical powers and crazy family members?”

“The one you said reminded you of a poor-mans Harry Potter?” Lucas retorts. He sees the corner of Selena’s lips turn upwards at the comment. “Yeah, this is all that’s left of it.”

Selena lets out a low whistle.

“Well, maybe your story needs something else,” Selena begins slowly. Even though Lucas knows where this is going he lets her continue. “Like, an awesome southern girl who’s a wizard and –”

“- and lives in New York City with her family and runs a sandwich shop?” Lucas finishes.

“You’re no fun when you’re blocked,” she replies stepping away from the laptop. Lucas hears a jingling noise and looks up. For the first time he notices that she’s dressed up; a short black dress over purple leggings and little heeled boots, a series of chains clinking together around her neck. A style only she can pull off.

“Going somewhere?” he asks, appraising her outfit. She’s got some sort of shiny gloss on her lips and he doesn’t even have the energy to even want to tackle her into the lounge and kiss it off.

“Dem’s having a party. I told you about it,” she replies placing a hand on her hip in a kind of tired way. Her brunette locks fall just past her shoulder, curling at the ends framing her brown eyes.

“Right. Of course,” Lucas says, because he totally remembers now. Demi had been planning it for weeks, a sort of last ditch effort to get everyone together before they went home for the holidays. Or in Lucas’ case, before he went to Selena’s hometown for Thanksgiving and Christmas. He wasn’t going home.

Selena grew up in Dallas, Texas and even though she’s shown him photos of her house and her school and the buildings, Lucas still has trouble imagining it as anything other than a couple of wooden shacks in the middle of the desert with the occasional tumbleweed.

Lucas met Selena in his first extra credit class for Creative Writing. As part of his scholarship the writing majors were grouped with the art majors to work on a project. Selena thinks it was fate that they were put in the same group, Lucas reckons it has more to do with the fact that her surname started with G and his was H.

He remembers the first time he kissed her. On the balcony out the front of Demi’s house when she had her first freshman party. Lucas only got invited to this thing because Demi was Selena’s best friend and she wouldn’t take no for an answer. He was a little drunk at the time, having skulled his first beer as soon as he arrived because he was so nervous, but he still remembers it. The way her brown eyes were sparkling in the moonlight, how her cheeks were flushed pink from the alcohol and the wolf-whistle Joe gave them when he came out and found them there.

“You can always come,” Selena offers picking up her keys and mobile phone from the coffee table.

“Nah,” Lucas says with a shake of his head. He’s tired and irritable and wouldn’t be any fun. He can feel a headache coming on and just wants to get something, anything written that is half way original.

Selena just shrugs. They work well like that. Selena is an artist and when she’s on a roll with her painting Lucas knows to steer clear. He’s slept on the couch when she’s holed herself up in their bedroom while she’s scrambling to get her ideas in order. He’s had to step around canvases on a regular basis and often comes home to see her lying on her stomach in the middle of the living room frantically drawing in a sketch pad.

She kisses him on the cheek and as she heads for the door says something that jogs an idea. “Maybe you need to re-discover your inspiration.”

--

That’s what makes Lucas send the first text message.

He hears the door click shut and then he’s making his way to the bedroom. He heads straight for the wardrobe, kneeling down and pulling out a cardboard box marked ‘Old stuff’. Lucas didn’t even think about why he brought this box in particular when he packed and moved to the States to go to Northwestern. He just did it because he didn’t want to leave it behind at his dad’s house at the risk of someone finding it and throwing it out, or worse, reading it.

Lucas knows he’s his own worst critic, but the thought of someone, anyone, reading through his old stories and journal entries sends shivers up his spine. Some of it is terrible, poorly written with virtually no structure. Others are just loose pages of bullet point ideas based on stories he’s heard or he had experienced first-hand. Living in Summer Bay there was no absence of inspiration. With the amount of stalkers and natural disasters and instances of unrequited love, if Lucas had the time, he was sure he could write a hundred separate novels. But all he needed was one. One good idea.

He pulls out one of his old journals at random, opens it somewhere toward the middle and scans his hand writing.

She looked so beautiful today. Her hair was just flowing down her back, being tossed about by the breeze. I wanted to kiss her. I really did, but there were people everywhere and I don’t know how she feels. I need to know if she likes me too.

Even though he didn’t write her name Lucas knows who he wrote about, who he constantly wrote about. She was the inspiration for many, many short stories about first love and first heartache and how friendship was the most important thing. He wrote her poems about all the things he loved about her, about how she made him feel, what she meant to him, although he never showed her a single one.

Lucas feels this unsettling, familiar feeling in his stomach, a small knot forming and he swallows hard, tossing the journal carelessly back into the box, shoving it back into the wardrobe and closing the door.

Sitting on the edge of his bed he fishes his phone out of his pocket and types up the short message. He scrolls through his contacts wondering whether she even still has the name number. It wouldn’t surprise him if she changed it and never told him. They hadn’t exactly been in close contact since he left the Bay. He doesn’t even know where she is.

But he gets to M and finds her name, hitting send before he can change his mind.

To: Matilda

R u home?

--

Lucas wakes up with stiffness in his neck and his entire leg poking out from under the blanket. It takes him a moment to realise he must have fallen asleep on the couch in between attempting to write at his laptop and texting Mattie. He still doesn’t have much written but he does have an inbox full of reminiscing. He doesn’t know why he’s suddenly worried, but he sits up frantically and searches for his phone, finding it sitting innocently on the coffee table.

“You’re awake!” a chirpy Selena exclaims.

She’s got a towel draped around her body, hair still dripping from the shower and she smiles brightly at him as Lucas rubs the palms of his hands into his eyes trying to bring her into focus.

“I tried to wake you but you were out of it when I got home,” she continues as though she hasn’t noticed anything is different. Which it isn’t, really.

She’s busying herself in the kitchen and Lucas sits himself on the edge of the lounge and stretches. She’s still talking through the wall and Lucas has to concentrate to keep up with her voice.

“—and Taylor was there as well so it was all kinds of awkward, but I did not want to get involved in their drama, y’know?” Selena reappears with a plate of toast and perches beside him. “So how was your night? Did you get much done?”

Lucas stifles a yawn. “Uh, yeah, fine. Tried to write a bit, but y’know. Nothing ground-breaking yet.”

Selena leans forward placing her plate on the coffee table. She lets her towel drop a little, revealing an inch more skin. She looks across and smiles wickedly at him, and Lucas knows exactly what she is trying to do. Normally Lucas would fulfil both their desires right there, but he’s still kind of sore from his night of the couch and just wants to have a shower and forget the whole thing. He places a hand on her upper thigh, giving it a squeeze before standing and padding into the bathroom.

When he returns, Selena is still sitting on the lounge, but now she’s dressed in jeans and band t-shirt. Her hair is beginning to frizz as it dries and usually Lucas finds this type of Selena his favourite. The one who curls up with him on the lounge and watches movies. The one who doesn’t need any kind of makeup to look beautiful. But she looks across at him as he sits beside her silently and her expression is hard to read, guarded in a way that Lucas has never seen before.

“Who’s Matilda?” she asks directly. Her tone isn’t accusatory or showing the tiniest bit of anger, just kind of sad. Lucas notices that she’s holding his phone in her palm.

“She’s a friend. Yeah, so maybe we dated for a while when I was a teenager. But I was like, fourteen, and living in a small town so it was inevitable. But it ended and I haven’t even spoken to her since I’ve been out here. Until last night when I texted her because you told to me find my inspiration and she texted back, but that’s all. She’s not even in this country, so you don’t have anything to worry about.” It all comes out in one rush, but Selena never interrupts. She just listens, but he sees her worrying her lip between her teeth when he finally finishes.

“I think given your reaction to my question, maybe there is something to worry about,” Selena replies simply. “If not for my security, but for your own.”

“I was only doing what you said, Sel!” Lucas says frantically.

“I know,” Selena says with a wry smile. “And if it makes you write, then it’s worth it. But you need to figure out what it is about this girl that gets you so uptight. Whether it’s just stuff that happened when you were fourteen, or –” Lucas shakes his head, but Selena persists. “Or something more.”

Selena stands and makes her way to the door.

“But what about us?” Lucas splutters because he can see her walking away and he’s not doing anything to stop her and he’s not really sure why.

“I’m still going home for the holidays. I’m leaving at 2 on Sunday, so if you’re back we can go together. If not,” she stops, like for the first time she’s actually considering the enormity of what she’s suggesting. “If not, then I guess we’ll talk when we get back.”

--

Lucas makes it as far as Los Angeles before things come to a grinding halt. He knows the seasons are reversed or whatever, and it’s been getting kind of cold lately but he never expected the storm to hit so suddenly. It’s as if the universe is trying to tell him something.

He’s stranded in the middle of LAX with a torrential downpour hammering against the glass windows. All flights have been grounded until further notice, while all the roads have become grid-locked, since people from California have no idea how to deal with wet weather. Which basically means he is all packed up with nowhere to go.

Maybe it’s a good thing, Lucas concedes. This will give him time to think. Everything happened so suddenly after Selena left that his brain hasn’t really had a chance to catch up. He still isn’t even sure why he’s actually doing this.

It’s about inspiration, he decides. When he first moved to Summer Bay and met Mattie he was never without an idea. He could lock the door on his bedroom and write for hours, even if he ended up throwing it out afterwards. Then he got accepted to university and left and watched her wave at him through the windows of the bus, gradually getting smaller as the distance increased. He thought about her for a while afterwards, but then he met Selena and she was just so funny and sarcastic and the complete opposite that he didn’t think to look back. But if Lucas thinks about it, he didn’t really get closure. He needs to deal with the past before he can look to the future.

“Lucas?” One syllable and his ears prick up. It’s familiar and frightening at the same time. He stands, body rigid, and just stares.

“Mattie?”

She breaks out into a grin and rushes forward, engulfing him in a hug. He breathes in the scent of her hair, and even though it’s been years, he’s certain he can still smell the salty remains of days at the beach in every breath. The knot in his stomach seems to tighten, and he’s beginning to think he actually is still fourteen when she pulls apart and looks him up and down.

“And I was worried that I wouldn’t recognise you,” she says with a laugh.

“Haven’t I changed at all?” Lucas asks.

“Only on the outside,” she replies, and Lucas wonders what she means.

“But, what are you doing here?” he finally thinks to ask.

Mattie shrugs, almost coyly, suddenly gone shy, her blonde locks hiding her eyes momentarily. “I guess after your messages, I got thinking, and decided that sitting at home thinking about you wasn’t good enough. I’d just have to come and visit. But then the storm hit and I got stuck here.”

“That’s – that’s –” As a writer, Lucas rarely struggles for words, but right now he’s not doing too good. “That’s insane.” Mattie looks at him quizzically. “Because I was on my way to see you.” He gestures to the small carry-on bag at his feet. Mattie just shakes her head, but she’s smiling so she’s clearly dealing with the shock much better that he is.

They get coffee and sit by one of the large glass windows, not talking much, just watching as the whole town seems to have been frozen in time. The airport is bustling with people trying to make other arrangements and find their luggage and loved ones, but outside the rain has flooded the roads, the wind taken down power lines and brought the city to a standstill.

When Lucas tears his eyes away from the window and glances back at Mattie he finds her staring at him.

“What?” he asks.

“It’s just, even though I was on a plane on my way to see you, I never actually thought I would see you again. Does that even make sense?”

Lucas nods, because it does. It’s almost scary, how after all this time, he can still see each of them as fourteen year olds, drinking milkshakes in the Diner, when theoretically, all this should be unrecognisable.

Mattie takes a sip from her cup and continues. “You left, and then I left, and then everything kind of became too hard.” Lucas reaches out and takes her hand, and to his surprise it is warm and she interlaces their fingers across the table.

They continue to sit like that, the last sip of coffee going cold in their cups.

“I figured I wouldn’t be out of here for a while so I have a hotel room, if you’re interested?” Mattie says quietly. Lucas looks into her familiar blue eyes and nods.

--

Lucas notices that they are still holding hands when they reach the room. He looks down at Mattie and sees that she has this little drop of water caught on one of her eyelashes. Using his thumb he slowly reaches up intending to just wipe it carefully away, but then Matilda is leaning in and pressing her lips to his and everything is frozen. Like traffic in the storm outside, Lucas is unable to move, he just lets her reach her hand around his neck and pull him closer.

He finally pulls away and leads her to the bed. He pulls off his coat while she does the same, kicking of his shoes and tugging off his shirt. He’s lying beside her, kissing her lips, pressing his mouth to her skin, while his hand travels up and down her body. His hand seems too small and she has all these new curves and he has no idea what he’s supposed to do. He should want this, to be this close to her again, but suddenly they aren’t fourteen, or sixteen, or even eighteen. They have their own lives, and Lucas realises that too much has changed for them to go back to the way they were.

He pulls away and Mattie’s eyes flutter open.

“I’m sorry,” Lucas says, voice no more than a whisper. “We can’t be fourteen anymore.”

Mattie pulls her hand away from his chest and lies flat on her back. She’s right there next to him, he could still reach out and touch her, but she feels so far away.

“You’re right,” she says into the darkness. “I just – I was stupid to think –”

“You’re not stupid, Mattie.” He looks over at her and she turns her whole body to face him. “I thought this is what I wanted too. But we’ve both grown up, grown apart, and that’s not a bad thing.” Mattie nods, and he thinks he can see tears beginning to pool in her eyes.

Lucas watches as Mattie gathers her clothes, pulling her blonde hair back into a pony tail, he puts on his own shirt and waits.

“I’m just going to go,” she says.

“What about the room?” Lucas asks, even though it’s probably the least important thing going on right now.

“It’s yours. I’m going to try and find a way home. It’s paid for until Monday, might as well use it,” Mattie replies with a shrug.

Mattie is standing awkwardly at the door, coat draped over her arm, as Lucas rises from the bed. He pulls her into a tight hug. Silently, she nuzzles her nose into his neck before stepping back.

“I loved you, Lucas,” she says quietly.

“Me too,” Lucas replies, and means it. He loved her for a big part of his life, but now he has someone else he loves, for this next chapter of his life. Maybe for the rest of the chapters, he doesn’t know yet.

Mattie presses a kiss to his cheek before she disappears out the door.

The storm appears to have stopped but the streets are still flooded. It’s eerily quiet without the hum of traffic or howling of the wind.

He pulls out his mobile and sends a text to Selena telling her that he’s stranded in LA and won’t make it back in time, but that he can’t wait to see her when she gets back.

Then Lucas takes out his laptop and begins to write.

Please take time to vote for your favourite

Voting closes Friday 15th October, middnight GMT.

[Red Ranger 1]

Entry #1-A Not-So-Romantic Evening?

This was a really well-written entry.The language was very evocative and really created a mood.And the conversation and banter between Aden and Belle was perfectly in character and nicely sparky.The only problem was that it didn’t really go anywhere-they didn’t do anything different, we didn’t learn anything new about them-which made it hard to get into.But the writing was first class.

Entry #2

This had a wonderfully tension-filled opening, which left me wondering where Rachel was, what was happening to her and who was with her.The little flashes of Tony in the storm added to the mood and the flashback to them with Harry was deliciously cute.The only problem came with the explanation.It was clever and certainly not what I was expecting but it was also a bit of an anti-climax as we suddenly find Rachel isn’t actually in any danger at all, she just doesn’t want to see the man she blames for her husband’s death.It was a nice twist but it left the ending feeling a bit flat.But the structure and ideas were really cleverly thought out and I enjoyed that.

Entry #3-Follow What You Feel Inside

From the opening paragraph turning out to be Lucas’ story, I loved this one.The character of Selena and her relationship with Lucas really came alive, which was a nicely done job given that she’s an original character and we didn’t have that much time to get to know her.At first I thought the story was just going to focus on Lucas so it was a nice surprise when Mattie came into it and the scene of Lucas explaining about her to Selena and revealing more than he intended worked well.I didn’t quite buy them going to a hotel room when at least one of them was in a relationship, whatever their residual feelings, but it was a nice realisation for them to have and a nice way of letting go of the past and I genuinely didn’t know what sort of ending to expect so that was well done.

All good stories but I’m casting my vote for Entry #3-Follow What You Feel Inside.

[matticus01]

On Behalf of Kirsty this contest is going to be extended for a few more days... we need more people's votes and kirsty will decide when she comes back

[Red Ranger 1]

Yes, come on, people, you don't want my opinion to be the only one that counts here.That way lies the collapse of western civilisation.And eastern.

[ldscott]

All 3 entries were fantastic but i'm going to vote for number 2- it managed to keep my attention all the way through to the end and had me feeling sad but then happy at the end,

[Jen]

Entry 1

I liked the atmosphere that was created. The cosiness of the Diner as a setting for the fic and the easy relationship between Aden and Belle. They both seemed very in-character, which was nice to read. The writer did a really good job at replicating the banter we saw between the characters in the first stages of the relationship. Having created this great scenario and characterisation it was a shame that the fic didn’t really go anywhere. I was reading and was continually expecting something the happen. Maybe someone would interrupt their evening? Or the roof would collapse in on them? Something that would create a conflict or some sort of action.

It was a nice one-shot, but I wanted something else to happen. Because while it was quite hot to read about Aden and Belle getting all intimate, I wanted more from the characters. More of a story could have been developed. Because with a one shot, it’s not long, so the writer needs to grab the attention of the reader and hold it. You almost need to go down the route of big bangs and drama. This story wouldn’t have been out of place in a longer fic, where Aden and Belle have an adversity they are trying to overcome, and are trying to organise a romantic evening for each other. It would have been perfect for that. I just think that the writer missed an opportunity to really do something with the characters. Something more than just kissing and joking.

But having said that, I really did enjoy this part in particular.

“You’re thinking about Irene? Now? As in right now?” Belle asked him, raising an eyebrow, giggling as Aden held his breath out of shock. He instantly shook his head. “Good” she whispered, “otherwise I have gone severely wrong somewhere” she joked, sitting up and pressing a kiss to her husband’s lips.

And

“Okay, babe, seriously. Now who’s the one thinking about both Colleen and Roman as they’re sat there naked?” Aden laughed, taking his turn to raise an eyebrow as Belle giggled before pressing another kiss to Aden’s lips, losing themselves for a moment, the only noise in the background being the rain smashing violently against the windows.

--

Entry 2

I really liked the opening. How the writer took what was already given to them and just enhanced it by focussing in on one character.

A tear rolled unexpectedly down her cheek and she breathed in deeply to try and compose herself; she couldn’t cry in front of Harry, she had to try and be strong for him. But she was frightened. She wished Tony was here.

One of the things I liked in particular was the vivid descriptions. Especially of Rachel hiding, and having to keep quiet. Not for her own sake, but for Harry. I’m not entirely sure of why she was actually cowering a corner for most of the story. But I did like the flashbacks throughout which piece by piece made things make more sense.

I liked the direction of the story. Almost the lack of confrontation between Elijah and Rachel made it unique and added to the tension. It was emotional, and I don’t normally sympathise with Rachel at all, so the writer did a good job with that. It seemed Elijah was just trying to keep them safe from the storm, but Rachel was interpreting it as something else.

It was a good solid story, with a solid ending and it kept me intrigued as to what really happened to Tony. The descriptions were great, probably the strongest part of the writing. It’s a risk to have a story with little dialogue, like this one, but it worked well and the story did not seem to drag. I was interested in the character, so well done.

--

Entry 3

It’s an interesting decision made by the author to introduce an original character so early in a story. It’s a challenge to make a reader instantly connect with someone they are reading about for the first time. I liked the little details about how Lucas and Selena met, and that helped to construct her as a character. She appeared to be quite determined and ambitious so I was surprised that she was willing to let Lucas go so easily to sort out things with Matilda. I thought there might have been a bit more of a confrontation, particularly as I wasn’t sure whether they were going to break up or not.

As a Mattie/Lucas fan I have my own theories about how Mattie/Lucas saw each other and how their relationship was dealt with on the show. Lucas’ leaving was definitely anti-climatic and I always wondered whether there were any residual feelings between the two of them. So it was interesting that this fic dealt with this. I don’t entirely think it’s plausible that they would both be so willing to hook up in an airport, but I guess for the purposes of the short length of the story it had to be like that.

The ending seemed like a bit of an anticlimax, in that Lucas almost hooked up with an ex-girlfriend in a hotel room and expected Selena to be okay with it. I would almost want to know what happened next. Yes, maybe it was all about the writing but I don’t think that excuses his behaviour and willingness to just leave Selena to chase some fantasy of being with Matilda.

--

My vote goes to Entry 2 for its originality and the great descriptions. It was well constructed and was probably the most complete story of the three entries.

[matticus01]

on behalf of Kirsty... you have one more day to vote. If she's not back to post the results she has asked me to do it for her

[KirstyEkua]

Thanks matticus

I'd like to say well done to charmed60 for writing the winning entry. It was brilliantly written and nearly had me in tears.

Also a big thank you to the other authors for their stories which were both amazing and well written.

A little disappointed in the lack of voting though...hopefully it'll pick up next time.