Love Bites

LOVE BITES Chapter 40 : The Happening

Reeling in my thoughts, I began to type a new text when a light tap on my shoulder made me jump. I craned my head back, blue gaze falling on a pair of emerald green eyes.

"Sorry. The boss kept me back," Chloe said in a rush, rounding the cement ledge to sit beside me. "Been waiting long?"

I took in her short brown hair cut just above her shoulders. It had a soft wave to it, and the dark brown colour had a reddish hue in the sunlight. Pulling myself to my feet I gave her a smile. "A little. I'm pretty sure my toes are icicles by now but that's okay."

She clapped her hands together. "Sorry! You should have just waited inside then. Why didn't you?"

"Well..." I peeked over my shoulder at the bustling shopping centre. There are too many witnesses if something were to go wrong, was what I really wanted to say but instead settled with, "I just didn't think I'd be waiting that long."

She laughed and shook her head, grabbing my hand and carrying the both of us away from the shops. With our arms linked a feeling of nostalgia settled over me.

It might have hurt to loose the friends I thought would always surround me but I guessed that was just how life went. And there was nothing stopping me from liking Chloe. She was fun, had been since the first day I met her. She had a bubbly air about her and always smiled, and I really liked her for that.

"So what are we doing?" I asked, following her along the sidewalk in a part of the neighbourhood I hardly visited. "In your text this morning you said you needed my help with something...?"

Chloe bit her bottom lip and nodded. "Yeah. So I moved here not too long ago, maybe four months ago now? Something like that. Anyway, I didn't know anyone, my dad got offered a job so he took it and the next thing I knew we had moved from the city to this tiny place."

"I can actually see you as a city chick," I cut in with a laugh.

Chloe had chipmunk cheeks and whenever she'd smile her freckled cheeks would bulge cutely. "I had to leave all my friends behind," she continued, "it hurt, and ugh, talk about the frustration of signing into a new school only to find out they don't cater for half the courses I took in the city! Something about not having the resources... I dunno."

"Yeah," I agreed. "My English class is the biggest its ever been and it only has 19 students this year, and it was actually my best friend Brianna who got the lowest..." I trailed off when I realised what I was saying.

"Now see? That's just unheard of where I come from," Chloe said. "Anyway, I was really happy when you and Zac came into the store that day. You're pretty cool, Nik, and — oh my god, I didn't even notice your hair! You dyed it fully black!"

I glanced down at my shoulders, confused for a second as to her sudden outburst before rolling my eyes. "No, no. It's not completely black," I said and tugged my hair out of the collar of my jacket where I'd stuffed it down my back from curious onlookers.

"Oh." She said and inclined her head to the side. "I'm so confused. Why dye the top and not the bottom?"

"I, uh, thought it would look cool this way?"

She stared at me for a longest time before shrugging. "Whatever. I guess it's cool if you can pull it off."

I cocked an eyebrow. "Saying I don't look good with it?"