It Could Only be You

Episode 47: This is Me Falling Part Two

The conversation doesn't pick up again, so they chill quietly for a bit before getting up to go to the kitchen. Bobby, Noah, and Gary have all wandered off by then; Bobby and Gary are at the pool with Ibrahim, with Priya, Marisol, and Lottie sitting close by, feet in the pool. Hope and Noah are the only ones Daphs can't see kicking about.

"Do you think I should tell Hope?" Daphs asks, not even expecting that from herself. She's looking out over at the pool, to the back of Priya's head as Daphs eats her yoghurt.

Lucas looks up to the pool, too. "Obviously, Priya is your friend, so I don't blame you for not wanting to betray her trust like that, but Hope's your friend, too. If it was the other way around, what would you want the girls' to do for you?"

"Well, I'd want to hear it from the girl in question, so I'd hope they'd do what I've done and try and encourage her to talk to me if there's anything I need to worry about, you know? But, I don't know; I don't know what Priya's going to do, if she's going to do anything."

Lucas scratches absently down the side of his face. "If it were me, I'd hope you'd come and tell me." Daphs nods, thinking over the advice, as Lucas continues, "I saw Hope heading inside ten minutes ago. It looked like she and Noah were having an argument."

"Oh?" Daphs says. "I hope everything's okay, I might go check on her."

"You head in, I'll come up in a sec."

Daphs gives Lucas a cuddle before she heads inside. No one's in the bedroom, so she pads upstairs, humming under her breath. She emerges onto the roof terrace, seeing Hope alone, looking out over the distance and hugging a cushion to her lap. She turns when Daphs enters, looking a little disappointed.

"Oh, hey, Daphs," she says, shifting to a more welcoming position.

"Howdy," Daphs says in her best Western voice, giving Hope a two fingered salute like she's tipping her hat. "What brings a pretty lady such as yourself out in these parts?"

Hope manages a small laugh. "Honestly, I was hoping someone would come and talk to me." She looks genuine as she adds, "I thought it might be you, actually."

Daphs takes a seat close by, asking, "What's up, honey-bun?"

"You're such a sweetheart, Daphs," Hope says with a small smile of appreciation before any attempt at cheerfulness drops and she goes, "I don't know, hun. Maybe nothing." She rests her chin in her hand, looking glum. "I need a bit of perspective from someone I trust. I mean, of course, this is about Noah. This always happens to me with guys."

As she shakes her head, staring at the ground, Daphs asks, "What happened?"

"Well ... I know what I want quite quickly, and I go after it, but for some reason, as soon as the boy really falls for me, I freak out. I really like Noah. Like, I haven't liked a boy this much in ages." She looks so sincere and sad that guilt swirls in the pit of Daphs stomach. "I'm so scared I'm going to end up pushing him away."

"You think you're pushing him away? How?" Daphs flicks her hair over her shoulder. "You two seem pretty good from my point of view."

"I keep picking fights over small things, closing off a bit, things like that," Hope says. "A bit like what you did with Bobby." Daphs eyes go wide, her heart thumps even harder, but Hope doesn't seem to notice. "I don't even realise I'm doing it until there's tension between us. Today's been kind of awkward, actually."

"Have you two fought just now?"

Hope sighs loudly. "I accidentally pulled the string out of my hoodie, and Noah didn't care."

Daphs tries to grapple that. She doesn't want Noah to have done anything bad, but she also doesn't want to have to tell Hope she's being a bit ... unreasonable. When Daphs continues with only a nod, Hope carries on, "It was my favourite hoodie, and the string came out and now it's ruined. All he said was, 'oh, I'll buy you a new one!'. So, I said something like 'Babes, I'm the one with the money in this couple'."