Fairytale Green

Sunday was always a day that I looked at with mixed feelings. It was a good day because it meant that it was the. It was a bad day because it meant the school week would start again in a matter of hours.

The weeks were a never-ending loop. The days trapped in school felt dragged out. Then the weekend went by in a flash. One of my theories was about how time chose when to be cruel.

I considered picking up a different hobby other than reading to pass the time but then I decided against it. I was far too unathletic and lazy.

I would usually spend all day Sunday in the house, but I decided to go for a drive and let Kermit venture away from its parking spot outside my house.

My car Kermit did not like moving. Perhaps it was because my car was lazy like me or because it was not used to driving so far out of the city.

The car began making weird noises.

I thought about turning back and driving home but I had a purpose for my long drive.

I wanted my green hair back.

Screw what my father thought and what anyone else thought. I was Ella with green hair and I did not need to apologise for that. Neither did I have to change myself to suit someone else.

The weather was awful as I headed further on route for the hair dye. It was humid and uncomfortably hot but there was no trace of sunshine in the sky. This had caused the car to feel like a steam room. I turned the air conditioning onto try and cool down.

Halfway to the drug store and right in the middle of the road, Kermit’s noises turned into loud ones. It turned from squeaks that sounded like the muppet I had named the car after to massive bangs of metal crashing together.

The car jolted and I slammed on the brakes.

After a few breaths, I considered my options as I drove slowly to a random opening on the road.

A million questions went round in my head. I wondered if Kermit was dead and if the car could be resurrected. I wondered where the closest mechanic was and how much it would cost to get the car fixed.

Googling the nearest repair shop and garage was the most sensible thing to do. I feared if I drove any further then the car and I would be toast.

The nearest shop turned out to be one a mile and a half away called Mike’s Motors.

Carefully, I drove slowly while following the directions on my phone. The GPS app took me down a road full of abandoned-looking buildings and a few factories. The whole estate looked like it was run by zombies.

Mike’s Motors was a small green building at the end of a narrow road. The shutters were up which allowed me to see inside the mechanical workshop. A car was on a small ramp and from the rattling noises sounding from it, it was getting repaired.

I got out of the car and took in the surroundings. I looked around the outside of the garage where a few racks of tires were found along with a parked black motorbike.

The most noticeable thing about the auto repair shop was the sign hanging off the roof of the building. The name of the place was written alongside an animated picture of an older man who I assumed was the owner.

A man’s voice interrupted me from my study of the sign ‘Hello.’

The voice belonged to the animated sign man come to life. It was almost humorous how alike the man looked to the cartoon drawing. He had a small round body with a large bald head. He wore a friendly smile that matched the large one above his head on the roof of his business.

I found myself smiling back at him.

‘Hi! I am really sorry to turn up randomly. My car started making really funny noises while I was driving.’ I explained to him, keeping a friendly smile on my face ‘Would there be any chance of you taking a look at it or are you busy?’

‘Of course not.’ The old mechanic assured with a grin ‘I will look over your car right away.’

‘Thank you.’ I sighed in relief.

‘Would you like to come inside and wait while I do?’ The man questioned before adding ‘The office has a great hot chocolate machine.’

I let out a small laugh before nodding ‘How could I say no to that?’

‘I’m Mike by the way.’ He told me as he turned and led us into the building.

‘I would never have guessed.’ I sarcastically remarked as I pointed to the sign while we walked into the workshop ‘I’m Ella.’

The old man chuckled at my comment before responding ‘Nice to meet you, Ella. Great car by the way.’

I did not know if he was making fun of me or not. Even I could admit that my car was a little shitty.

‘Kermit is on death’s door.’ I pointed out while stealing a glance back at my small car ‘I’m just hoping you can save it.’

His grey eyebrows rose as the mechanic tilted his head at me and asked, ‘Your car is called Kermit?’

‘Yeah.’ I answered before feeling the need to explain ‘I thought it was a funny name at the time. The car being green and all.’

Mike looked around like the workshop like he was searching for something or someone. He then quickly brought his attention back to me. More specially, he brought his attention back to my hair.

‘Did you by any chance have green hair?’ Mike the mechanic asked.

This was perhaps not a friendly old man. He could have been a stalker. Maybe even a killer. He might have been a mechanic so he could hide my body in the trunk of a car.

I considered my options carefully.

I could have rushed to my car but that just happened to be broken. I could have run away but I was just as slow as a tortoise. I could have roundhouse-kicked him like the karate kid, but he was still an elderly man which made me a horrible person.

‘Yes. I did.’ I lamely replied with a shrug.

His face morphed into a mischievous grin as he shouted in the direction of a door ‘Stone!’

I froze where I stood and hoped that stone was another word for a spanner or some other mechanical tool.

The first thing I saw when the person entered the room was black. I let my eyes roam over the black jeans and the black tank shirt that showed off the muscles and the black tattoos.

Taking up all the space of the doorframe in all of his glory was Stone.

He had engine grease on his thick arms and a little on his rough-looking face. He appeared sweaty and dirty and hot.

Stone’s hands were big and rough and covered in black grease. His thick calloused fingers flexed at his sides with a confident dexterity that demanded to be watched.

I was sure of two things. One was that I was never going to be more attracted to another man in my life. The other was that I needed a new set of panties.

An inferno of heat pulsed its way through my body and made my back shoot up straight. The hot sensation lingered at my core and between my legs. The extinguishable feeling that had first surfaced the night I met the giant quickly shook my legs again.

He was a vicious wall of honed muscle and a colossal-sized statue of inked artwork.

I closed my lips and breathed through my nose and then I finally forced out a shaky sentence ‘What are you doing here, Lurch?’

The widened pair of dark eyes flicked across my body in shock. As if they could not believe I was standing there in front of him.

His big burly body leaned against a wall a few metres away from where I was standing. His gaze was still locked on my face when his greased-up hands flexed again by his sides.

‘I work here.’ The gruff voice finally spoke up.

It took me a good minute of stunned silence to think back to dinner with Armstrong’s where he mentioned he was a mechanic.

Out of all of the garages in the whole of Santa Monica, I managed to end up at the one he worked at.

Stone was to his full towering height as he pushed his muscular build off the wall and made his way over to me. His ginormous body neared as he stole back the distance between himself and me. 

The deep voice spoke again ‘What are you doing here?’

I forced myself to keep a serious expression and tone when I replied, ‘To see you.’

One of his dark eyebrows rose as he tilted his head downwards so that he could study me further.

‘Just kidding!’ I laughed before telling him the real reason ‘Kermit has died.’

The old mechanic next to us chuckled and reminded us both that he was standing there.

Mike turned to Stone and informed him ‘As soon as she said Kermit, I knew it was your Ella.’

I felt my eyes widen.

‘His Ella?’ I mumbled under my breath ‘What the hell is that supposed to mean?’

The giant looming over my body narrowed his eyes down at me.

‘I can’t believe this.’ I spoke up again to try and keep myself distracted from the heat running through my bloodstream ‘It is like my life is a labyrinth and at every end there is Stone. I can’t escape you.’

His chuckle was a deep rumbling sound that made my stomach flip.

Stone then looked back down at me with a serious expression when he uttered demandingly ‘What happened to you, Medusa?’

‘I was driving to get some hair dye. Then my car made a massive booming noise.’ I sighed before explaining myself ‘I googled the nearest repair shop, and I ended up here.’

The harsh line of his jaw stuck out as he grounded his molars.

‘She has probably blown the gasket.’ The giant grumbled towards the other man in the room before he turned back to me and added ‘You might as well just get a new car.’

‘How could you say such a thing?’ I accused, knowing he knew how much I loved my car.

‘It is a hunk of junk.’

I inhaled loudly to let him know that the idea itself was shocking.

Kermit was old but irreplaceable. I also did not have enough money to afford a new car unless I raided my dad’s room for cash.

‘How long will it take to fix?’ I asked aloud.

‘Two or three days.’ Stone gruffly replied.

‘How much is it going to cost?’ 

The grumpy good-looking face scowled even further as he growled ‘No.’

I tilted my head at the one-word answer.

‘So, it is going to be cheap to fix?’ I concluded with a sigh of relief.

Stone shook his head once and sternly assured with a grumble ‘I’m not going to charge you.’

‘Why not?’

I peered over to Mike. I was shocked to see that the boss and the owner of the place did not interject about Stone not charging me for the repair of my car.

Mike was grinning from ear to ear as his gaze flicked between the large man and me.

‘Don’t you worry, Ella.’ The old man reassured ‘Stone is a fine mechanic. I trained him myself. Your car is in safe hands.’

I turned back to Stone and questioned up at him ‘I thought you said you just moved to Santa Monica?’

‘This is a new shop. My old shop was a good hour and a half away but this area had lower expenses, so I packed up and moved my business here.’ Mike was the one to answer when the other man in the room stayed silent ‘Stone would drive the distance to come and work before he moved here permanently.’

I forced my gaze down the floor. I started picking at a strand of loose thread on my jeans as I avoided the dark eyes watching me closely.

‘What is the catch for you fixing my car?’ I queried before joking ‘Do I have to sit and listen to you sing Grease Lightening while you do it?’

The corner of Stone’s lip hiked up for a second.

‘You were right.’ Mike let out a laugh as he walked over and reached up to pat the large back of the giant ‘She is so cute.’

My eyes widened once again as I looked between the two mechanics.

‘I would have known it was your Ella sooner if she still had her green hair.’ Mike added, his grin still lighting up his wrinkly face.

I was stunned into silence.

‘I was planning on getting my green back.’ I mentioned, choosing to ignore the other part of his stent ends ‘I was heading to get dye when Kermit threatened my life.’

Stone’s gravelly voice filled the air as he delivered authoritatively ‘I will take you.’

‘What?’ I blurted out in surprise.

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat before he rasped out ‘I will take you to the store and then home.’

It was not a request. It was a command.

‘That is okay.’ I quickly dismissed ‘I will just walk.’

I took a step backwards away from him. He followed the movement with his narrowed eyes like he was glaring at the air between us.

His rough voice turned to a growl when he ordered ‘You are not walking.’

‘I am sure it’s not that far.’

He took one large step towards me so that his gruff words rumbled through my body ‘You are not walking.’

I crossed my arms over my chest and shot him an annoyed look.

The giant lowered his voice as it turned taunting with an underlying authority to it ‘I promise not to sing Grease Lightening.’

I felt my lip twitch up as I surrendered ‘Fine.’

His wide shoulders visibly relaxed.

‘Talking about Grease, where is your leather jacket?’ I questioned before commenting ‘I thought it was attached to your skin.’

Stone looked down at his big bare tattooed arms as he mentioned ‘It gets hot in here.’

I could see that. I had definitely noticed.

My attention fell from his face to his muscular arms that looked like they held an unmeasurable amount of strength.

I shuffled on my two feet and tried to discreetly squeeze my thighs together.

Shaking out all Stone related thoughts out of my head, I tried to focus on the words Mike was uttering as he spoke.

The old man slowly made his way through to another room before he came back with a clipboard and pen.

‘I just need some details before you go.’ Mike mentioned to me as he danced the pencil between his fingers ‘What is your last name?’

‘Miller.’ I replied.

The dark eyes continuing to watch me narrowed slightly.

‘Phone number?’ Mike questioned.

I recited my number, and the old mechanic jotted it down. He then took my keys and waddled his way back through into the other room of the auto repair shop.

‘How is your boss so cool about you leaving to take me home and working on my car for free?’ I questioned while peering back up at the large man.

Stone did not reply.

‘I just hope you don’t do that for all people.’ I pointed out with a laugh ‘You will put that poor man out of business.’

‘I only do it for people with green hair.’ His deep voice uttered lowly.

‘Do you know any other people with green hair?’ I asked.

‘I used to have a troll as a kid. It used to live under my bed.’ He replied, his gruff tone playful ‘That had green hair.’

‘A troll under your bed?’ I repeated angrily before I threatened up at him ‘One of these days I’m going to take you down and I pray for you then.’

His eyes roamed the whole of my small body while the corner of his lip twitched.

I shook my head and huffed out ‘I can’t believe you just compared me to a troll.’

‘The troll was cute and tiny.’

I took a step closer to him and raised myself on my tiptoes so that my chin lingered near the bottom of his chest.

‘The difference between me and your troll is that I will never go anywhere near your bed.’ I rebutted.

I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth.

My heels fell back on the ground and my hands twitched to move up and cover my heated face.

The man towering over me leaned over and uttered his dark promise ‘We will see about that.’

I shivered before gaining the courage to look back up at him.

I had no idea what to reply so I randomly spoke the first thing that came to mind ‘Was that your motorbike outside?’

Stone remained close as he nodded once.

‘Is that how you are taking me home?’ I questioned, my voice coming out quieter than I had intended.

He nodded, his mouth hiking up in amusement at my reaction.

‘Then what are we waiting for, Iron Giant?’ I was practically jumping up and down in excitement as I squealed ‘Let’s go for a ride.’

I skipped ahead to the bike outside while revelling at the no sign of his usual truck.  Stone followed closely behind me

The large man watched me circle his bike with a small smirk.

‘You look like a kid on Christmas.’ The deep voice mentioned with a chuckle.

‘Why do you think I tolerate you?’ I delivered eagerly while grinning at him ‘It has all been leading up to this. I’m getting on your motorbike.’

Stone shook his head. His jawbone ticked and his cheek twitched as he sauntered over to the bike. He swung one of his strong legs over the motorbike before his large hands gripped the handlebars and he revved the engine.

‘Get on, Medusa.’ He ordered while holding out a helmet for me.

I climbed on the seat behind him. I scooted myself closer to him and it suddenly became apparent how close the proximity would be for the ride.

The cushioned seat of the bike was a tight squeeze. That was due to the extremely huge man occupying all the space.

I had never been on a bike before, but I assumed I would have to hold on to him tightly.

My hand reached out and grabbed the helmet from him but then I noticed there was only one.

‘You only have one helmet.’ I felt the need to point out to him.

Stone glanced at the black helmet before continuing to watch me unfalteringly.

I held the helmet back out to him when I insisted ‘You need it.’

‘Put it on.’ He grounded out demandingly.

‘What about you?’ I asked.

‘It is dangerous.’ His voice grew deeper as the words left his large hollow-sounding chest ‘I am not going to let anything bad happen to you.’

‘I would make a smaller mess of mush on the road.’ I deadpanned.

He moved in a series of frantic feral movements. He grabbed the helmet from my hand, his warm calloused skin brushing mine in the process. He then gently placed the helmet on my head and secured it into place.

The giant remained silent as he switched on the engine and made the bike roar to life.

The bike’s vibrations sent a jolt of adrenaline through me and made my body move towards the large one in front.

Before we could go, Mike rushed out as fast as he could manage while calling to us ‘Wait!’

Stone did not turn off the engine, but he kept his feet on the ground.

Mike made eye contact with me instead of Stone when he informed: ‘I tried putting your name into the computer system but there were no results.’

I frowned in confusion and then I realised what the problem was.

‘Ella is just my nickname.’ I admitted begrudgingly.

The man in front of me turned his head around rapidly. It was such a quick movement that I was surprised he had not snapped his neck while turning to face me.

‘Your name is not Ella?’ Stone’s deep voice sounded vexed and confused as he grumbled the words quietly.

Mike seemed to be amused at our interaction while he asked ‘What is it your name then?’

‘Bond.’ I answered back with a grin ‘James Bond.’

‘It suits you.’ Mike joked, laughing to himself.

The two mechanics continued to stare at me as they waited for a real answer.

My name was awful. My name would give Stone something other than my height and my hair to tease me about.

I tried to mouth it to Mike so Stone would not see it ‘Drizella.’

The older man scrunched up his eyebrows like he could not understand me.

I mouthed it again ‘Drizella.’

Mike shook his head and shrugged ‘Sorry. I can’t quite make you out.’

‘I give up.’ I sighed in frustration before announcing ‘It’s Drizella.’

The old mechanic turned on his heel and headed back inside before he called over his shoulder ‘Yeah I know. I understood you the first time.’

He was obviously on Team Stone. He managed to get me to reveal my embarrassing name in front of the giant.

Stone repeated my name. It was like he was testing it on his tongue. Like he was tasting the syllables. He seemed to enjoy how it danced on his taste buds because he smirked.

I rose on the seat and leant forward so I could whisper into his ear ‘Call me that again and I will shove you onto the road and then I will steal your motorbike.’

He moved his head so that my lips were no longer at his ear. My mouth now lingered millimetres from his own.

I could feel the warm air of his breath on my skin as he remained close.

‘Do you not like your name?’ The deep voice questioned.

I did not move away from him. I let my gaze drift from his mouth to his eyes.

His irises were so black and dilated that I could see in the reflection of them that my cheeks were flushed.

‘No, I don’t.’ I finally answered him ‘It sounds like a cake topping or an infection. I’m not sure which one yet.’

He let out a single chuckle while I forced myself to pull back and sit down on the small, cushioned part of the bike.

I did not add that I was named after the wicked and ugly stepsister from Cinderella. I knew it would only lead to more taunting on his part.

I was also starting to warm to the nickname Medusa, and I did not want him to stop calling me it.

‘You are going to have to hold on tighter than that.’ The deep guttural voice mentioned, ‘We do not want you falling.’

I wrapped my arms around his waist, moulding our bodies together. My hands felt on fire as I clutched onto him. My inner thighs pressed against his legs and my chest leaned on his back.

Every cell in my body that was touching him was set alight and I almost let out a gasp at the electric feeling that pulsed through my body.

The muscular body I had wrapped my arms around was moving. The hard muscular chest was moving up and down and the deep noise lodged in his throat made its way out of him.

I had to stretch my arms painfully to remain clutched around him. I did not manage to fully wrap my arms around his large body, so I had to press my chest harder against his back.

Stone let out another low guttural noise at the contact.

The wind blew through my hair as he hit the pedal and headed down the street.

His speed was fast, but I felt like he was holding back. I felt like he was going slower than he usually would and I felt like it had something to do with me.

I clutched him tighter as a sign for him to go faster. I heard his chuckle over the rev of the engine before he sped up.

He parked outside a drug store and waited for me as I ran quickly inside and grabbed a hair dye.

I was surprised that he waited for me instead of leaving me stranded.

Even after half an hour on the bike, the excitement never faded away. I never wanted the ride to end.

He did not speak as he drove. The only thing I heard from him was a rough grumbling noise lodged deep in his chest when we turned a corner and I held on tighter to him.

My apartment block came into sight when he turned the bike into a free space up against the sidewalk of my street.

Stone removed himself effortlessly off the bike before he offered his hand to me.

I took his hand while his free arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me off the leather seat.

After he gently set me down on the ground, he opened the storage part of the bike and took out the dye that I got at the drug store.

He offered the dye to me while he gruffed out the question ‘Fairytale green?’

I took the dye from him and nodded in confirmation ‘Fairytale green.’

‘Good.’ He grumbled in approval.

To hide my smile, I turned back around and walked up the steps to the front door of my building.

A sigh left me before I turned around and faced the man next to the motorbike.

‘Thank you for taking me home and for offering to fix my car.’ I delivered to him softly before I added more sternly ‘Which by the way, I am paying for.’

His eyes narrowed and he sent me a scowl that warned me not to argue with him.

‘I am giving you the money when it is fixed.’ I stubbornly stated.

‘No. You are not.’ His deep voice informed before adding ‘I would do it for any acqenemy.’

I tried to fight back another smile while I looked down at the ground to stop myself from staring at him.

‘I better be your only acqenemy, Lurch.’ I called to him.

‘Don’t worry, Medusa.’ He chuckled ‘You are.’

Satisfied with his answer, I should have turned around and walked into the building. I should have left all my thoughts about him at the door, but I could not move.

I was stuck staring at him.

He did not look in a hurry to leave either.

‘I can’t believe I am saying this.’ I mumbled under my breath before I spoke up towards the giant ‘Do you want to come in for a while? I have The Addams Family on DVD.’

I had never seen him move as fast as he did as he followed me inside.