forum Long limbs and frozen swims, you’d always go past where our feet could touch

Started July 14, 2023 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

@FanfictionFanatic I eagerly await your character :)

Just going to use this boy.

Name: Marcus “Marc” Malone
Gender/pronouns: he/him/his
Age: 40
Sexuality: biromantic demisexual (openly flirts with both men and women, but is a little more discreet with men.)

Appearance: Marcus stands at about 6’/6’2”, has short, somewhat spiky sandy blonde hair, grass-green eyes, and a bright smile. He has a broad-shouldered build, very well-muscled but has a fair number of scars from hunting and isn't really ashamed of them. He just has a hard time coming up with other reasons why he has them.
Clothing: he doesn't really care much about what he wears but he's kind of a t-shirt kind of guy… He does like khaki and camo shorts.
Personality: Despite being guarded on certain things, generally, he has a very warm personality. Can be a bit immature though he does have a serious side, he only shows at night or when things get really bad.

The Isle was peaceful. Much more so than the bustling streets of London that she was used to. Rosaline sipped her tea absently while sitting on the front steps of the house she'd just inherited. Despite not knowing about it until just a few days ago, it already seemed homey to her. But perhaps part of that reason was that she had already fought with her sister inside of it. Multiple times…

Becca was family, yes, but that only meant that the times when the siblings fought, it was more brutal than a fight with a friend. However, they made up right before Becca left for home with her husband and daughters. But Rosaline took another sip of her tea, breathed in the fresh autumn air, and tucked the fight in the back of her memory. She’d much rather think positive thoughts about her sister.

And with Becca back in Manchester again, the elder sister now had the house all to herself. Which was both a relief and a nuisance. Boxes, too many to count, were spread around the house with Rosaline's own things that had been moved in from London. And just this morning, she'd had to send a difficult message to someone back in the city. Again, Rosaline shook her head to clear him from her mind.

Once her tea was gone, she headed back inside and to the kitchen to set her mug in the sink. The quiet of the house and surrounding area was so unusual that Rosaline physically paused for a moment to hear it. There was nothing but a quiet ring of silence in her ears until a soft meow broke it.

Her eyes slid down to the half-full cat bowl on the floor and the grey tabby sprawled across the ground beside it. The cat, also formerly her mother’s animal, still had no name. Becca has wanted to name her, but she’d never actually settled on anything. So Rosaline merely sighed at the creature, and after a moment passed, she headed back to the front door.

To keep herself warm against the cool fall air beginning to sweep through the Isle, Rosaline slipped into her coat and wound a scarf around her neck – one that had used to be her mother's. The memory of Mary again put Rosaline on edge. There was so much about her mother Rosaline hadn't found out until she'd been sent word of Mary's death. So much she hadn't known. And maybe if she had…

No, she didn't have time for maybes. As she'd discovered this morning at breakfast, the cabinets for the house were very much void of food since the sisters had moved in for a few days and Richard, Jim, Lauren, and Molly had been at Bayview for two days as well. So, Rosaline retreated from the house to the small town that was a short walk away.

She hoped the walk would cheer her a bit as she headed down the quaint cobblestone street. It would cheer her up even more to see Jacob, the taxi cab driver she’d met upon her initial arrival to the Isle of Man. They’d steadily and steadily grown closer, and now Rosaline was nearly sure they would be able to start a real relationship. The thought manifested in a pink bloom across her cheeks as she walked.

Marc sighed softly as he breathed in the cool air, shoving his hands deeper into his coat pockets. He didn't mind the cold too much and often preferred to walk where and when he could. Nothing against cabs and cab drivers, he just didn't like sitting in the back seat in silence or having a conversation with someone only to have a complete stranger overhearing.

He shook his head and headed down to the nearest grocery store, he was out of coffee this morning… as well as a few other things, but the coffee was his main concern right now. Fortunately, even without his necessary caffeine, he believed he could easily find his way to the store in his sleep.

As she approached the main square, Rosaline began to hum to herself. Too bad she hadn’t brought her earpiece and laptop. She could have gotten a bit of work done during the outing.

But she prayed she wouldn’t run into Cathy anywhere. The wounds of betrayal were still raw, at least for Rosaline. She had just been starting to get close to the woman too. And if she saw Pete… God only knew what would happen with a conversation between them. He seemed calm enough in his demeanor, but Rosaline? She wouldn't trust herself or her anger around him. Those wounds were still open.

She was about to enter the grocery store when she noticed a man across the street. Rosaline hadn't seen him before, but that was nothing out of the ordinary. She'd only been here a little more than a week. She couldn't be expected to memorize everyone in Laxey during her short occupancy here. Though this man seemed interesting, little more than a note of his presence crossed her mind before she entered the store.

Marc had lived here for quite some time and knew many people but even he didn't know everyone, as friendly as he was. So, when he walked up to the store and saw an attractive woman near the door he smiled politely as he approached. “Hello, ma’am.” he nodded, opening the door.

Rosaline was pulled from her focus at the sound of someone’s voice addressing her. It was the same man she’d just noted a few seconds ago. She smiled back and nodded her thanks as he held the door for her. “Hello,” she greeted, adding a small “Thank you” at his gesture.

Marc nodded back as the woman walked into the store before following. “You're welcome.” he replied, rubbing his hands together to warm them back up. “Bit cold today, isn't it?” he chuckled a little.

Rosaline glanced over her shoulder at him, honey golden hair framing her face as she smiled. “Yes, but I’m not complaining. I like it a bit chilly.” She gave him a brief up and down look before pausing her steps to walk beside him.

“I don’t believe we’ve met yet. I’m Rosaline,” she added. She didn’t include her last name for a reason. In case this man had known her mother. Rosaline wasn’t sure if she could handle another person who knew her mother better than she had.

Marc chuckled at her answer and shrugged. “I’m Marcus but everyone calls me Marc.” he introduced himself, politely holding his hand out for her to shake. “Rosaline. That's a very nice name.” he smiled.

Rosaline made a note of the name and the way he held his hand out expectantly. She slipped her own hand out of her pocket and shook it with a firm grasp. "Thank you," she replied, a small smile pulling at her lips. "It's nice to meet you, Marc." She looked as if she was going to say more, but suddenly all kindness vanished from her face.

Another woman had entered the store. She was older and had dark sandy hair. A wry smile pulled at her lips as she walked by, greeting both of them. "Hello, Marc." Her eyes slid to the other woman, who was making it a point not to look at her. "Hello, Rosaline." With that, Cathy walked on, utterly unfazed by Rosaline's steely expression and complete ignorance of her.

(Cathy Reference Image 1, Cathy Reference Image 2 For context, Cathy is well-known around the town, and she's a very free-spirited person. She is also known to get along with everyone ;))

“It's nice to meet you too.” Marc smiled, shaking her hand. Though he raised a brow as her expression changed before looking over his shoulder. “Oh, hi Cathy.” he returned the greeting once he realized who was behind him.

“Is everything alright?” he asked shortly after Cathy had moved on.

Rosaline maintained her expressionless demeanor until Cathy was completely around the corner of the shelf and out of sight. Then, she sighed quietly, attempting to calm her anger to a manageable level for being out in public. But with the lying, deceitful, two-faced bitch in the same store as her, Rosaline knew she wouldn’t be able to relax until she was back at Bayview.

“Oh everything is just bloody brilliant,” she muttered sardonically. Rosaline may have been angry, but she wasn’t going to open up to a stranger she’d only just met. She was very private and would never claim to be the people person that her sister Becca was. Drunk or sober, Becca always seemed to have an easy time with strangers, while Rosaline was more stoic and standoffish at first glance. It was a quality in her sister that Rosaline had always envied and appreciated.

“Oh, ok.” Marc nodded, deciding not to push the topic. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it and whatever “it” was had to do with Cathy. “Anyway… Are you new here? I don't think I’ve seen you around before.” he said in an attempt to change the topic.

Rosaline took a deep breath to drew herself away from the anger surrounding Cathy and looked back at Marc. Her expression softened as she let the cold rage and anger fall away from her features. She even smiled gently at him.

“Yes, I am,” she replied. “I’ve moved here from London. Into my mother’s old house.” Without realizing it until it was too late, Rosaline knew she’d have to mention her mother now. She didn’t know what she’d do if this man had known her.

Rosaline cleared her throat and straightened. “I live in Bayview. My mother was Mary Ward.”

Marc nodded at the information of her being from out of town, it made sense why he hadn't met her before. But hearing that she had family here and who that family member was… “Oh, I see. I’m sorry for your loss. Where you close?” he asked, trying not to be predictable as she was probably annoyed with that but he still wanted to be polite.

Rosaline steeled herself for his sympathetic response. Thanks to her lot in life, her eyes had a storm raging behind them as she studied him fiercely.

He’d known her. As much as he tried to hide it, Rosaline knew from the phrasing of his words. Even if he only knew of her, it was more than Rosaline had in her mother’s last years. Becca had always been closer to her parents despite Rosaline being the older sister.

“No,” she answered shortly. “Not at all.” But then she remembered Jacob’s words about forgiveness and putting her anger behind her. There was nothing she could do about it now. Mary was gone, but what had died obviously didn’t want to stay dead.

So Rosaline sighed and made herself relax as best she could. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so curt. I’ve had a lot on my mind recently.”

Marc tried not to let her stare get to him but it was a little unnerving. Though given her response, he couldn't blame her for it. “I'm sorry to hear that.” he sighed.

“No, no need to apologize. I can understand.” he assured. “Losing anyone can put a lot of stress on a person. Besides, I didn't take any offense.”

Rosaline forced herself to take a breath and relax her normally stoic composure. “There’s nothing to be sorry for,” she answered simply. Maybe she was being cold about the whole situation, but she did feel the emotions deep down. The difference between her and Becca was that Rosaline’s emotions stayed deep down while her sister’s bubbled up shamelessly to the surface. Without Becca here to balance her out, Rosaline felt like she was aimlessly drifting around the little town.

A brief smile passed across her face. It made her look less rigid and more natural. “You don’t know the half of it,” Rosaline replied quietly. She glanced around, still keeping an eye out for Cathy. Then, she turned back to him. “Is there anything you need?” she asked. “From the store?”

Marc raised a brow at her cool dismissal of his apology but didn't say anything about it. He just nodded in response. He didn't want to make things any more awkward for Rosaline than they no doubt already were.

“Either way, you don't have to explain.” he assured as he smiled back. “Oh! Yes. Thank you for reminding me. I’m out of coffee.” he nodded, looking towards the aisles. “Umm… is there anything I can help you find?”

Rosaline shook her head slightly, her face waves of hair. “Really, I should. I’m not as good at socializing as my sister is. She got the extroverted gene, not me.”

Her gaze followed his as he looked toward the aisles Cathy had disappeared into. “You’re welcome,” she replied simply. “And I don’t think so. Not at the moment.”

She turned back to look at him with a gentler smile on her face. “It’s been lovely talking to you, Marc, but I really should-”

Just then, the door to the store opened again, and another man entered. He was ruggedly handsome with a full beard and slightly long brown hair. His clothes were worn but not ratty, and his eyes were brown and kind as they scanned the people in front of him. His gaze landed on Rosaline. “Hello, Fairy.”

The woman in question almost immediately blushed. Her expression and demeanor softened at the sight of him. "Jacob! What are you doing here?"

"Well, I spied you walking into town and thought you might need to catch a lift back up to Bayview, eventually," he answered. Then his eyes shifted behind her and caught on the man she was talking to. "Hello, Marc," he added with a grin. “How are things?”