Poppy & Mako [ONGOING]

Chapter 15: Drive in Movies

Saturday morning. I head down to the beach to wind down before my date with Drew. Funnily enough, I see Drew in his Surf Life Saving gear. I don't want to disturb him while he works so I head off towards the secluded part of the beach. Funnily enough, I see someone hidden behind the rocks where we usually dive in. 

"Poppy!" the voice calls out. 
"Hi?" 
"Watch out for my fishing line when you dive in." Lewis warns. Ah. Just Lewis.
"I shall." 

I don't waste any time sprinting towards the lapping water. Sure enough, I see the fishing hook and use my powers to turn the water around it into jelly. He reels it in, thinking he's caught a fish. I surface to watch his disappointed reaction.

"No fair!" Lewis calls out to me.

I poke my tongue out before swimming off, splashing my tail playfully above the water. I don't waste any more time swimming off to Mako Island. It's almost muscle memory getting to the moonpool entrance. I see one tail before surfacing to see who it is. It's Rikki.

"Hey Rik." I greet.
"Hiya!" Rikki welcomes.
"Whatcha up to?" I ask.
"Just thinking about..." she goes quiet and blushes, "someone." 
"Oh my God! Do spill!" my eyes grow big with curiosity.
"I'm going to seem like the biggest hypocrite." Rikki says sheepishly. "Zane." she says almost at a whisper, as if forcing it out. I try not to judge. This is obviously a big thing that she's sharing.

"Aww Rikki! I must say, I wasn't expecting that!" I squeal.
"We ended up getting locked outside together on a highrise balcony." she looks at my confused face, "it's a long story. Anyways, we talked about everything. I saw a new side to him. Also, did you know him and Miriam aren't actually official." she adds.
"If you're happy, I'm happy." I smile.
"You know what." she pauses to sigh happily, "I think I am. But let's keep this on the down-low for now."
"If you'd like." I promise.

"Thanks for supporting me when I've been... less than. You are one of my closest friends. I really appreciate you Poppy." Rikki says.
"Of course! Now I should get going. I've got a date to prepare for." 
"Let me know how it goes!" Rikki yells before I swim out. 

I shake my tail up and down to signal yes. Using tails to communicate is fun. 

♡♡♡

It's so hard figuring out what to wear. I wanna be comfy for the drive-in movie, but I also want to be cute! I choose a cropped singlet with loose pants. Perfect. I put on just a touch of makeup and brush my sun-damaged hair. I haven't been living on the Gold Coast that long, but the combination of the salty water and the piercing sun is really taking it's toll on my hair. It gets frizzy easier and has turned a few shades lighter! I feel like a beach girl. 

Drew: I'm out the front :)
Poppy: Coming!

"Bye Dad! I'll be back later!" I say quickly rushing out the door. 

Drew is standing in front of an old Toyota RAV4. P plates hang off of the license plate. "Hi pretty lady." he greets. We hug before he opens up the passenger door for me.
"Hi." I blush.
"You ready?" 
"Let's go!" 

It's a short drive to the drive in theatre and it doesn't take long until we've parked in front of the big screen. Drew opens up the boot to reveal a comfy set up. There's a fluffy blanket, a duvet, four pillows, popcorn, chocolate and a couple plastic waterbottles. I can't believe he set this all up for us. It's so thoughtful. Part of me thinks it looks very intimate for two people who haven't even kissed!

We sit up in the boot of the car to avoid the awkwardness that laying down may create. 

"Thanks for coming up with this." I say as we sit together.
"Of course. I like spending time with you." Drew smiles. 

I smile back at him. 

Eventually the movie begins and we lay down to get comfier. We watch it together innocently. He put his arm around me which I graciously accept by cuddling into him peacefully. Soon enough, the movie finishes and the closing credits start to play. 

"It's getting late." I say, looking up at his sleepy face. 
"Mhm. I'll drive you home." he yawns.

He flicks the blanket off of his legs and we quickly hop out to get to the front seats. "I kinda don't want this to end." I say.
"I've loved every second." he pauses before adding, "I'm still free Sunday night."
"I've got a thing on that night." I say, scrambling to find the right words.
"That's right! Something to do with the moon?" 
"Something like that." I don't want to confirm or deny.
"Very mysterious. Are you a werewolf?" he laughs.
"Wouldn't you want to know." I try and laugh with the joke, truth is I'm internally panicking. Too many questions.  

Drew looks like he's had a lightbulb moment. "Actually, the night of Mr Gilbert's birthday was a full moon. You were pretty loopy. Maybe you are a werewolf." he adds with a slight chuckle.
"Was it? Huh." I try my hardest to seem oblivious. I'm so bad at lying. "We should get going." 
"Yeah. Sure. Let's go." Uh oh. Drew's mood changed completely. We were laughing a second ago.

"Thanks for driving me home." I say, putting my hand softly on his knee.
"Of course." his mood seems to have changed again, slightly more relaxed? Not as happy as before, not as closed off.

After a short drive home he parks on the street in front of my house. "I won't keep you any longer. Goodnight Poppy."  
"Thanks again." I smile.
"Maybe we can do it again, tomorrow?" This boy is persistent. 
"Soon. Not tomorrow." 
"Alright, alright. Goodnight again." he says finally, giving up.

I flash him a smile before getting out of the old Toyota. He was definitely asking way too many questions. Instead of going to my front door I text the groupchat. It's 9:00pm at night so I don't have very high hopes of a reply.

Poppy: Cleo are you home? Anyone wanna come over?
Cleo: I'm home, coming out now.
Rikki: Oooooo our Poppy is back from her date. If I come can I stay the night?
Poppy: Of course!

No response from Emma. My guess is she's sleeping. I walk over to Cleo's next door to greet her before she comes over to mine. 

♡♡♡

"We cuddled for the whole movie and it was really nice!" I stop to regather my thoughts and jog my memory. "But then I had to lie about knowing Emma's dad had his party on a full moon and had to tell him I'm busy tomorrow night twice. His whole mood changed so fast, he called me mysterious... and I don't think it was in a good way." I summarise.
"I'm sure he'll forget all about it. It sounds like he just wants to learn more about you." Cleo reassures.
"Yeah, we'll see. I'm just a little disappointed. It seemed really promising for the first half."
"Let's just see what happens. Cleo's right Poppy, I think right now we're reading too into it. He's probably just worried that you don't want to see him." Rikki adds her input.
"Okay you're right. I'll text him-"
"Woah! It's 10:30pm at night, he's probably sleeping." Rikki quickly interupts.
"Haha yeah, yeah. You're probably right." I blush.
"Okay ladies, we've got a big night tomorrow night with the full moon. Let's go to sleep." Cleo says simply.

Rikki and I agree with her. I turn off the lights and we get to bed.