Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hi! This fic that you are about to read is a flashback, co-writen by
xlost fan122x and I. We will post updates as often as we can! I hope you enjoy this desmondlicious fic.

x x x

((I love BLTs! Withou the T though. I'm sure Desmond looked beautiful eating sandwiches...))

Title: Strange Meetings
Characters: Desmond and Penelope
Summary: Des and Pen have another awkward meeting. Coincedence? I think not.

Desmond cursed at the wet shoulders of his new leather jacket. His brother had saved up for a long time to buy Des that jacket for Christmas. Des scowled and folded his arms. This bus better come soon... he thought.

Just as he thought this, a huge, grey bus pulled up in front of the stop. Desmond glared at the driver as he passed by. Des hurried up to the curb. It was a shame that Des was new to the city because as he walked up to the curb, the bus wheels were dragged into a large puddle. Muddy water splattered all over Desmond and his new coat.

Des stared in amazement for a moment. He didn't know what to do. He could hear snickering behind him. He scowled down at his wet jacket, shirt and pants. Giving up on the bus, he walked away, staring down at his squeaky shoes.

As if it wasn't freezing enough already, now Des's clothes stuck to his body and made him constantly shiver. Suddenly he slammed into somebody on the street. He fell back onto the pavement and moaned. He rubbed his head and tried to get up quickly.

It was a girl he had knocked over! Desmond's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, miss..." he tried.

The girl looked up at him wearily and Desmond lent her his hand. She stood up and smiled as she stared down at the books she had spilled. She picked them up while saying, "Sorry about that, sir. I wasn't looking where I was going."

Desmond had recognized her the instant he saw those beautiful, blue eyes. He opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. He helped her pick up her books.

"Thanks," she said. Then she looked him over. "Do I know you from somewhere?"

Des shrugged his shoulders. He began walking in the direction she was heading. "Are you a student?" he pointed at the books.

"No," she said. "I got a job at the local bookstore. Just down there."

Des nodded and began staring at his shoes again.

"Wait," the girl stopped walking and looked at Des. She cocked her head and asked, "Aren't you that guy from the diner? I had a waitressing job for a bit. And you were... Desmond right?"

His eyes widened and then he smiled at her. "Yeah," he said.

"Oh, gosh," Penny continued walking. "I'm Penny, by the way. And try to forget that day, will you? That's not how I normally am, I was just... nervous."

Desmond smiled and nodded quickly, but he knew in his head that he could never forget that day. That was the day he had met Penelope Widmore.

Title: Plans (Continued)
Characters: Des, Pen
Summary: Dessie and Pen continue their conversation as they discover more about each other (and Charles Dickens! Woot!)

Desmond awkwardly shifted the weight in his shoes. That moment had just been a split two seconds, but he had been practicing it in the mirror for what had seemed like years. He smiled at Penny and walked over to the counter. His heart was beating faster than ever.

"What is it?" she asked as she looked up from the books.

"I have nothing to do while I'm waiting for you, so I figured I might check out some books. What do you suggest?"

Pen smiled. She looked over at the cart. "Just got in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. He's my favourite author. My parents used to get me one book by him every Christmas."

Des leaned over to see the books. "Yeah, I love Dickens too. I like Great Expectations. Actually... do you have that in stock? I'll get that one and Oliver Twist."

"But you already read Great Expectations," Penny looked puzzled.

"Yeah, I've read loads of books twice."

Pen picked up Oliver Twist and set it on the counter. Des walked with her to get the second book. She lead him through a maze of bookshelves as she asked, "What did you think of Great Expectations the first time?"

They turned past the Children's section. "Oh, it was great."

"Great?" Pen stopped at one of the shelves and began scanning. "That's all I get? Great?"

Desmond let out a fake laugh. Penny picked up the book and headed back to the counter. "Well, I mean... I liked it."

"Who was your favourite character?"

"Uh..." Des stared at the carpet and watched his shoes scuff across the top. "All of them," he said stupidly. "I could never decide." He looked up at Penny and smiled.

Penelope shook her head. "You haven't read it, have you, Desmond?" She began checking out both of the books and asked whether he was paying with cash or credit.

"Cash," Des handed her seven pounds and fifty two pence. (Classics are usually somewhat cheaper, right?) He failed to say anything more about the book.

Penny laughed as she took the money. She stuffed the seven quid into the register and was still laughing. "Why didn't you tell me so?"

"Uh..."

"Would you like a bag?" she giggled.

"Yes."

She put the books in a plastic bag that read "Century Books" on one side and "Thank you, Please Come Again" on the other. Des snatched it from her and tried to escape through the door. "Desmond, wait!" Penny called, still giggling a bit.

Des pivoted slowly on his foot, revealing a shy smile. "What?"

"I'll try to get off early," she said. "So we can discuss Charles Dickens over appitizers."

((La Fin. I hope you liked this chapter. I thought it was cute! And if I were Des, I would've said Pip. I heart Pip. And I heart Charles Dickens!))

((Aww that was so adorable! Their first kiss! *sigh* I loved the special appearance by Sawyer. I want to know what the heck he was doing in London! Hehe))

Title: Courage
Characters: Des, Pen and Ewan (from the RP! Woot!)
Summary: Des works up the courage to ask Penny out again, but not before he meets up with my OC, Ewan! Yay!

"Do you know if Penny's working today?" Des rested his hands on the wooden counter.

"Dunno," the coloured man with dreadlocks replied. He stared at the cash register as if it were more interesting than Desmond.

"Could you check?" there was a hint of annoyance in Desmond's voice.

The man typed something into the computer and then replied without looking up, "Yeah, it's Tuesday. She's working."

"Thanks," Desmond raised his eyebrows. He strolled over to the Literature section and began browsing. The bookstore was practically empty. There was only one other blonde-haired man browsing the Drama section behind him.

Desmond pulled a book from the shelf and sat down in the set of chairs just outside of the shelves. The title read The Chimes. Desmond opened the book and began reading, but not before he was joined by the blonde-haired man.

Des looked over to see what he was reading. It said something about One Minute Monolgues. Desmond wondered what that meant and continued reading. He got to about page five before the man next to him leaned over and said, "Excuse me..."

Looking up, Des wondered what he had to say. The man continued once he had Desmond's attention, "Could you help me with something?"

"Sure," Desmond replied whilst nodding his head.

The blonde continued, "Could you read both of these?" He pointed to two different monologues on opposite pages. "Can you tell me which one you find more interesting?"

"Yeah, sure," Desmond began reading the pages quickly and the man watched him. He kept looking over at the blonde, wondering why he had to watch Desmond's reaction as he read.

After scanning the monologues, Desmond handed the book back to the eager, young man. "I uh... I liked the second one," he replied.

The man suddenly lit up, "Me too." His eyelashes fluttered and he added, "I'm auditioning for a show soon, so thanks."

"Ah," Desmond turned back to his book. He read the same setence over again three times and then looked round for Penny. He turned back to the young man beside him. "Are you a student here?" he had noticed the blonde's distinct Scottish accent. It was almost as noticable as his own.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Guildhall."

"Oh, the acting school?"

"Yep," his eyes grew bright. "I'm Ewan, by the way."

"Desmond," he was still scanning the room for Penny as he spoke. Finally, he spotted her rolling a cart to the counter. She saw him too and smiled.

"Well, Desmond," Ewan continued even though Des was obviously distracted. "If you're ever in the mood to see a show, we're performing Butterflies are Free Thursday through Sunday."

Desmond was nearly out of his seat already. He turned back to Ewan making an urgent face. He was about to get out of his chair when Ewan rested a hand on his shoulder. This got Desmond's attention. "You could take her," Ewan looked over at Penny and raised an eyebrow.

He nodded and walked over to the counter to say hi to Penny. "How are you, Penny?"

"Good." She had stopped working now, and the man with the dreadlocks rolled his eyes.

"I was wondering..." he looked back at Ewan. "How would you like to see a show some time?"

((OMG That was like the best chapter in the world! Great job! Don't worry, Desmond will be victorious in this one... hopefully...))

Title: Bad Day at the Bookstore
Characters: Man lol , Desmond, Penelope, Ewan.
Summary: The customers all watch as the man attempts to escape the bookstore. But as long as Super Desmond's around, who knows what will happen?

"Please," Penny repeated, but it was too late. The man had already socked Desmond another punch. Desmond groaned and blocked his face with his hands. "Desmond!" Penny cried.

The man was just about to race out of the store when Ewan grabbed him by the wrist. "Not so fast!" Ewan muttered, trying to be heroic.

"You again?" the man joked as he tugged his wrist away. Ewan wouldn't leave him be so the man kicked him in the crotch. Ewan fell to his knees moaning.

The mysterious man swung open the door, allowing the little bell to ring. He hurried out of the shop before anyone could stop him.

Penny had raced to get a tissue box and bring it back to Des. She walked him to one of the chairs in the book store and helped him clean up his bloody nose. All the while, Desmond had insisted that he was perfectly fine and didn't need help. "I don't think so," Penny smiled. She looked over at Ewan who was still dramatically frozen by the door. She snapped, "You idiot. Why didn't you just dial 999?"

"Huh?" Ewan looked over. "Oh, well I'm sorry," he snarled as he stood up, wincing at the pain. Finally he reached Desmond and Pen. "You alright?" he asked Desmond.

"I'm fine," Desmond said, wishing that Pen hadn't brought all this attention to him.

Thankfully, there had only been three customers in the bookstore to watch Ewan's attempts at glory and Desmond being punched in the face. The customers were all frozen in fear, wondering what to do.

"It's okay," Penny said to the rest of the bookstore. "Everything's alright."

"Is he hurt?" one woman asked. Desmond groaned--not at the pain, but at the fact that everyone was paying attention to him.

"He'll be alright," Penny smiled. She ushered Desmond and Ewan into the back room, knowing that Desmond was not liking all the eyes in the store staring at him.

Once in the dimly lit room, she sat him on the counter and wet a towel, dabbing it across his face. Ewan was obviously bored. He started walking round the back room opening drawers and figiting with things while the lovers had their little chat.

Penny said, "I'm sorry this had to happen to you, Desmond."

"It's okay," Desmond smiled. "Otherwise that man might have hurt you."

Penny's face flushed with embarrassment and she looked over at Ewan. "And thanks, er..."

Ewan looked up, his eyebrows raised. "Oh. Ewan."

"Thanks Ewan," Pen forced a smile as she watched the boy proudly soak in the compliment. She looked up at Desmond. "My shift's almost over. You should come back to my place."