"The Move" (Silver Linings Playbook) 2/3?

[Anonymouse]

I saw this movie in theaters a couple of months ago and absolutely fell in love. I just got the novel on my Kindle and I'm almost a third of the way through. I love Pat and Tiffany and I love how they were portrayed in the movie. Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence? Yes please. So here's a silly little dysfunctional story I wrote with them in mind. It takes place before the dance competition, after they've already had a few practices, when Pat is still obsessed with Nikki but also starting to fall for Tiffany. Tiffany may or may not have the fetish, I haven't decided yet. I imagine she'd be turned on by a lot of weird and random things.

I have three short chapters planned. Originally I was going to post them all at once but seeing pages and pages of text in Word overwhelms me, so I broke them up.

---

Tiffany was on the floor stretching out her calf muscles when the Pat came in from outside, bringing with him a gust of frigid air. She shuddered as the cold hand of winter caressed her like a pervert in a dark movie theater, an invasive but strangely exhilarating sensation. A brief glimpse of the naked trees outside made Tiffany shudder with repressed ecstasy. Restraining herself was like holding back a sneeze, but it was still too early in this... relationship, friendship, whatever you wanted to call it, to freak Pat out too much.

The problem was, she loved this time of the year. Every time she went outside the air made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in the most pleasurable way. She couldn't explain why, but this season put her in a constant state of arousal. She was just about insatiable from the start of the Advent season until a week or so after groundhog day, depending on the little guy's prediction.

Now springtime... springtime was a cunt. Most people looked forward to springtime, but not Tiffany. There was nothing worse than waking up to bright sunshine, children squealing next door, and the twittering of those insufferable birds outside your goddamn window. She spent the warmer months yearning for winter, for when everything would die and become still. Nature was a cruel, sexy bitch in the winter.

Tiffany pretended not to notice her dance partner's arrival. She continued stretching, head down, a few strands of hair falling into her face as she bent forward. She was showing off how flexible she was, reaching a few inches past her toes, but when she looked up to see if Pat was watching it seemed his attention is elsewhere. He gazed a little past her, his eyes cloudier than usual. She wondered if he was back on the Klonopin (if so, lucky bastard.) Before she could ask he did a one-eighty, yanking his shirt collar over his face. "Iht'TCHH!"

She could tell the dance moves she was teaching him were already becoming part of his muscle memory; the way he spun around when he sneezed almost resembled a half-assed pirouette. One of his legs even came up a bit, which she couldn't help but find amusing, the way he seemed to throw his whole body into the sneeze. The only other time she ever saw Pat sneeze was that one time in the fall, when she was tagging along, uninvited, on one of his ten-mile runs. Pat found this irritating enough, but when he started sneezing uncontrollably and with less restraint she loudly and gleefully counted each one, drawing the attention of everyone within a two block radius. This only served to aggravate him further, which encouraged Tiffany to continue. It must have been an allergy attack, because he managed to pop a couple of pink pills he was carrying in his hoodie pocket and get himself under control within a few minutes, leaving the final sneeze count at an impressive twenty-two. They continued on with their run like nothing had happened, but Tiffany found herself replaying the scene in her head over and over again. She'd been captivated by the way Pat's body jackknifed with each forceful sneeze, the desperation in his expression, the helplessness in each panting breath.

Either Pat's allergy periods were very brief or he made room in his daily menagerie of psychotropic medications for an Allegra or two, because she can't remember having seen him sneeze since. Well, until now.

Pat kept his face hidden behind his shirt for another minute, his breath shallow and irregular. He has his shirt pulled up just high enough to expose a few inches of midriff, which Tiffany couldn't help but stare at with something akin to sexual desire. There was a moment of quivering anticipation for the both of them, then Pat's tensed abdominal muscles relaxed as he sighed, letting his shirt fall back into place. Suddenly self-conscious about her staring, Tiffany redirected her gaze back to her toes, her expression dour but also mildly flustered.

"You're late," she muttered, her prickly tone effectively hiding her arousal.

"No I'm not," Pat replied defensively. "Don't start arguing about shit already, I'm not even through the door yet."

"What?" She knew he was right; Tiffany couldn't help picking a fight with him whenever she got the chance. But now she was feeling too agitated, too out of control, to stop herself. She was like a top spinning too close to the edge of a table, and she had no choice but to ride it out and hope she didn't fall over the edge. "What's that supposed to mean?"

An imminent internal meltdown, one that threatened to spill over like boiling water from a simmering pot, brewed within her. Whatever part of that brain normal people have access to that helps them calm themselves down, Tiffany simply did not possess.

Pat didn't get an opportunity to even attempt to rationalize with her before she took off her right sneaker and hurled it at him.

Immediately she regretted it. She did not expect to see that level of pain in his expression. It only hit him on the arm (though pretty fucking hard, she had to admit), but by the look on his face you'd think she'd taken a hammer to his scrotum.

"Jesus!"

Terrified that he would turn around and leave and never come back, Tiffany scrambled to do some damage control, running across the room and fussing over his bruising arm. She couldn't afford to lose her dance partner. "Pat, Jesus Christ... I'm sorry, did that hurt?"

"Of course it--" He stopped suddenly, biting his lower lip and sucking it in his mouth for a moment. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, made a little sound in his throat, then continued in a softer, more controlled voice. "No... it's fine. It's not that bad."

Tiffany blinked, impressed and relieved at his ability to calm himself down. And, admittedly, a bit jealous too.

"You're damn right it's not that bad," she said, hitting the uninjured arm, but more gently than she would have in any other circumstance. "Now sack up, we've got some dancing to do."

---

To be continued!

Edited July 28, 2013 by AnonyMouse

[zakandsara]

I love this!

[VividBubbles!]

Oh my god, I love this. I love you. I love this. Ahhhhh! The feels!

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in this movie are both freaking awesome. (Actually they're pretty much freaking awesome like all the time anyway.) Their craziness is so badass and loveable and they're both so freaking HOT.

Continue soon!

BYE!

Edited May 24, 2013 by VividBubbles!

[Purple]

Omg!~ I love this so far. I hope they'll be more because I love this movie, and these two, and your writing... Ahhh!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Love it so far, do continue <3

[Zwee]

No way, I literally watched this movie tonight! After wanting to see it for MONTHS! And I loved it!

This is SO good. The characterization is so right. I could totally see it happening. It's perfect, I can't wait for the next part!

SOHOT.

[Anonymouse]

zakandsara - THANKS!

VividBubbles! - These two are about about the feels. And they are EXCELLENT actors! I just rewatched the competition scene from the movie and they have such great chemistry, there is literally electricity between them. When Jennifer gives him those eyes... rawr.

purple - Thanks for reviving this, I totally intended on continuing, but there's a huge difference between intending to do something and actually doing it. Either way you reminded me that I should probably add another part, so here it is.

DeathNoteOwner - Aww thanks! Hope you enjoy this next part.

Zwee - SUCH A GOOD MOVIE AMIRITE? The book is pretty good too, but I think I like the movie better (could have something to do with Bradley and Jennifer). Oh and happy birthday!

---

It became evident by the fifth sneeze that Pat probably wasn't feeling that well. Tiffany would have preferred not to say anything, but she decided it was time to speak up when he almost dropped her a second time.

"Feeling okay, big guy?"

His body felt warmer than usual. Normally his temperature hovered somewhere around 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, a side effect of the Risperidone, but she felt like the heat coming off of his body was enough to catch her ponytail on fire. She studied his face in the mirror, the exhaustion in his eyes, the subtle pink tinge to his cheeks and nostrils. He spun her around slowly before answering, bending her over his arm. She loved this move; it made her feel like a wilting flower.

"Fine," he said, helping her straighten back up and pressing his chest against her shoulder blades. "Why do you ask?"

"That was the second time you almost dropped me. Plus..."

She stopped when she felt his chest expanding against her back, the movement accompanied by a deep, ragged breath. Biting her bottom lip to keep from laughing (fine my ass!), she tipped her head back and watched the sneeze develop, fully aware of the risks that came from being in such a position. Luckily Pat was polite enough to turn himself away, keeping one hand on her hip while he twisted his upper body to the right. "IHRSHHhhuu!"

His breath hitched indecisively in anticipation of another and Tiffany waited, loving every minute of it. She could feel his fingers squeezing her hip lightly, unconsciously, as his breath wavered, then trailed off, his body relaxing against hers. She watched his face in the mirror as the tension left his features, though he didn't look quite relieved. "Fine, huh?" she challenged, taking his hand off her hip and turning to look up at him.

"Fine enough for this," he said, though Tiffany could see how tired his eyes looked now that they were so close together. "We can't afford to miss a rehearsal, you said so yourself."

The contract did make it pretty clear - unless Pat was on his deathbed, he was expected to be here. "Okay," Tiffany condeded, "but let's take it easy, okay?"

Pat seemed incapable of taking things easy. Everything he did had to be one-hundred and ten percent. Tiffany admired his dedication, but deep down she knew his true motivation was her promise of an opportunity to communicate with Nikki. He was still deluded enough to believe that he really had a chance of getting back together with her, even when everyone and everything told him otherwise. In a way she was grateful for his passion, his drive - it made him an excellent dancer. She only wished that he could feel that passion for her.

After drilling the first sequence to near-perfection, Tiffany set the timer for a three-minute break. Pat immediately went to his duffel bag for a bottle of water. Tiffany followed him, sitting down about four feet away and watching him as she drank from her own bottle. He gave her a sidelong glance, then popped a couple of pills into his mouth and took a long swig of water. She squinted as he stuffed the bottle back into his bag, trying to decipher whether it was psychotropic or decongestive in nature.

"We can end early, you know."

"You said I am not to miss a rehearsal or leave early under any circumstances," Pat said, "especially those concerning a certain football team."

Tiffany smirked at his rigidity. Even now she was telling him it was fine for him to leave early and still he was refusing. "What if I told you I have a date tonight, and I'm trying to kick you out early so I have time to get ready?"

She didn't really, of course, but she wanted to guage his reaction. Pat was a pretty straightforward person, but some of his reactions were more subtle. He cupped his face with his hand and rubbed the little scar above his eyebrow with his thumb, looking at and a little past Tiffany at the same time. "You have a date?"

"Mm-hmm."

Pat looked skeptical, but in the end it seemed his gullible side won out. "Well, I wouldn't want you to miss that," he said, getting to his feet just as the timer rang, signaling the end of their break. "We've got what, two hours left? Assuming you want to finish up by four... are you going out to dinner?"

"Four should give me plenty of time," Tiffany said, deliberately ignoring his second question.

She smirked when she saw his expression in the mirror - he seemed to forget that even when her back was turned, she could still see him from just about any angle in his room. "Let's work on the move," he said, positioning himself at the end of the room and bracing himself in preparation. "Does this guy know that you're going to be in the competition? Does he know he's cutting into our rehearsal time?"

Again Tiffany ignored his questions, but this time it was unintentional. She was too taken aback by his suggestion. "You hate the move," she said matter-of-factly, folding her arms, "and I know you're not feeling your best, and it's a pretty difficult move."

"Which is why we need to work on it."

Tiffany smiled. "If you say so," she said, and, in a moment of impulsivity, she bounded towards him in a few graceful leaps.

He was almost taken off guard but had just enough time to recover and catch her, lifting her up and turning slowly. Tiffany could feel his arms shaking as they struggled to support her and almost regretted her decision... until she saw them in the mirror. "Pat, we did it!" she said, trying to maintain her own pose in her excitement as she watched them turning out of the corner of her eye. "Oh my God, it's perfect! Don't put me down yet - give your body a chance to memorize this moment. This is how it should be every ti-"

Pat cut her off, his voice breathy and muffled against her thigh. "Tiffany?"

"What?"

"I h-have to... hh'IDSCHHHue!"

Tiffany squealed in surprise when she felt Pat's body shake beneath her and the soft, wet explosion so close to her crotch. "Put me down!" she demanded, but she was laughing, only mildly terrified of falling.

He sneezed again, then again, burying his nose against his shoulder and holding her relatively steady through the brief fit. Tiffany was kicking him gently now, urging him to take advantage of this reprieve to return her to solid ground. He lowered her slowly until her feet were on the floor and, with a liquid sniffle, smashed a fist preventatively against his nostrils. "Sorry," he said, his voice a bit funny as he tried to keep his nose from running. "Could you get be a tissue or subthig?"

Dizzy from the excitement, Tiffany couldn't help but bounce a little on her feet as she laughed at his request. "Are you sure you don't want to use my crotch?"

Pat looked mortified but Tiffany smacked him gently on the chest, eliciting a few coughs. "I'm joking," she huffed, turning to get him some toilet paper from the bathroom.

When she returned he was sniffling helplessly, his nose running against his hand. "Here," she said, shoving the wad of toilet paper into his free hand. "Blow."

He obeyed, giving a gurgly, productive blow into the tissues. Tiffany was wondering if maybe she took too much, but she saw now that it was just the right amount.

"Thanks," Pat said, giving his reddened nostrils one last wipe before crumbling the paper into a ball and tossing it into the garbage can from across the room.

"You know I would have killed you if you missed that," Tiffany said. "Now go wash your hands, we're doing that again."

Though he had been so eager to do the move earlier, Pat let out an exasperated groan. "But that was perfect!"

"Yeah, right up until the end there," she said, waving him towards the bathroom. "Once more, with spirit - and less sneezing this time, 'kay?"

Grumbling something along the lines of "Once more my ass," Pat went obediently to the bathroom to wash his hands. Tiffany dabbed at the wet spot on her spandex pants and closed her eyes, shivering privately at the memory of Pat's face against her inner thigh. At this rate it seemed she would be having a date tonight - with the object upstairs in her dresser drawer.

---

TBC (again)!

[VividBubbles!]

When Jennifer gives him those eyes... rawr.

Oh my god, Jennifer's eyes are amazing. I totally agree.

Mmmm, the picture you paint of them in this dance practice. Wow.

I wish that I could more eloquently express how much I love this update, because I do love it. Like, so much.

More soon please!

BYE!

Edited July 28, 2013 by VividBubbles!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

That was so cute ;3 like I can't even explain with English or French words how good this is ( I'm bilingual lol). :3

[NameTaken]

Aghh yes! I watched this movie on a plane recently and it was so perfect

And then AnonyMouse writes a fic and it becomes twice as good. I can't believe I've missed this up until now; you write Tiffany so well! If you ever feel like continuing, please do! For the sake of my Bradley Cooper cravings!

[Nola]

God, I know this topic is really old, but I can't help myself! THIS IS LITERALLY SO SO GOOD! I loved the movie, I adore Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence and, omg, you write them so amazingly. Like, just frickin' perfectly! I can hardly form words right now....I just hover between Do you even know how many times I had to fix my jaw?!

Here are some of my very favorite parts, because yeah, that'll be easier....

Normally his temperature hovered somewhere around 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit, a side effect of the Risperidone,

I love how she knows this, about the drug itself and about him...

"Are you sure you don't want to use my crotch?"

Pat looked mortified but Tiffany smacked him gently on the chest, eliciting a few coughs.

embarrassment+coughing+um, well, your writing =

The only other time she ever saw Pat sneeze was that one time in the fall, when she was tagging along, uninvited, on one of his ten-mile runs.

Because it's something we remember!

Oh, AnonyMouse, I can't even think...I meant for this to be a good, thoughtful response in order to make up for the fact that I bumped an old thread, but I'm not sure I succeeded. But, oh my goodness, I love Tiffany's inner monologue like so much! You write them so well....wait, did I already say that?? Thank you for this story!

[Anonymouse]

Omg, Nola, thank you for bumping this, I forgot all about it! I can't believe it's been a year? Looks like there's a re-watch in store for this weekend... then perhaps part three?

[Nola]

Omg, Nola, thank you for bumping this, I forgot all about it! I can't believe it's been a year? Looks like there's a re-watch in store for this weekend... then perhaps part three?

Promise I won't beg....okay, I can't promise that! I'll just be here, sitting on my hands, hopin' and prayin' (and I don't know the rest of that song...)!