"Allie? Hel-lo."
Reluctantly, I tore my eyes away from the ground and stared, irritated, right at Lucy. "What?"
Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Sorry. Geez." She twirled a lock of brunette hair around her index finger. "What's up with you? You were all happy-peppy this morning."
No, I really wasn't. That was you; all excited for that One Direction concert. I bit my lip. I was in denial; those tickets were just as much for me as they were for Lucy. The fact that I would even hear Niall's voice after seven years was enough to drag me there, no matter how much kicking and screaming I insisted upon.
"I guess I'm just tired," I lied, poking my turkey-and-cheese wrap with my fork.
"Yeah, my ass you're tired. You sleep more than my ancient grandmother, Allie," Lucy pointed out, stuffing her gourmet grilled ham and cheese sandwich into her mouth. "What's bugging you?"
I shook my head. "Nothing. I swear. I'm just not hungry."
Lucy stifled a laugh. I sighed; she knew me too well. I was always hungry. "You're hilarious."
"I'm serious!" I swatted her arm, grinning playfully. "I had a hu-uge breakfast."
"Now that I can believe." Lucy took another whopping bite of her sandwich. "Dith isf stho gouhod."
I rolled my eyes. "Take bigger bites, will you?" I laughed.
Lucy shoved half of the remainder of the sandwich into her mouth and chewed triumphantly. I clapped. "Well done."
The waiter handed us our check and Lucy blushed furiously, trying to stifle the huge bite down her tiny throat. By the time the waiter left with my credit card, I was dying of laughter.
"I regret nothing," Lucy insisted, as we left the restaurant and walked down the strand. The sun was shining brilliantly, and the sand gleamed like diamonds as taut, tan volleyball players shot identical balls over the net, sun-bathers exchanged pleasant small-talk about each other's designer bikinis, and the occasional street vendors hollered out their sales for tye-dye tee-shirts or ice cream. Skateboarders whizzed past us, wearing only swim trunks and LA Dodgers baseball caps, and psychedelically-graffitied palm trees loomed over our heads.
Quite the hipster town.
Lucy and I bought some ice cream and marveled at the brightly colored sculptures surrounding the sand. I could never get used to this place; there was always so much to do, so much to see. Very much unlike Mullingar, which, although was quite beautiful in its own way, was much more quaint and lovely than bustling Venice.
"I can't wait for tomorrow." Lucy sing-songed. I shook my head. Tomorrow. If only I'd given myself a little more time...
"Oh, yeah. I know." I smiled half-heartedly and ate my ice cream in silence.
"Something's definitely bothering you, Allie. As your best friend on this here planet Earth, I demand to know what the hell is wrong with you," Lucy insisted.
I gave her a wry smile. "It's nothing. I'm just too excited for words."
Well, it wasn't a total lie.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Bye!" I waved from the end of the pier as Lucy's car drove away from the neighborhood. I breathed a sigh of relief; sometimes, hanging out with Lucy was just too much work.
YOU ARE READING
You Found Me
Fanfiction"It's been seven years, Niall. I thought...you'd forget about me." When Allie Hunter's mother died of cancer, her life was torn apart as her formerly close-knit family was uprooted from their homestead in Mullingar, Ireland and replanted in Venice B...
