- angel's pov -
as i began to exit the examination room of my last patient, i gradually attempted to compose all of my emotions. i let out a heavy sigh. today has been a long day. from back to back patients and abundant amounts of conversation, i was proud to declare my first official day as a veterinary assistant successful. my body yearned for rest, especially in my comfy bed back home. since i was standing nonstop for nearly 14 hours, my whole being felt beaten up because i was always on the move to help dr. cotton and assess all of the animals. however, even though this may have been one of the most tiring days of my life, i could not help but smile. finally obtaining and living my dream job was still surreal to me, so i kept an upbeat attitude the entire day because of it. nonetheless, i started walking through the white washed hallway of the petvet and made a sharp right turn into the employees lounge. from there, i began to put in my time-card to clock out for the day; until a pair of heavy footsteps walked into the room with me.
"angel!" a manly voice boomed.
i turned around and to no surprise, i saw my main veterinarian, dr. cotton. "dr. cotton! what's up? i was just about to clock out my time card!" i quipped at the tall man.
"all is good! you did amazing for your first day! but before you check out, can i ask you a question?" dr. cotton asked. he began to take off his lab coat and hang it on his assigned cubby.
"sure. ask away!" i replied while finishing up my time card.
"i was wondering, as a welcoming gift, you wanted to come with me and get drinks to finish up the day?" he questioned. i turned around fully to look at him and he had his lips curled up to form a bright smile among his face.
"i mean- i've had a long day..." i began to mumble softly. i honestly just wanted to go home and rest, even if it meant passing up the opportunity to make a great impression over drinks.
"just one! i understand fully if you're not up for it. we can rain check it if you'd like," the tan and curly haired man offered. as i averted my attention toward his soft grey eyes, it almost appeared as if he was disappointed if i said no.
"you know what... one drink shouldn't hurt," i decided, "but right now it is 18:02 [6:02pm] and i should be home by 20 [8pm]," i stated.
"so be it! it will be short. i just wanted to get to know my partner," dr. cotton chimed as he went to pack his belongings.
"i'll meet you in the parking lot in 5, let me gather my things," i said while grabbing my purse from my own assigned cubby in the lounge.
"see you then," he replied with a warm smile. i knew he meant well, as he walked out of the room.
as i saw my phone lined among the outskirts of the interior of my purse, i took it and unlocked the device to see my notifications. i apparently missed 6 messages and a couple instagram notifications. i decided to scroll through my messages really quick before leaving the lounge. right as my finger came across the messages app, one name specifically caught my eye. it was from an unknown number, but the message itself was from a person my heart wanted to know well.
text messages (35)
+1(xxx)-xxx-xxx
hi angel, it's george! have time to chat? :]
before i could even compose myself or check any of my other messages, my eyes scanned the message over and over again. i knew i gave him my number, but i didn't know he would actually want to strike conversation. what do i say? i don't want to sound desperate and seem like i was longing to talk to him. yet, i don't want to appear too dry and uneasy to converse with. what if he had a question about his kitty i met today? or what if...
instead of letting my thoughts completely flood and take over my entire well being, i just typed until i knew my heart was content.
text messages (34)
george:))
hi angel, it's george! have time to chat? :]
angel
hi george! i actually just got off my shift
and i'm abt to catch drinks w/a friend.
talk soon? :))
i decided this was the perfect message to compose. i informed him on my absence from not texting back quickly. plus, i also let him know that i would be somewhere, so that it appeared like i had a life outside of work and was not desperate to converse with him. even though i genuinely was yearning to talk to him. i chose to shake off my nervousness and overthinking from this very limited, small talk i had with the handsome boy i met today. to avert my attention somewhere else, i strutted out of the employee's lounge of the petvet and went on my way to meet my friend.
"there you are!" dr. cotton proclaimed as i walked out of the entrance doors of our work building.
"hi! yeah, sorry dr. cotton. i was checking my messag-" i babbled with a charismatic tone, i felt bad for leaving him out here waiting for me.
before i could finish, he interrupted me to say, "don't call me dr. cotton outside of petvet walls. just call me hunter. please remember, we're partners in crime! i know it is a bit weird to have your somewhat boss be hanging out with you along outside hours... but trust me! just consider me a companion!"
"will do," i replied with a smile. he always knew how to uphold conversation and stay animated through any encounter he faced, it is one of the main contributing factors that made him such a reliable veterinarian.
"so, we are off to this small bar i know of down the street. here let me give you the address," he continued as i handed him my phone. a small, "ding!" erupted from my tiny device, taking hunter and i by surprise. "oh sorry, you have received a text message from... george?" he added, his tone of voice slightly became higher and filled with confusion at the sight of george's name at the top of my message notifications.
"m- my apologies," i stammered as i grabbed my phone back from him.
"george? with a smiley face? so... i assume he's a special someone," hunter marvelled and he winked at me.
i scoffed playfully and responded, "just a new friend. smiley faces are friendly."
"mhmm, okay. you will have to tell me about this new friend when we get there. meet you at the bar," hunter snickered as he left me to cross the parking lot.
- time skip -
after we first settled down into the bar, we both our face masks off since our bar table was socially distanced from the others. hunter and i had been at the bar for about 45 minutes now, gradually easing from small talk to conversing about memorable moments in our lives. he was such an easy person to talk to with the way he was such an avid listener. we discussed various topics from our favorite foods as children to why we both are in brighton, england; since he wasn't born here. we continued to converse, laugh, and strike new discussions as the night went on.
"so missy, you never told me why you ended up being in the vet field in the first place," hunter alluded while taking a swig of his alcoholic drink.
putting my wine glass down and giggling at his nickname for me, i said, "i don't know. i've always had an urge to help people, plus the cute animals are a big plus."
"that is true. you cannot tell me that you don't love this job for all of the fur babies that walk through the door," he chuckled. i laughed with him.
"how about you? what is your story on school and why you became a vet?" i asked with my eyebrows raised.
"well, my mom was a veterinarian too. she died when i was 14, so i decided to become a vet in dedication of her. i worked my butt off, angel. i ended up skipping 2 grades in highschool and went to college early for my degree," the curly haired man narrated. he looked down at the bar table in sorrow, i assumed it was because of the sensitive topic of his mom.
"i'm really sorry to hear about your mom..." i murmured to him. the slight turn in conversation left us both sulking at the bar table with awkward silence accompanying us.
"please- don't feel bad. i wasn't here for depressing talks. i just wanted to get to know you," he began, breaking the silence between us.
"of course," i sympathized. "if anything, i'm impressed you skipped not one, but two grades. how'd you do it?" i asked him with a warm smile.
"well, i enrolled in self-pace classes outside of my regular classes and took a test around my second year of highschool to graduate early," he explained as he finished off his tall glass of beer.
"interesting. wait if you skipped 2 years... aren't you the same age as i am?" i questioned, my eyebrows furrowed as i tried to do the math in my head.
"well... are you 24?" hunter enunciated, dragging his pronunciation of the number to add emphasis.
"indeed, i am. i don't know. it's odd to think you are my age when i should be looking up to you with respect as my boss," i reasoned while my fingers began to circularly swing my wine glass to tone down its taste.
he laugh heartedly before stating, "i think it's nice that you consider me under high authority. but angelll, consider me your equal outside of work," he gushed with holding out the last letter of my name. i had a feeling the alcohol was hitting him from how laid back he was being compared to how headstrong he acts at work.
"you're right. my bad, my bad, my friend," i smoothed.
hunter looked down at the silver watch that lined along his left wrist, "hey missy. it's a quarter until 21 [9pm], you should head home."
i grabbed my phone and unlocked it to see 2 missed calls from my mom, who probably just wanted to hear about my day - i'd call her later. then my eyes gradually looked toward the top side of the screen and looked at the time that read, "20:46"
"yes, yes i should be on my way. thank you for such a nice night, hunter," i told him as i reached into my purse to pull out my wallet and pay for my drink.
he gently laid his hand on top of mine before i could pull out my pounds to pay. as i looked up to him with confusion from his sudden touch, hunter used his free hand that didn't lay on mine to reach into his pocket of his own. in an instant, he pulled out a couple pounds of his own and he laid it on the table.
"please, this one's on me," he stated as his lips curled upwards into a slight smile.
before opening my mouth to object, i watched as the hand he had on top of mine swiftly crossed amongst the table to grab my phone. averting my eyes to his sudden movement, i watch him pick up my device, which was still unlocked, and he began typing along it. as his fingers quickly danced along the keyboard of my phone, i tried to ask him what he was doing until he laid my phone in front of me. after putting it back on the bar table in the middle of us, i read my screen as it had the contacts app open.
< contacts
hunter cotton :D
message | call | facetime | apple pay
phone: +1(xxx)-xxx-xxxx
"text me when you get home safely," hunter instructed as i was still staring at my phone screen.
i just looked up at him, "will do," i said.
then he got up from the bar table and motioned me to leave with him. grabbing my purse and laying the strap amongst my right shoulder, i followed him as he kindly escorted me to my vehicle.
"see you tomorrow, missy," hunter said before opening my car door for me with a bright smile.
"see you," i replied back with a smile and swiftly went inside and shut my car door.
as i sat in my car in silence, i was taken aback from the way the night ended. before i could let any other thoughts take over, i unlocked my phone and looked at my messages.
text messages (37)
george :))
i hope you have a safe night
with your friend.
and yes, text me soon :]
instead of opening any other unread messages i had, i smiled at my phone from george's response. his constant use of a silly smiley face and slight concern over me made my heart warm. i decided to conduct a response before leaving the bar parking lot.
angel
hi! i just came back from the hangout.
and i did have a safe night, ty for the well wishes :)
i didn't even exit out of the message app before my phone went off again, indicating i had received another text message.
george :))
that's great to hear.
how have you been?
angel
good! and you?
how has tonight been treating you?
george :))
been doing well.
just got off the phone w/some friends :]
angel
that's nice!
i assume you and your friends are well?
george :))
rightfully so.
they live across the globe so it's hard
to stay in contact, but they're ok.
angel
across the globe?
george :))
yea, they live in america :]
angel
how did you acquire friends from america?
haha, i've never been there so idk.
george :))
rlly? u should go sometime!
but i met my friends online,
i've known them for years.
angel
that's rad to hear.
shoot them a hello for me will you?
george :))
will do :]
angel
well, i'm off. ought to go home.
chat soon xx
seen
"was the "xx" too soon?" i thought to myself. "xx" meant kisses in british slang, it could be used for friendly or romantic purposes. so i only hoped that however george interpreted it, that he would be fine with the sign of affection. but before i could rationalize the small kissy symbol, i cupped my face in my hands with regret. i wasn't used to flirting on the phone so my thoughts began to override over george's possible response. and to top it all off, he left me on seen! i assumed i scared him away so i decided to shut my phone off and turn on my ignition to go home. all i needed was a good night's rest to get this boy out of my head. yeah... a good night's rest.
A/N:
hi baes! sorryyy, i know this chapter was not too george heavy, i tried to introduce a new character and build a storyline with this filler chapter. i promise the next few will consist more of the angel+george content we want ;) but for now, enjoy your holiday :)
-a