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Derek stares at the little kid. Her hair was wild and curly and she smiled up at him, missing teeth and ecstatic.
"This is my cousin, Francesca." Scott says firmly, eye’s shifting between the two as though he was scared of Derek’s reaction. “I swear I’ll only be half an hour."
"Don’t worry, Scott." Derek grumbles out, looking at anything but the kids big eyes.
"Cesca, listen, don’t annoy Mr Hale, ok?" Scott whispers, kneeling down and hold the kids fat face.
"I won’t, Wotty!" She giggles when he kisses her forehead and runs to the door to watch him leave.
Derek just- Stands there. Unsure of himself, of what to do, of why he even agreed to this in the first place.
The kid- Francesca- turns and beams up at him, sticking her tongue out.
Derek can’t help remembering another little girl, with tamer hair and a more timid smile.
He looks away.
"Hale. No sad, okay?" The kid says, the chubby fingers clamping onto Derek’s trouser leg.
She pulls and though he could easily say no, could easily shove the kid in a cot and forget about her, he moves along with her, willing to do as she commands.
Because this kid makes him feel happy, right. With all her energy, her innocence, her freedom.
She forces him to sit on the grass of the front lawn and begins to crawl around.
"Francesca?" Derek tries.
"Gale?"
"Just- just call me Derek."
"Delik?"
"No, no. Der-Rek."
"Der."
"No-"
“Der."
"Okay fine. What are you doing?"
She doesn’t answer him. Instead she clomps her way towards him, her summer dress stained with mud. She sits cross legged in front of him and throws a bundle of grass his way.
She stares pointedly at the grass and then at Derek.
Derek raises an eyebrow at her.
After a few moments of silence, she sighs grandly, as though Derek’s incompetence has ruined her life.
"Daisy Der!"
Huh?
Derek looks down at the bundle, only just noticing white petals. Daisies. Francesca has got him a load of Daisies. Which could only mean-
"No way."
"Der."
"No."
Francesca pouts at him, her big eyes tearing and her eyebrows pulling in together.
"Pwease Der?"
"Fine."
Derek picks up two daisies, scowling at the child. He has no idea what to do so he just ties them together and hopes for the best.
Francesca is not amused. She gives him a rival scowl and grabs the mush of daisy from his hands.
"This is how." She says, as she elegantly folds the daisies into each other.
Derek watches her for a small while, content to see her work. A small crease develops in between her forehead and her tongue juts out in concentration.
He smiles without realising.
For the next hour or so, Derek and Francesca sit together on the grass, making daisy chains, talking about ‘Wotty’ and how stinky boys are, but not Der, of course, Der’s the best. Derek lies down and listens to her ramble on and on, missing out letters here and there and barely making sense. Somehow her head finds his chest and her speech dies down to nothing.
He lifts his head and looks down at her sleeping form.
Smiling, he picks up a daisy chain and puts it gently on her head. He closes his eyes and drifts off.
When he wakes up it’s because someone is poking his cheek. He opens his eyes to see two sets of puppy eyes on him and barely contains a bark of laughter.
Scott and Francesca kneel either side of him, identical expressions of worry on their faces.
"Dude, I thought you’d never wake up." Scott says, sighing his relief.
Francesca nods eagerly.
Derek is tempted, so freaking tempted, to school his features into a scowl. To get up, leave the kid behind and just forget it ever happened.
Ans he’s going to, he’s about to move and growl at Scott.
But then he catches sight of a white petal and Francesca doesn’t stop him as he envelops her in a huge hug.
As he gets into his car, Scott jogs up to the window.
"She’s back next weekend," is all he says before turning away and leading Francesca back into the house.
She gives Derek a wave, smiling.
And Derek?
He smiles back.