more than words

Valentine's day. Scott needed a distraction. He needed anything to forget the fact that he was alone this year. He could go to a singles mixer, but somehow that just made him more depressed. It's been a year since Hope left him. She never gave him a reason, not one he believed anyway. Her words echoed in his mind. We just weren't meant to be. But how could that be true when he's never loved anyone more than he loved Hope.


"Hey, Scotty." Luis said as he walked into the living room where Scott was sitting on the couch, looking between flyers and his phone. "What are you doing?"


"...What do you think about me chauffeuring people around for Valentine's?" Scott asked after a moment.


"You mean, you wanna drive around a bunch of love-drunk, happy couples?"


"Well," Scott sighed, "I don't want to but...it'd be nice to have the extra cash..."


"And the distraction." Luis looked at Scott with pity.


"And the distraction." Scott repeated. Normally he'd argue with Luis not to look at him like that, but Valentine's was coming up fast and he needed a solution as soon as possible. He made up a simple flyer, printed out copies and put them up around the city.


In only a few days, Scott had already booked a few customers. He was feeling good and proud of himself. He sat back and closed his eyes when suddenly there was a knock on the door. Scott groaned and sat up, hoping it was just a delivery for Luis. However, when the visitor began obnoxiously ringing the doorbell, he knew they weren't going away. Scott slowly and reluctantly opened the door to see Maggie and Paxton.


"Hey," Scott said cautiously. They never dropped by unannounced, they always called or texted unless they had set a scheduled time for picking up Cassie. "What are you guys doing..." Scott looked down at Maggie's hand and saw his flyer. "Oh."


"Yeah, oh." Maggie pushed her way through the doorway. "Scott, what is this?"


"A flyer."


"Yeah, got that." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. " Why are you offering to drive people around when you should be out there having fun on Valentine's Day?"


"I-You know..." Scott groaned as he turned around and walked back to the couch to sit. Maggie and Paxton exchanged a look before following him. "Everything else just seems more depressing, I'd rather just drive people around so they can actually enjoy their night. Besides, I got a nice deal on a rental limo. I'll get more than a decent profit from what I'm getting per ride."


"Alright." Maggie sighed, "Make sure you take someone with you though. Luis, Kurt, or Dave. Just so you have someone to talk to." Scott agreed to ask one of them to tag along before saying goodbye to Maggie and Paxton and sending them on their way. He really didn't want Maggie and Paxton to worry about him on Valentine's Day. Scott helped Paxton set up their whole night, he couldn't risk ruining it.


It was almost time for Scott and Dave, his honorable guest, to leave and pick up their patrons. Dave packed snacks as if it were some sort of road trip, but Scott didn't mind. They packed up the front of the rental limo and took off. As time passed, they arrived at their final pick up. The customers got in and Dave turned to welcome them.


"Happy Valentine's Day, thank you for choosing our services. We've got plenty of waters and snacks if you get hungry on the ride to your destination." Scott looked up from his phone as Dave finished his welcoming speech and looked in the rear view mirror. His eyes widened and his phone fell to his lap. He sat there frozen for a moment before putting up the partition. "Hey, man. What's that about?" Dave looked at him with confusion on his face.


"Oh, my god. Oh, my god, Dave." Scott sunk in his seat. "That's my ex-girlfriend, Hope."


"Daaamn." Dave sat back in his seat. "And here she is, on a date with some guy who wears suspenders."


"Yeah." Scott groaned and sat up in his seat. He put the car in drive and took off. It was a short ride to their destination, which upset Scott. Because he had to get out and open the door for them. He opened the glovebox and grabbed the driver's hat that was in it and got out. Making sure his face was covered, or mostly covered, he opened Hope's door.


"Thank you for choosing us tonight, please feel free to rate our services online and have a wonderful evening." He sped through his words and turned to go back to the driver's seat when a voice stopped him.


"Scott?"


Don't turn around. Do not turn around. Scott shut his eyes and clenched his fists before letting go and turning around.


"Hey! Hope, funny uh...funny seeing you here." He ended with a wild hand gesture that made Hope laugh. The sound made his heart ache. His favorite thing was always to make her laugh. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep from making any more gestures.


"I had no idea you were doing limo service."


"Oh, yeah. Well, I told my friends- Maggie, I-I told Maggie, Paxton, and Luis that I'd keep busy tonight." He shrugged, "So, I rented a limo and put up flyers."


"I hope you're at least making your money's worth." She giggled, looking between him and the limo. "Why did you need a distra-"


"Hope, we should get going." Her date cut her off as he walked around the back of the limo, looking down at his phone.


"Okay. Oh, Scott, this is my date. His name is Darren. Darren, this is Scott. He's my..." She paused. Scott thinks he noticed a flash of sadness in her eyes but when he looks again, it's gone. "He's my ex."


"Your ex?" Darren looked up from his phone. "The one you just can't stop bringing up?"


"Darren. Don't do this. Not here." Hope put her hand on his arm and shot him a warning look.


"Then when, Hope? The next time I breathe and you comment on how it's not the way he used to breathe?" Hope's face turned red as she tried to lead her date away from the limo. He pulled his arm back and stormed off into the restaurant. Hope rubbed her temples before walking back to the limo to gather her things.


"I'm sorry you had to witness that." She sighed, grabbing her purse from the back seat. "He's so touchy- about everything. It's like, he tries to touch me and I'm like 'hey, don't do that!'" She and Scott laugh. Something they haven't shared in over a year. They stood there, staring into each other's eyes for what felt like eternity. "I should get in there. I don't want him taking this out on the waiter or something. I only agreed to this date because it got my coworkers off my back about being alone. What a mistake."


"Yeah, I get that." Scott sighs, "The, uh- needing to get people off your back...part."


"Maybe I'll see you around, Scott." Hope smiled at him one last time before turning around and walking into the restaurant.


"Yeah, maybe." Scott sighed and leaned on the limo until Hope was out of sight. When he stood up, he closed the back door and got back in the driver's seat.


"So, that was something." Dave wasn't sure if Scott wanted comfort, jokes, or silence. Scott wasn't so sure himself. All he knew he wanted was Hope. One more chance with Hope. They stopped at a drive thru and picked up some food before driving around the city, eating their dinner.


Scott tried to play off the sadness as sleepiness, but he knew it wasn't working. He knew Dave could see right through him, yet he knew Scott needed the silence. He needed to think on his own for once. They pulled up to another restaurant and Scott parked the car.


"I thought they were our last customers?" Dave asked.


"Our last paying customers." Scott snorted. "We're picking up Maggie and Paxton." The two opened the door and climbed in. Scott rolled the partition down and he and Dave greeted them. "Hey, you two. How was Valentine's?"


"Beautiful." Maggie sighed. "It was so much fun, such good food. Ugh. How was your night?"


"We saw Scott's ex." Dave responded.


"What, where?"


"Right here," Dave pointed at the seat, "She was our last customer before you two."


"Well, what happened?" Maggie looked between Scott and Dave. Scott looked at Dave, unsure of what to do or say.


"Girl was on a date with some guy." Dave explained, "I overheard her telling Scotty here that she agreed to go out with him to get her coworkers off her back, but Scott seems to think she's in love with that guy." Scott's shoulders slumped and he lowered his head. He just wanted to go home and sleep. This whole night was a mistake.


"You should go after her." Paxton said. Scott looked up and in the rear view mirror at him, "I'm serious. If you still love her, you should go. The worst that could happen is her saying no, right?"


Dave, Maggie, and Paxton grabbed a bunch of candles from the dollar store and lined them along the entrance to Hope's apartment. They lit each one, hoping that they would help set the mood for Scott.


Scott buzzed Hope's apartment. He counted the seconds until she answered. As he waited, his head started filling with thoughts. What if she's not home? What if she had a good date and he was intruding? What if she didn't want to see him again and she thinks he's being a creep? Scott turned around to leave. He walked down a few steps when he heard the door swing open. When he turned around he saw Hope. She stood in the doorway, hand holding the door open as she tried to catch her breath. More Than Words began playing. Scott turned to look at the three he brought with him and saw Maggie give him a thumbs up as she held up her phone with her other hand. Of course she's playing it.


"Hi." Hope smiled at Scott.


"Hi."


"Um, sorry." She walked further outside and let the door close. "My speaker is broken and...I would've yelled to you but people are sleeping." She giggled. The sound made Scott's heart ache all over again and he could only think of kissing her. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms again. "I thought you didn't like Valentine's day."


"I don't- I didn't." He's tongue tied and all he wants to do is tell her the truth. "I didn't, but the thing is, I took it for granted. A year ago, I didn't know what I wanted. I didn't know what I had, but...I think, with the right person, I could love Valentine's day." Scott shrugs as he shoves his hands into his pockets. Hope takes a step closer and caresses his cheek with her hand.


"And?" She's looking down at him, into his eyes. He's a couple steps lower than her, but he doesn't move. He stays there, staring into her eyes."


"I found her." Scott was nervous. He didn't know how Hope would react to any of this. He could only wish that it would have a good outcome. "Hope, I love you." She smiled.


"I love you, too, Scott." Hope wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. He was taken by surprise at first, but suddenly everything made sense again. Everything felt right. He kissed her back as he wrapped his arms around her. When they broke apart, they heard cheering.


"Alright, lovebirds. Let's go!" Maggie yelled to them. "Your carriage awaits."


"Our what ?" Hope laughed. A horse drawn carriage pulled up in front of Hope's apartment complex and Scott covered his face.


"Maggie, that's meant for you and Paxton." Scott sighed.


"We know. We want you guys to use it." Paxton gestured towards the carriage. "Besides, we already had our night. Now it's your turn." Scott and Hope laughed together before walking to the carriage together. Scott helped Hope in before climbing in and sitting next to her.


"Thank you, you guys. For everything." The carriage took off down the street as they all waved to each other.


"So, uh," Dave spoke up once the carriage was out of sight, "Either of you know how to drive this limo?"

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