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Written for the Shitennou Forums 2009 Ficathon. The theme this year was song fic. This is the edited version. See author profile for notes and where to locate unedited version.

Cherry (with I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry)

The interior of the club blazed with flashing multicoloured lights. All around him were sweaty bodies undulating to the throbbing beat of the music. Despite all this, he was bored and a little annoyed. His so-called friends had dragged him out tonight after hearing about the dramatic scene he and his now-ex had presented on campus yesterday. He certainly didn't want to be stuck clubbing. Adding insult to injury, his aforementioned ex had arrived twenty minutes ago and, without spotting him across the dance floor, was clearly trying to hit on the bartender. Even worse, the bartender was a woman.

"You're too good for that loser Izzy," his buddy Noah said, placing a beer in front of him.

"Ignore that trailer trash and find someone new," Jamie added in, "It's a wide world out there bro."

Taking a long drag from the bottle, he eyed his two oldest friends. "Easy for you guys to say, you're practically married Jamie and you've got that new chick, Noah. What was her name again, Titty?"

Noah turned a bright red, visible even in the poor lighting while Jamie choked on his beer. "Her name is Leticia," he said firmly, "Tia, not titty."

"Although that would be an accurate description," Jamie wheezed out.

"Fuck off man," Noah growled, punching Jamie in the arm, "Can we focus on cheering Iz up here?"

The two continued to trade mild insults as Izzy allowed his attention to wander, idly scanning the crowd. On Saturday nights, Odyssey was packed and tonight was no different. He mentally sorted the individuals who wandered by and dismissed the majority of them as mindless sycophants intent on their own amusement. There were a few who caught his attention but none that held it. Turning back to his friends, he was about to tell them that he wanted to call it a night when he spotted a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye. Intrigued, he searched out the source and was surprised to find a petite woman in a modest yellow sundress. What had grabbed him was her hair, despite being in a very traditional bob, it was most definitely a dark blue. She looked out of place in the crowd, her eyes darting back and forth as she took in her surroundings and her hands clenching around her small, white purse. Something about her called to him and without realizing it, he was up and cutting a line across the dance floor towards her.

cherrycherrycherrycherry

Cameron Welles was mortified. She stood frozen near the bar of the club her friends had dragged her to. "C'mon Cam," they had cajoled, "It'll be fun. You need to get out and relax more."

She had no problems with fun, but she had her limits. This club was packed and noisy and the woman she had bumped into had turned and apologized to her with a deep baritone voice and what was clearly an Adam's apple. Her friends hadn't even noticed her distress and had joined the throngs on the dance floor, abandoning her to her mild panic. A smooth voice broke through to her, "You all right sweetheart?"

"Excuse me?" She turned to face the owner of the voice, a blonde man who sat at the bar next to her.

He grinned, "I asked if you were all right sugar."

Cameron hesitated for a second when suddenly a warm arm draped around her shoulders, "She's fine Eric, and she's not your sweetheart or your sugar. Why don't you get back to your bartender, she looks like she's getting lonely."

"Easy, jeez," he backed off, hands up, "I was just trying to give a girl a helping hand. You used to be cool Izzy."

"I'm sure that's not all you were trying to give her," Izzy bit out, "And I am still cool, just like you're still a cheating, lying ass-hat."

Steering her by her shoulders, her would-be rescuer led her away from the bar, towards a less crowded area filled with couches and low tables. Taking a seat, she examined her companion. He was several inches taller than her, with strawberry blonde curls that hung to his back. They were pulled away from his face in a low ponytail, giving emphasis to his light green eyes. He was dressed sharply in form-fitting dark jeans and a dark blue button down shot through with silver pinstripes. Catching his amused expression, she realized that she had been staring. "Um, thank you," she said, "I wasn't sure what to say."

He shrugged, "I hope I wasn't out of line. I mean, if you wanted to hang with him, you can go back there but I warn you, he is one slimy jerk. I should know, we broke up yesterday."

Cameron looked back at the man at the bar, "Really? So you're..."

She made a familiar gesture with her hand. Looking at her, Izzy laughed, "Wobbly? Epileptic?"

Cameron flushed and stammered, "No... I mean... I meant... I didn't want to..."

"Relax," he assured her, "I'm just teasing you. Yeah, I'm gay. Don't worry, it's not catching."

"So you don't like girls?" Cameron queried, curious.

"None have ever interested me," he replied, "Kind of goes with the territory."

Cameron relaxed a little bit, feeling comfortable now that she didn't have to worry about any advances from this man.

cherrycherrycherrycherry

"Want to go across the street and grab a coffee?" Izzy questioned, "It's way too noisy in here to hold a decent conversation."

Glancing around, she noted that her friends were in various states of inebriation and not likely to be good company. Coming to a quick decision, she nodded, "Just let me tell my friends where I'm headed."

"Sure," he agreed, "I need to do the same. Meet you at the front door in ten?"

"Sounds good."

He headed back to the table where Noah and Jamie still sat, nursing another round of beers and bobbing their heads to the music. "I'm taking off guys," he told them.

"All right," Jamie said, "Just let us get the tab and we'll go."

"No," Izzy quickly cut in, "You guys can stay. I'm just going across the street for coffee with someone."

Noah raised one eyebrow, "Bro, the only reason we're at this sausage fest is for you. If you go, we go. This place is not our kind of bar."

"Fine then," Izzy growled, "Leave, but you're not invited for coffee, nor are you to follow me to the diner and spy."

Jamie gave him his best "Who me?" look, "So what's his name?"

"Nothing," Izzy replied, "It's not a guy."

"You're going out with a girl?" Noah asked, his voice incredulous.

"It's just coffee," he answered, exasperated, "And I do have female friends, or have you forgotten who introduced you to your lovely girlfriend Jamie?"

"Fine," Jamie relented, "Go, enjoy your coffee. Noah and I will pretend to be boyfriends a little longer before leaving and returning to the arms of our hot girlfriends and erasing the memory of this evening from our minds."

"Thanks," Izzy turned to leave, "And if I find you at that diner, I'll make sure Ren and Titty know every single detail of this evening; especially about how cute a couple you two make."

"For the last time, it's Tia, not Titty."

cherrycherrycherrycherry

Izzy sat across from her in the big red booth near the back of the diner. There were only a few other customers at this time of night so the two of them chatted freely over steaming cups of coffee. He learned she didn't like to be called by nicknames and she learned that his full name was actually Isaiah. He told her about growing up with two moms and she told him about her parents' divorce and her transient childhood as her father's job moved her from town to town. They shared things with each other that they hadn't even told their closest friends; funny stories, embarrassing stories, stories that brought tears of both laughter and sadness to their eyes.

Neither could remember when they had simply clicked with another before. At some point in the evening, Izzy found himself fascinated by her mouth. As she spoke, the way she formed words drew him like nothing else. He hadn't been lying to her earlier when he had told her that no woman had ever interested him, but to his surprise, he realized that he was very interested in her. "Izzy?" her melodic voice brought his attention back to face. Her perplexed expression was just so cute that he couldn't help himself. Leaning across the table, he planted a soft kiss on her lips.

Cameron was not expecting his action, but she wasn't finding it upsetting. In fact, she kind of liked it. Surprised at her reaction, she let out a soft "oh" against his mouth. He took advantage of this and slipped his tongue inside, using it to caress hers. Emboldened, she mimicked his motion, leaning into him.

She tasted like cherry pie and coffee, Izzy thought. He liked that combination, he decided. Resting one hand on the back of her neck, he deepened the kiss, trying to move closer...

"Ah-hem"

The pair sprang apart, Izzy trying to arrange himself coolly on his side of the table while Cameron blushed crimson and stared at the table as though it had the secrets of the universe written on it.

"You two kids need a refill?" the interloper asked, amused.

They both shook their heads quickly. "Thank you," Cameron said quietly, not lifting her gaze.

"Mmm-hmm," the waitress shook her head and walked away.

Slowly, Cameron looked up, her eyes meeting his shyly. He gave her a broad smile before reaching under the table and grasping her hand. Unable to stop herself, she held on tightly, a smile spreading across her own features.

The End.