MAID MARIAN ( TARON EGERTON ) ✓

FOURTY ONE

REAL LIFE

MONIKA MURMURED SLIGHTLY AS SHE NESTLED HER HEAD INTO THE CROOK OF TARON'S NECK AS THE PAIR WATCHED THE FILM ON THE TV. His arm was tossed over the back of the sofa and consequently her shoulders, a glass in his other hand, Monika also cradled her round glass in her palms. Even though Taron protested, Monika insisted they watched Eddie The Eagle and he couldn't say no to the pouting girl. But after a few minutes, laughs and Monika cooing over how cute Taron looked in it, she flicked on a different movie. It was a Netflix original and the pair didn't even know what it was called or about, and once it was halfway through they weren't even paying attention anymore. Taron's eyes were too busy roaming the cluttered front room before staring at the crown of Monika's head, her brown hair imprinting itself in his brain. Her house was small and two bedroomed, the hallway was thin and the walls of it were cream, shoes and coats cluttering along them. The front room walls however juxtaposed them, painted in an appealing purple with a white ceiling and frame. But the room was just as covered in junk as the hallway but it didn't look messy, instead small and homely, that Taron found it warm and lovable, just like the girl. His eyes trailed from a stack of DVD boxes in front of the consoles below the large TV, to a white foldable washing rack that held some damp clothes. A hanging black lacy bra made his cheeks flush and he quickly glanced away, feeling like he had seen something too intimate and not for his eyes. But Monika hadn't even realised, completely forgetting about her drying underwear, as she tentatively sipped from her glass and watched the screen.

"I don't understand" Monika sighed, her eyes looking at the dark screen and brows knitted together.

Taron hadn't even been paying attention but when she spoke, he glanced back at the TV as if the slow credits would give him all the answers.

He just mumbled his agreement with a small chuckle and looked back down at the girl lovingly as she shuffled so she was still laid in his grasp, but was able to see his face.

"Still think we should have watched Eddie the Eagle" She joked, slightly biting on her tongue as her face shone up at the boy. She loved that movie, almost as much as she loved the boy in it.

Her eyes were soft and memorised by him, and she couldn't help but gaze lingeringly at his lips.

The clock on the fire place began to chime signalling it had turned midnight, and the pair reluctantly looked to it. It caught them off guard, if she was honest she had completely forgot time had existed and now that she had realised how late it had gotten her heart began to hurt, knowing she had less time with him. She hated being apart from someone she classed as a best friend.

"We should get to bed, it's late" She sighed, shuffling off of the sofa; Taron's left side now feeling weird from its sudden withdrawal of warmth and pressure.

Once she was stood up and had shook the cramping from her limbs, Taron did the same and she turned off the TV before throwing the remote onto where she had sat seconds prior, the seat still imprinted by her frame.

The pair walked out of the dimly lit room and when Monika's eyes caught the black bra that had been left to dry on the rack, her eyes widened and she allowed her waves to cover her embarrassed expression.

Taron followed her up the stairs, as she guided him to his room even though he he knew where it was as when he arrived they had lugged the bags into it. Monika had almost buckled under the heavy amount she insisted she could manage, Taron just laughed at the stubborn girl, staying close behind in case she needed help. Once they had reached the narrow landing, they leisurely walked to the spare room Taron was staying in, taking smaller, slower steps than necessary.

"Here you are, I'm such a gentleman walking you to your door" She smiled with a small laugh, but sadness crept beneath it.

He chuckled, his eyes still on her with the same lingering sadness. His hand reached for the door handle, but she stayed put, her feet unable to move. She realised how awkward it was, her just standing there and blocking him from entering the room she'd allowed him to sleep in. But she didn't want to move and for some reason, she didn't understand how to move either.

He was so close to her that his breath was heavy as it crashed into her forehead, forming shivers to run through her. He stared down at her, and she stared back beneath her fluttering thick lashes.

No words formed at her mouth but she parted them as if she was going to say something, her tongue instinctively running over her bottom lip. The action caught his attention, and his lids began to get heavy and hooded with a hot feeling. Her breathing also started to grow erratic and she didn't realise her warm hand had moved until it was rested on his cheek, his stubble and jawline soothed by her soft skin. The passion grew thick in the inches between them and she couldn't help but bite her lower lip. That was enough for him to crash his lips into hers, the kiss hungry and fast. She kissed back with just as much urgency as if she needed it to breath, as if it was the reason she had been unable to move; her other hand finding its way to his neck, her fingers intertwining themselves with the hair at the bottom of his neck. His hand fumbled with the metal door handle and he pushed it open, the pair falling into the dark room.

They tripped and stumbled to the bed, still consumed by the kiss; not even breaking away to laugh or pant, the sounds just echoing in each other's throats.

Monika pulled at Taron's top and he quickly slid it off before coming back to her mouth and twirling her dark hair between his rough fingers. She fumbled with the hem of her own shirt, yanking it over her head and biting her reddening lips; the plain white top now cascaded carelessly on the carpet. He kissed her neck, and it earned a moan from her as he murmured her name huskily into her skin. They hadn't even closed the door and she was already excitedly unbuttoning her jeans.

The clock on the wall of the pitch black room showed it was ten past midnight, but the pair weren't ready to go the sleep as their loud breathing echoed on the four walls.

They say drunk words are sober thoughts; but neither of the pair were drunk.