! BAD GIRLS ! BAD GIRLS !

( a sex and the city fic )

MOTTO HOTEL
philadelphia, pennsylvania
9am

two days had gone by of staying in the philadelphia hotel, i had barely gone outside of my hotel room. i only stepped outside for food or to see miranda. as a result, i hadn't seen duncan... he was staying in a room across the hall, a room that i had to force myself not to look at.

not because i hated the way hotel room doors look, or because i hated duncan. i was afraid of what would happen if i did walk those halls. would i end up going to his hotel door? his hotel bed? the future was one scary place.

today was the day for the funeral, the day everyone had been dreading.

wearing a black simple dress, i finally took that step outside of my hotel room door. i looked over to my left as i saw someone mirroring my actions in my peripheral vision.

duncan.

i looked over at duncan, who looked as handsome as ever in a black suit. our eyes met, and i felt my cheeks start to blush.

he took a couple steps towards me and i did the same. we were suddenly standing face-to-face, mere inches apart. "hi.." i said softly, looking up at him.

"it's been awhile.." he said, smiling down at me.

i could feel my heartbeat quicken in my chest as i looked up at him, his blue eyes piercing my soul. "about two days." i replied.

"exactly. did you get some much-needed rest?" he asked me, his face full of concern. "i've been worried about you." he continued, his voice soft.

i was slightly taken aback by his sweet concern for me, it warmed my chest. "yeah, i guess i was pretty tired." i replied, a slight smile forming on my face.

with a nod, duncan held out his hand for me. "shall we?" he asked.

i reached out and placed my hand in his, his warm skin instantly making me feel at ease. "let's go." i said softly.

P'S FUNERAL HOME
philadelphia, pennsylvania
10:30am

as duncan and i stepped out of his jeep, i saw carrie, samantha, and charlotte walking together towards the funeral home.

"you go on with your friends." duncan said as he noticed my gaze.

i shook my head, "and leave you? c'mon, if it wasn't for you i wouldn't be here." i said.

duncan smiled and shook his head, "yeah but if it wasn't for me, you'd be walking in with them." he said gesturing towards carrie, samantha, and charlotte.

carrie was the first to spot me, walking towards me with a warm smile on her face. i hugged her tightly, breathing in her familiar scent of expensive perfume and cigarette smoke.

with that the two other ladies followed suit, "hello.." charlotte said in a gloomy tone as the five of us now stood in a circle.

"hi ladies," duncan said with a smile, his dimple on full blast.

samantha was about to speak before noticing two men who were not recreationally attractive checking her out, "well, i'm not going to find my orgasm in this town." she complained.

"we are at a funeral!" charlotte whisper yelled.

carrie let out a sigh as we all brought our attention to the car that just pulled up, holding miranda and her family. as soon as the car parked, miranda and her family members got out.

miranda approached us, i was the first to give her a hug, "i'm so sorry, sweetie." i whispered.

carrie who gave her a tight hug after me said, "i'm sorry," to miranda.

then came charlotte who said, "i'm so sorry" whilst placing a soft kiss on miranda's cheek.

samantha who made no effort to hug miranda said, "you look great!"

her statement received dirty looks from carrie and miranda.

"well she does!" samantha defended.

hoping to recover from the awkward encounter caused by samantha, duncan approached miranda next, he gave her a tight hug and a warm smile. "hey, miranda. i'm so sorry." he said softly, resting a hand on her upper back.

"how are you?" carrie said quietly to miranda.

"i'm fine. but everyone else is very concerned about me because i'm here alone. i didn't realize that i needed a date for my mother's funeral." she complained.

charlotte shook her head and rubbed miranda's arm affectionately, "oh miranda."

"my sister and her husband want me to third-wheel with them down the aisle." she said. "god forbid that i should walk it alone, because that would be a real tragedy, right? ignore the coffin. there's a single 35 year old woman walking behind it."

"miranda?" miranda's sister called out from the front entrance.

"coming betsy!" miranda replied. "i gotta..." she said to us.

i looked at duncan, pondering something. he clearly noticed my look and whispered, "what's on your mind?"

"i just hate that she has to walk alone," i said as miranda walked to the entrance.

duncan nodded, his gaze staying locked on miranda. "i know.." he trailed off as she disappeared into the funeral home.

duncan looked away from the door and back to me, a sympathetic look in his deep blue eyes. "i wish someone could walk her." i sighed out. and maybe it was the emotions of the day, the overwhelming feeling of loss over her mother's death, or how much she hated the thought of losing anyone she loved, but something compelled her to suddenly blurt out, "you should offer to walk her."

duncan looked at me, confused. "huh?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

i cleared my throat. "you should ask her if you can walk with her." i clarified. "i'm sure she'd love the company, and plus, it'd be a kind gesture."

duncan was silent for a second, thinking. "but i'm here with you." he said with raised eyebrows.

"i know that, duncan. but i think she needs someone to walk down the aisle with. i'd obviously do it but, they made it clear it's a whole date thing." i explained.

duncan thought for a second longer. "you're right," he said.

i was surprised that it didn't take much convincing. "so, you'll offer?" i asked, my voice hopeful.

"of course, if it'll make her feel better and you happy, then yes." he said before letting go of my hand that he was patting and walking towards the door, where miranda had disappeared.

as i was left with the girls outside of the building, carrie sighed. "wow, well this is hard."

charlotte looked at samantha, ""you look great." what were you thinking? that was not one of the things that i told you to say!"

"you had to tell her what to say?" i asked.

"well while you were here in philly, we were taking care of our own things concerning the funeral in new york. charlotte was in charge of flower and gift arrangements while we were trying to help samantha learn to comfort people." carrie explained.

"those flowers?" i said as i pointed at the bright white flowers that two men were holding as they walked inside.

charlotte gasped. "i said "tasteful!"" she exclaimed.

"i think now we know what 500 dollars worth of glitter looks like," carrie joked.

"there are no explanations, no answers as to why mrs. hobbes passed away. no magic words to soothe us." the priest said.

"you're a spiritual leader, can't you make something up?" carrie muttered from beside me.

"those flowers were supposed to say: "we're so sorry, we love you." not, "you're dead. let's disco."" charlotte said as she eyed the huge bouquet.

"so many amazing stories about her to hear, from her daughter betsy and her husband, david, her son john and his wife, miranda." the priest messed up.

"did he just say?" charlotte whispered to me.

i nodded as carrie whispered, "no spiritual stuff and he can't keep the family tree straight?"

i looked over at the front row to check in on miranda only to see duncan already looking at me, a soft smile playing at his lips. i gave him a nod before redirecting my focus back to the priest.

"after the burial, john and his wife, miranda, invite you back to their home. directions can be found as you exit the sanctuary." the priest said.

miranda looked back at us four to see if we had heard the same things she did. we had. just then samantha mouthed, "i'm sorry." to miranda.

miranda smiled and mouthed, "thank you."

with that, samantha broke down into tears. it seemed that she had founded the release that she really needed. she cried for everything that she couldn't say, and for things she didn't even know she felt.

when it was time for the family and the coffin to walk the aisle, miranda walked alongside duncan as she was struggling to keep it together.

as soon as they passed by my row of seats, i joined the pair and wrapped an arm around her, allowing her to cry as much as needed.

there's the kind of support you ask for, and a kind of support you don't ask for. and then there's the kind that just shows up, hence seeing both aidan and steve standing in the back of the chapel with somber smiles on their faces.

"thank you." miranda mouthed to the two men who nodded.

housekeeping notes !

hope this chapter makes sense it was kind of confusing to write for some reason.

big news for any pretty little liars lover! i have come out with my fic, "secret" exploring the life of aria's fraternal twin sister.