A Little Bit Pitchy

Part 5

    I wake up the next morning, and I hear banging on my door. I glance at my phone, and it's eight-thirty in the morning. I slip on my noodle pants and my 'Don't Worry It's Apple Juice' shirt and fix my hair. Sliding on my glasses, I open the door and see my sister standing there. "Oh shit, hey!" I move out of the way and let her in. I shut the door and turn to face her. "Thanks for the message that you were here." She tosses her bag on a chair and sits on the couch, laying on it and pulling out her phone. "Well, I'm here. Now you know." I roll my eyes and sit next to her. "Oh, okay, thanks for letting me know."

    "So, how are things with Joel?" I shrug and tell her about what happened yesterday. She sits up and gives me a look. "See? Even Jona thinks you'd be perfect." "Jonas? His name is Jonas, and Joel seemed hesitant." She shrugs and gets up. "He clearly likes you, he just might not know how to tell you. Maybe he's awkward like you." She opens the fridge and grabs some Diet Coke I bought for her. "Are you guys planning on hanging out today? I'd try to talk to him about how you feel." I get up and look in the nearby mirror. "Yeah, because he definitely likes something as ugly as this."

    "Oh shut up!" I look at her. "It's true. I'm gross. I mean, look what I'm wearing. Can't even wear anything cute." She rolls her eyes and grabs her bag. "I'm going to go to the gas station and get some snacks. Want anything?" I shake my head. As she reaches the door, someone knocks, so she backs up. "Move, I'll get it." She steps back and watches me open the door. I'm surprised when I see Joel standing there with a bag. "Joel, hey. Uh, come in." I move, and my sister moves back a bit more. "Hey, I didn't know if you were awake or if you've eaten yet, so I thought I'd bring you breakfast." He looks at me shyly and smiles. "Thank you so much. You didn't have to do this."

    "It's no problem at all. I like the outfit choice, by the way." I look down and feel self-conscious. "Thanks, but now I feel stupid." I laugh awkwardly and put my hands in my pockets. "Don't, I like it. Noodles and "apple juice", great combo." He put apple juice in quotations. I laugh, and he grins. "Okay, well, I'm going to head out now, so I'll be back shortly. Enjoy your little date." My sister walks past us and out the door. I hold my head down and feel even dumber. "Was that the famous sister I've spoken to?" I look at him and blush. "Yeah, she's visiting for a few days, so I'm stuck with that sass for a while. Sorry about that." He laughs and heads towards the table.

    "No problem at all." He removes the contents from the bag, and it smells really good. There's croissants, fruit, even hot chocolate, all vegan and dairy-free, of course. "This looks so good!" He smiles at me, and I think I see a little blush creep onto his cheeks. We sit down and dig in. We finish up and toss the trash. We sit on the couch, and I cross my legs. "So, what are you planning on doing today?" Joel shrugs and leans back. "Well, I have my video ready to go up here soon, so other than that, we can do more practice at my place later?" I smile and nod. "That sounds perfect, actually. What time were you thinking?" He looks at me, and his eyes flicker down for a split second and back up to my eyes. "Whenever. If you want to get ready now and we can head out when your sister gets back so she isn't locked out?" I nod and get up from the couch. I turn the corner and then rush into my bedroom. I pick out something decent and get myself ready.

    I finish up and grab my little bag and walk towards the living room. I hear voices, so I stay behind the corner. "So, you like her, but you're just too nervous to say so?" She's interrogating him. "I didn't say that. Y/n is awesome and has an amazing voice, and I agree she's pretty, but we just met, and I don't want to rush into something and it doesn't work out." I hear her sigh. "Well, if you want to ever ask her out, just know that she may say yes. You never know." Joel takes a deep breath. "I won't hold you up, you guys have fun today." I take some steps back, then walk out.

    "Hey, sorry. I'm ready." Joel gets up and heads towards the door. "Perfect, let's go." I look to my sister, and she smiles, knowing I heard what happened. "Have fun!" We reach his car and head to his place. Once we arrive, we head in and get started on practicing. We go on for a couple of hours, and then we decide to stop for a lunch break. "Do you want to make a pizza? Sorry, it's not fancy or anything." I smile and sit at the island chairs. "I don't need fancy. I'm okay with simple things." He smiles at me and pulls it out of the freezer. "Vegan okay?" I shrug. "Sounds good, I'll try anything once." His smile grows. "Good to know." He tosses it onto the counter and preheats the oven. After a few minutes, he puts it in and turns on some music.

    "Anything particular?" I smile. "I like a bit of everything, so anything is good. I'll let you know if I don't like something." He throws on a random playlist, and the first song to come on is Pillowtalk by Zayn. I smile and look at the counter. "What?" I look at him and feel my face flush. "Oh, I was just thinking about a cover I heard of this song." He turns fully towards me and leans on the counter. "Oh? Who sang it?" I blush slightly but grin. "This Swedish guy. It was really good. Playing the piano, guitar, drums, and singing. I love it more than the original, honestly." He smiles and puts on a smug look. "Oh? He must be pretty good if you like him over Zayn freaking Malik?"

    "Singing? Maybe. Looks, however, severe downgrade." He gives me a look, and I laugh. "Ouch, my feelings." I laugh and look at him. "I'm kidding. You are much prettier." He brushes his hair and poses. "Oh, why thank you." I giggle and feel my face warm up. The oven goes off, and he takes it out. He cuts it into some slices and gets two plates. He put two slices on each, and he sits in the chair next to me. We dig in, and I glance over at him, and he has some sauce on his nose. I cover my mouth and chuckle. "Hmm? What's so funny?" I look into his eyes and then notice some sauce on his cheek. "I'm getting flashbacks from a video I saw."

    He looks confused and I take out my phone. I pull up the video and go to the part where he's covered in sauce. He takes his phone out and notices the sauce on his face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it." He smiles and glances at my pizza in my hand. "What's that?" He points to it. "What's what?" I look at it. "Right there, in the middle." I hold it up a bit more, and I regret that choice. I feel his hand on my wrist, and the next thing I know, part of my eye is covered in sauce. I look at Joel, who's losing it. I take his slice from his plate and smear it on his cheek. He stops laughing and looks at me shocked. I laugh and take out my phone. I snap his picture right as he grins, and he looks adorable.

    "No, that's not fair!" He takes out his and snaps me while I laugh. I get up and brush some crumbs off of me. "Well, I enjoyed this sauce-y shower, but where's the bathroom?" He gets up, and I follow him to the bathroom. There are two sinks, so he takes the second one. He grabs some towels and hands me one. We bend over and begin washing our faces, the sink getting all red and gross. We dry and head out of the bathroom and realize that it's almost two-thirty. "I better get home. Today was wonderful, Joel. Thank you."

    He smiles and takes out his phone. "Question, would you mind if I use this as a wallpaper?" He shows me my sauce covered face. I laugh and shake my head. "Only if I can use this as mine?" I show him my picture of him, and he laughs. "It's a deal." We stand there and change our backgrounds, I grab my bag and wave goodbye. I walk towards my house and feel nothing but giddiness and happiness. 'How did I become so lucky?'

    I make it home, and my sister is smirking. "So...?" I tell her everything and show her my screen. She nods and grins creepily. "Oh, he likes you! A lot, I must say." I shake my head and ignore her comment. "Whatever. I'm gonna wash my face again, and you sit there and figure out what you want to do for dinner in a few hours." I head to the bathroom, and I can't help but smile as I wash my face. As I finish washing my face, my phone lights up.

J: Hey, I was wondering if tomorrow you wanted to come over and play some video games or something?

Y: I would love to 😊

J: Alright, cool! I'll see you tomorrow around noonish?

Y: Definitely, see you then

J:  😉

    I blink a few times, making sure I wasn't seeing things. He sent me a wink-y face! I do a little giddy dance and finish up in the bathroom, going to the living room smiling. 'I can't wait for tomorrow.'