The six-month housemate

Twenty-two

TWENTY TWO

Overall, by December, I'd integrated the Dalton family. Vanessa and I cooked together on a regular basis, and we would talk about "girl stuff" (a.k.a fashion, rom coms...). We also went shopping and to the cinema a couple of times, which was pretty cool. I helped Hugo with his French, I shared tips on how to annoy your older siblings with Tom (the perks of being the younger brother/sister), I would talk to Patrick about my bets on rugby games (which he took very seriously). Oliver was just there, helping out and being friendly, and well, Alex and I's relationship was getting better and better.

He'd even started hanging out with Henry, and sat next to me and Jane in maths with a guy named Peter, whom I suspected Jane had a crush on. I personnaly thought the feelings were reciprocated; anyway, they sounded like an old couple, arguing about how to solve equations or other stuff, which was cute. Once, as they were quarelling, I met Alex's eyes, and I mouthed "I ship it", to which he answered with a nod and an amused smile.

The first week of December, I invited both Jane and Jo to sleep over. Of course, I was really excited about it because I loved them so much, but the main reason I was doing it was because Patrick had told me Vanessa worried and thought I didn't feel at home enough. He'd told me if I invited friends over, it might do the trick.

Patrick was a great Dad substitute. He was a lot like my dad, meaning he understood how I felt (I'd gone to see him at some stage when I wanted to get in Alex's good graces again), and knew what I should do to show Vanessa that everything was fine.

"Okay, what do you want to do? We can stay in and watch a series or a movie, or Alex told me there was a party somewhere, so we can check it out."

"Yeah, I've heard about it." Said Johannah, who was sitting on my bed. "It seems pretty good to me, but I'm fine with whatever."

"I don't know, I'm not much of a party girl." Replied Jane, shyly. "Plus, I didn't bring anything to wear."

"That's not a valid argument, you and I are the same size so I can lend you stuff." I answered.

"What do you want to do Em?"Jo asked.

"I don't mind either, to be honest."

"Come on, you're the host, you decide because you're the one who's supposed to entertain us."

"Yeah, but you're the guests, so you get to pick. I gave the options."

"Still, you need to decide, Jane and I aren't really on the same page."

"Fine." I sighed. "How about we stay home for a bit, get ready and everything, and then go to the party? The best part is always later anyway, no?"

"Deal." Johannah answered. "Are you okay with that Jane?"

"No problem."

---

"So, Jo, do you have a crush on anybody?"

The three of us were getting ready in my bathroom. I was busy curling Jane's hair, and Johannah was next to us, putting makeup on.

"Maybe." She smiled at herself in the mirror.

"Maybe isn't an answer!" Jane replied before I could, poking Johannah playfully.

She sighed dramatically. "I guess, then."

"Who's the lucky guy?" I asked wiggling my eyebrows.

"I won't say..." She winked.

"Okay, my turn!" Jane called.

We were playing a question and answer game; each one of us got asked two questions (or three, depending on the question). I'd already gone; Jo had asked me how far Henry and I had gone (which wasn't very far, we'd only been daing for like a month), and Jane had asked me if I loved him, which had been a hard question to answer. I had strong feelings for Henry, and I felt like there was a real connection between us, but I didn't get to see him enough to determine if I was in love with him.

"Have you and Alex really only been friends?" Jane asked.

There was a silence during which Jo seemed to be thinking.

"Yes." She answered after a couple of minutes. "I mean, he and I are like family. Nothing could happen between he and I, not only because of that, but also because I know he's in love with another girl. We're totally honest about those things, so I know he's not lying to me. And on't bother asking who she is, I won't say."

"Any girl would be happy to have him." Jane answered dreamily.

"Yeah, well, she has no idea. She's completely oblivious of his feelings for her. And he knows it's not a simple crush because he's been feeling that way for a while now, and it still hasn't gone away."

The way the conversation was going reminded me of the conversation Alex and I had had on the pitch one night. The fact that Johannah, his closest friend, was telling us about his feelings made me feel a bit jealous: I wished he would tell me more about him than he did, we lived in the same house after all! And I was ever so slightly jealous of the girl he was in love with; even if she didn't know it, someone loved her, and that had to be the best feeling ever. Plus, we were talking about Alex here, the sweetest guy on Earth, and I just wished I could go up to her and tell her to open her eyes. I tried to find, within the girls I'd met, who she could be, but I couldn't think of anybody he'd been particularly friendly with.

"Okay your turn Jane!" Johannah changed the subject. "How are American guys?"

"They're not bad, I guess... But I must admit, I prefer Brits."

"Why?"

"That accent, though." She sighed.

"Seriously?" Jo looked incredulous.

"You have no idea." I replied. "PErsonnally, I find it sexier than the American ones."

"I like the French one." She shrugged.

"Ew." I wrinkled my nose. "My turn: do you have feelings for Peter?"

As soon as his name had been pronounced, Jane's cheeks grew bright pink.

"I don't think to answer that, your face says it all!" Johannah laughed.

"Shut up! No. I mean yes, maybe... I don't know!"

"I totally ship you guys, FYI." I told her.

"You what?" She asked, horrified.

"Ship. It's..."

"I know what it means! But seriously? How could you not tell me? Is it that obvious?" She seemed mortified.

"It's not obvious, but I knew there was something fishy when you denied it way too hard to be nothing. And now I've got proof!" I laughed.

"Shut up!" She pouted.

"Hey I've got an idea!" Johannah said, but before we could say anything, she'd ran down the stairs, probably to Alex's room.

"What the f does she think she's doing?" Jane asked, puzzled.

"I have no idea." I shrugged.

She came back two minutes later.

"He's coming!"

"Who? Where?"

"Peter, duh. To the party. It's time for our ship to sail!"

Hi everyone!

I'm finally on holiday, so it means I'll have more time to write! (I can't promise faster updates though, because my wifi connection might not be great during the summer) Thank you so much for the 1,5k reads and the 152 votes! It's a great 1rst birthday present for this story :) (yes, it's already one-year old...)

Hope you guys liked this chapter, if you did, don't forget to comment and/or vote! 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend :D

the_rugbywoman