No less than a week later, I am stood in front of my bathroom mirror, getting ready to go out with Cal. A short and tight black dress hugs my hips, my short curly hair covering the top of my exposed back.
"Rory, you look fucking hot." Sophie comments, making me smile. "Hopefully Cal thinks so too." I respond, bringing all my hair over my right shoulder. "Oh, he will." Sophie leaves the bathroom, leaving me and my reflection by ourselves.
I lift my sparkly lipgloss wand towards my lips, slightly parting them and running it along. Wiping the pink residue from the top of my lips once I have finished, I give myself a one over before feeling content and heading out.
"I just heard a knock." Sophie mumbles from the sofa, half a cookie stuffed in her mouth. I giggle, "I'll see you later, Soph. Don't stay up."
Sophie raises her eyebrows at me, and sits up on the sofa, peeking over the side; presumably to catch a look at the boy taking me out.
I make my way towards the front door, a sudden nervousness overcoming me. Snap out of it Rory, you're not like this with anyone.
"Hey." A beam fills my face as I open the door, my date of the night stood there with a bouquet of flowers. A smirk is etched on his face. "These are for you."
"Aww. Thank you, Cal." Taking the bouquet of flowers, I beckon him in. "This is my flatmate, Sophie." I introduce, making my way towards the kitchen to grab a vase.
I hear the two begin to make light conversation while I am busying myself fixing up a vase of water. I unwrap the flowers, and then place them inside.
I carry them through to the living room, seeing the two laughing about something. Shrugging it off, I place the vase on the windowsill.
"You ready to go?" Cal asks. I turn to face him, a happy smile on my face, "Of course. See ya, Soph."
Sophie sends me a smirk, "Have fun, you two. Nice to meet you, Cal." She shakes his hand formally, making me chuckle. "You too, 'Soph'."
...
"So, you gonna tell me or am I gonna have to drag it out of you?" Cal and I are sat in Nandos, our first official date. So far, we have been getting along great, but it was more than expected for this question to pop up.
I take a sip of my coke, sending him a confused look, "And what are you talking about, Cal?"
Cal chuckles, shaking his head. "You know that you and Lux are the same person with stuff like this. Come on, tell me the beef. What happened between you two? Oh, and Sarah. She didn't seem very fond of you."
I raise my eyebrows, "Oh, I know she's not." I chuckle softly, lifting my knife to begin cutting my chicken. "It wasn't really a big deal."
Cal sends me a knowing look, "I think it was. I wanna hear it from your side." There is no getting out of this one, and plus, if things were going to proceed with Cal and I, this conversation would've had to happen in any case.
I let out a soft sigh, "Um, so Sarah and I used to be close.." Before I can continue, Cal laughs, choking on his chicken. I look at him, and he laughs once more after taking a sip of his drink. "She still is."
Rolling my eyes, I let out a giggle at his joke, continuing. "We were like, best friends, all throughout school, which is where we met Lux."
He nods, listening to me intently. "He came along in year eleven, and I had this total thing for him." I blush at how embarrassing this is, I've never said any of this out loud, not for a good few years anyway.
"It's alright, Rory, we've all had embarrassing crushes." Cal attempts to comfort, making me smile at his effort.
"Sarah knew all about it, and she even helped set us up." All the memories begin to float back into my head. All the tears, hurt and anger. "Anyway, Lux and I began dating just before the Christmas holidays. We dated for a good four years, until I came back to our flat to him and Sarah."
Cal's eyes are wide as I explain, "That's not like Lux at all." I shrug, "It happened." That's not the full story, Rory, explain. I let it go, no one needs to know what else happened.
"I'm sorry that happened to you, but Lux really isn't like that anymore." Cal states, a frown present on his face. "I'm sure he's cool, now." I nod, a little disheartened by this whole conversation.
"He is..If things were to happen between us, you three would have to try and reconcile, yeah?" Calstates, sending me an empathetic look.
"Of course. We're all over it," Don't lie, Rory. "so it won't be a big deal."
Cal grins, "I appreciate that, Rory."
...
Tears cascade down my cheeks as I lie in bed later that night. My duvet is wrapped countless times around me, securing me in a tight bundle of warmth that I have fallen apart in.
The date ended perfectly, Cal took me home and he kissed me on the doorstep, just like in the cliché romance movies.
When I came in though, I couldn't hold back the tears from all the memories I had managed to forget for all these years, suddenly resurfacing. It is all too much, I didn't think I would ever get to this point again.
So, here I am, feeling completely and utterly broken, just like I was all those years ago.
