thekeyholder91 | Captive

thekeyholder91

Title: Captive - part 4. Ava's Solution
Author:

thekeyholder (Brigi)
Pairing: Belldom
Rating: PG
Beta/Support: The lovely

millionstar ! Thank you and

laurad2609 for the encouragement! <3
Summary: Dominic is a student who decides to work in his summer holiday in a clothing store, after he mistakes a pretty mannequin for a real man. But what if the blue-eyed doll is not an ordinary one?
Feedback: would be lovely if you have some time! <3
Warnings: Nada.
Disclaimers: As you probably know, I don’t own Muse, but original aspects belong to me. So don't steal, please!
Author's note: Hello, readers! Sorry for the long wait. I think there'll be 2 more chapters. :) I saw a Matt look-alike today, so I hope that's a good omen!

Previous parts: PART 1. | PART 2. | PART 3.

Captive – part 4. Ava’s Solution

After only two weeks of working in the C&K store, Dominic felt as if he had always been an employee. Everything was fine, he felt happy to work there and Chris said the sales increased too. Being an employee, he could also buy clothes for less and he profited of the opportunity to enrich his wardrobe with colourful pairs of jeans. Moreover, he became really good friends with Chris and he enjoyed the frequent visits of either Kelly or one of the older children. Thursday afternoon he was happy to see Ava Jo enter the store. The girl approached Dominic with an incredulous smile:

“Hey Dominic! What did you do to Matthew? I’ve never seen him so happy!”

“Hi, dear! I didn’t do anything,” Dominic laughed, embarrassed.

“Yeah, right. Well then, it means that your simple presence makes him ecstatic,” Ava laughed as Dominic blushed even more. “Anyway, Mum sent me to invite you to dinner on Saturday evening at seven o’clock. That is, if you’re free and don’t have a date.”

“Date? Yeah, right.” Dominic snorted. “Tell your mum that I’d love to have dinner with you.”

“Great, so glad you’re coming!” Ava rejoiced and hugged Dom tightly. “Then we can discuss more about Operation M.”

“Operation M?” Dominic asked confusedly.

“Yes, Operation Matthew. But Mum and Dad mustn’t know about this. They find it funny and childish that I believe Matthew and Tom to be real and wouldn’t let me see you if they knew what we’re plotting. But I just know that at least Matthew is a real man and you can somehow save him.”

“I’m not sure about the saving part, but there is definitely something weird going on…” Dominic mused.

“Ava Jo! What a surprise!” Chris said happily and joined his daughter and Dominic who suddenly fell silent. “How come you’re here?”

“Mum sent me to invite Dominic for dinner on Saturday,” Ava replied, watching the toes of her shoes.

“Oh, that’s a lovely idea! I hope you can come, Dominic?” Chris asked and he looked genuinely happy when his employee answered positively.

“See you on Saturday,” Ava Jo said and waved as she left the store.

* * * * *

The next day Dominic found himself feeling as on his school days: he couldn’t wait for his working day to finish. He thought it was something with which every man is born: the impatience to get home on Friday. He kept checking the clock and he felt almost tempted to hurry the people in the store.

“Hola, amigo! Cómo estás?” a familiar voice asked.

“Lucy!” Dominic exclaimed, his eyes lightening up with joy as he hugged his friend.

“Dominic! Se te ve feliz!” she said cheerfully and kissed the boy’s left cheek.

“What did you say? You spend a week in Spain and you forget English? Please, don’t humiliate me in front of others with proving how helpless I am when it comes to foreign languages,” Dominic giggled.

“I only said that you look happy,” Lucy said sweetly, Dominic blushing involuntarily. “It’s true, you look so…I don’t even know, content. As if you love where you are and…satisfied. Did you discover the elixir of happiness?”

Dom was slightly surprised; only yesterday Ava too noticed a change in Matthew. Was it…did it have to do anything with what Lucy had just said? ‘Matthew is always smiling’ he thought to himself and instead he complimented Lucy on her golden tan. The girl thanked him, brushing away a rebellious hair lock from her face. Something caught Dom’s attention.

“Is that a diamond ring?!” he asked with surprise.

Lucy blushed. “Yes. Colin proposed to me!”

Dominic congratulated her friend and they hugged again.

“I thought he’d already done it? You always referred to him as your ‘fiancé’.”

“No, we weren’t engaged, not officially. He said he wanted to have enough money to buy me a proper ring,” Lucy whispered, touched by the gesture of her fiancé.

“Ah, that sounds like a good plan! So I guess you had a great holiday?”

“Oh yes, everything was fantastic. By the way, I brought you something,” Lucy said and took out a pouch from her pocket.

Dominic opened it carefully: it was a necklace with a pendant shaped like a ship. “It looks awesome!”

“You like it?” Lucy asked sheepishly.

“Of course I do, I wanted to be a pirate when I was a little kid,” Dominic laughed as he put on his gift.

“Well, it’s never too late!” Lucy laughed and stepped aside when she noticed a customer approaching the cash register. “I have to go now. I just wanted to see you and to give you the gift.”

“Thank you, dear. See you on…um, Monday?”

“Yes. Have a great weekend while I’ll be toiling,” Lucy said cheekily.

“You’ve just returned from your holiday, you shouldn’t complain!” Dominic laughed and waved goodbye to his friend.

* * * * *

“Finally, I thought you wouldn’t come!”

“Good evening to you too, Ava,” Dominic laughed as he entered the Wolstenholme house.

“Ava, what did we discuss? You’re supposed to be a kind host!” Kelly‘s voice came from the kitchen.

“Do you need any help in there, Kelly?” Dominic asked as he peered into the kitchen.

“No, no, go and sit down in the living room. The kids will keep you company until dinner is ready,” Kelly said as she closed the door.

“Where is Chris?” he asked as he was dragged away by Ava Jo, who certainly had plans with him.

“Oh, he took the little ones to their grandma, so we could have a calm evening.”

“Aw, I haven’t even met them,” Dominic pouted as Ava led him into the living room.

“Lucky man. You should be glad that Ernie is not here, he’d steal food from your plate,” Alfie commented, briefly pausing a game, so he and Frankie could greet Dominic.

Dominic looked around, laughing at the funny family photos displayed on the walls.

Ava Jo then whispered: “Come on, I have to show you something in my room. It has to do with Operation M.”

“Hey Dominic, don’t you want to play with us?” Frankie asked with a hopeful expression upon noticing that the blonde was staring at the screen.

“Oh, I’d love to, I really like racing games. Maybe after I come back? Ava wants to show me something,” Dom said apologetically.

“What?” Alfie asked curiously.

“Nothing important,” Ava hurried to say and to avert her brothers’ suspicion, she added: “It’s just something I did at school. I can show it later.”

Nevertheless, she huffed angrily as she watched Dominic taking a seat between her two brothers. Ava Jo murmured something along the lines “Men!” and glared at the boys who were absorbed by the racing game and were screaming excitedly.

A few minutes later keys rattled in the door and Chris appeared.

“Hello, kids! And Dominic!” he greeted with a grin.

The boys didn’t even notice him; they were too busy fighting for the first place.

“Dinner’s ready!” Kelly announced as she finished setting the table.

Chris kissed his wife’s face gently and upon noticing that the boys didn’t hear anything, he reached for the remote control. The screen went black, the boys and Dominic complaining loudly.

“But, daaaad…we almost finished the game…oh, come on.”

“Your mum’s just announced that dinner is ready. Besides, you played enough for today,” Chris lectured the children.

Kelly proved to be a great cook – everybody ate as much as they could. Dominic really enjoyed big meals when the whole family gathers and the Wolstenholme kids made it even more entertaining. When the dessert was brought in, he thought about refusing it, but he could never say no to chocolate cake. After such a copious dinner, Dominic felt a bit sleepy, but he was a gentleman and helped Kelly with the dishes. Once he finished in the kitchen, he bumped into an impatient Ava Jo waiting for him.

“Finally, I thought you’d never finish!”

Dominic had a déjà vu feeling and let his little friend drag him upstairs to her lavender room. She had many dolls and stuffed animals, as any other girl of her age, but the blond was happy to see a full bookcase too. Ava Jo noticed Dominic’s stare and she stepped to her bookcase, taking out a rather thick and old book.

“I found the solution to our problem in this book. It was my great-grandmas and who knows when she got it.”

Dominic squinted, struggling to read the title: “The 100 most beautiful fairytales? Why would such a book help us?” he asked, puzzled.

“I’m sorry, did you think you’d find it on Wikipedia? Or maybe Google? Sure, let’s type in ‘how to turn a mannequin into a real man’. Sounds like a modern Pinocchio story to me!” Ava quipped.

Dom raised his hands in defence. “I’m sorry, dear Ava, I didn’t mean to upset you. Come, show me what you found.”

“Here; it seems like an insignificant note, but I think this is the solution,” Ava pointed to a sentence on the middle of the page and recited it.

“The old, wise woman then said: ‘My dear son, every spell, every curse can be broken, however strong, with true love’s kiss.’

So, what do you say?” Ava asked as she closed the book.

Dominic looked confused at first, then realisation hit him. He understood what the girl implied, but didn’t let his feelings show on his face, not yet. He sat on the bed and patted the space beside him. Ava obliged.

“Ava…look, I know what you mean and I find it sweet, but this…this is not possible. This is reality, not a fairytale. I wish things would be that way; oh, believe me, I wish Matthew would come alive from a simple kiss!” Dominic laughed lightly.

“But it wouldn’t be a simple kiss! It has to be true love’s kiss!” Ava reasoned.

“Let’s imagine this could be true. What makes you think I’m the one for him?”

“I’ve told you already! I’ve never seen Matthew smiling like that. He seems really happy.”

Dominic sighed; he knew there was no way convincing Ava that Matt is only a mannequin, not a cursed man. He also didn’t want to upset her, or worse, shatter her dream, so he only said: “I’m sorry, but I won’t kiss a plastic man. When you said that there’s something weird about him, I thought that you meant he was a special mannequin, like those lifelike dolls which can cry and utter a couple of words. I’m sure that if we’d look carefully, we’d find a little built-in mechanism which controls his facial expressions.”

Ava Jo wilted visibly and didn’t say anything. Dominic pressed a kiss on her forehead and they went downstairs. He talked a bit more with Chris and Kelly, then he decided it was quite late and decided to go home. The boys said goodbye and invited him to come back soon, but Dominic didn’t fail to notice the sad glint in Ava’s eyes. That was all he could think about while walking home in the desolate streets.

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