"When she's alone,
she goes home to a cactus,
In a black dress, she's such an actress,
Driving me crazy, but I'm into it,"
Kiwi — Harry Styles
"Kye, we went over this a million times," I whine, rubbing my cheek frustratedly as I peer down at the textbook that's laid out between us.
"I'm sorry." He pouts, pushing his blonde hair away from his forehead. "This class fucks me up."
"Guernica is the painting by Picasso that was inspired by bombings in the Spanish War. The Primavera painting is something else entirely." I say, pointing to the paragraph in the textbook.
"Oh." He huffs. "Right."
"Don't worry." I pat his arm assuringly. "You'll get the hang of it."
He nods in response, continuing to read the textbook. I lean back against my seat, sipping on my lemonade as I look around the campus café. Kye and I are in our group's usual spot, where I agreed to meet up with him and help him with some coursework. It's nearing 6pm, and since most classes are over, the café is packed.
"You ready for the party this weekend?" Kye questions, flipping a page. He has a pencil between his teeth, he's been occasionally taking it out to mark something and placing it right back.
"Friday yeah?"
"Yeah." He confirms. "You're leaving for England on Saturday?"
"Yeah, Saturday night." I clarify. "I can come to the party.:
"Fuck yes." Kye cheers, dropping his pencil, the work forgotten. "Let's get wasted."
"Haven't gotten wasted in awhile." I try to recall the last time, and wince inwardly when I remember it was the night of the assault. Composing myself, I clear my throat. "But, yeah. Let's."
"I'm starving." He sighs, shutting his textbook. "I can't concentrate."
"Then let's grab a bite to eat." I say, turning around in my chair to squint at the menu hanging over the cashier, but he stops me.
"No, not from here. I'm sick of eating half sized shit, I want a proper meal man. The gym sessions are making me extra hungry." Kye groans, leaning back on his chair. I chew my bottom lip, thinking.
"I can cook up something for you, if you'd like." I offer, and immediately Kye's face lights up.
"Really?"
"Yeah." I smile. "I'm craving a proper meal too."
"We actually got a bunch of groceries yesterday to the soccer house sent by the team nutritionist." He says, packing up his things and I start doing so too. "We can cook there."
"Sounds good. You go ahead, I'll drop by the dorm, leave my books and grab a change of clothes and walk back." I quip, getting to my feet just as Kye does.
He shakes his head. "It's getting dark, no way you're walking back alone. I'll come with you."
"Sure," I give in, and together we walk back to my dorm room. Nessa's at study group, so it's empty.
I duck into the bathroom to quickly change out of my top and skirt into a comfy pair of grey joggers and a cropped sweatshirt.
Ten minutes later, Kye and I are walking into the soccer house. The living room is clearly occupied, the familiar cheers and chants of the boys playing video games echoing through the house. Kye walks into the living room, me trailing behind him. To my surprise, almost everyone is there. In the dozens of times I've been here, not everyone has been present, some being in class, sleeping, practicing or just occupied. I guess with the semester coming to an end, everyone is way less busy.
The only other female in the room is Chloe, nestled comfortably on Oliver's lap. She smiles when she sees me. "Hey!"
I walk over and give her a hug, and greet all the other boys who are throwing hello's my way as well. My eyes shift across the room, noticing that one specific boy I'm looking forward to seeing, isn't here.
Miles and Jack are manning the PS4, playing Call Of Duty, the others egging them on.
I settle down on the couch beside Liam, who's in a heated conversation about soccer with Leo. He looks to me when I sit beside him, squeezing my knee with a smile in acknowledgment before turning back to Leo. I pull out my phone and check our group chat, where Leo has messaged asking everyone to come to the soccer house to hang out a few minutes ago.
Nessa: in study group. i'll b there later.
Kiara: finishing off an assignment, i'll come w ness.
Leo: Hunt, could u bring over some beers?
Hunter hasn't responded, so I guess this answers my question. He's gone somewhere.
"So, what brings you to our humble abode, Al?" Oliver speaks, munching on some popcorn. I put my phone away to lean over and grab a handful of popcorn for myself, before responding.
"Kye wants me to cook for him."
Immediately, everyone's attention is on me. Even Miles and Jack, who had refused to look away from the game to greet us, are now turning towards me, the game abandoned.
"Just him?" Leo pouts playfully, feigning disappointment.
"Well..." I laugh, looking at the boys' hopeful faces. You'd think that they're starved by the way they're acting at the mention of me cooking.
"Alex, your cooking is my taste of heaven." Jack chips. "You've got to make it for all of us."
"Please?" Liam adds on, shooting me that boyish grin of his.
"Okay okay, of course, I wasn't going to cook for one of you and leave out everyone else." I reply, and they all erupt into cheers, thanking me.
"We'd offer to help, but you already know that cooking isn't our best forte," Miles says, and I nod, laughing as I remember the burnt chicken breast.
"I'll help," Chloe slides off of Oliver's lap, kissing his cheek before following me to the kitchen, and I nudge her shoulder.
"Thanks."
"No worries babe. So, what are we making?" Chloe asks me, as I poke my head in the fridge to skim over what we have. As Kye mentioned, the fridge is stocked with healthy food.
"Kye said that they need to eat extra healthy. So something along the lines of that. Suggestions?"
"I saw this broccoli pesto pasta recipe the other day on Instagram. It seemed great." Chloe says, pulling out her phone. "So we could make that... with some lemon chicken?"
I smile. "I like the way you think."
We get to work. I busy myself with the chicken, while Chloe works on the pasta, reading the recipe off of her phone. Twenty minutes later, I hear a car pull up outside. I look up from seasoning the chicken, to the front door that I have a clear view of from my spot behind the kitchen island. A few seconds pass before the door opens and Hunter saunters in.
My stomach instantly squeezes when I see him, the feeling almost a reflex now. Hunter is wearing a grey woollen sweater, white Nike joggers hugging his legs. He's carrying a case of beers, and I watch as he takes off his leather jacket, his attention going straight to the living room because of all the commotion.
"Hey, I'm back." I hear him say before he disappears into the living room.
I divert my attention back to the chicken, finishing up on the seasoning. I'm in the midst of popping the chicken on the stove to cook, when I hear footsteps. After switching on the stove, I turn around right when Hunter walks in. He halts in his steps, eyes skimming me from head to toe, before glancing over at Chloe, who's too busy with the pasta to notice anything. Hunter looks back at me, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Hey." He says, approaching the counter.
"Hi." I smile back, trying to come off as nonchalant, as I turn around for a second to check on the chicken. I hear Hunter and Chloe exchange greetings as I flip the chicken over to cook on the other side, before turning around to face him again.
"What're you guys making?" He asks, taking a seat on one of the stools.
"Broccoli pesto pasta and lemon chicken." Chloe responds, plating the finished pasta onto one of those fancy glass trays.
"Yum. Need any help?"
I shake my head. "We're just about done."
We make light conversation until the chicken is all cooked, and Hunter offers to set the table. Fifteen minutes later, everyone is pouring into the kitchen from the living room, appreciative ooh's and aaah's from the boys at the food as they sit down. Dinner flurries by in laughter and conversation, and the food is great, they all love it. Nessa and Kiara arrive midway, grabbing plates for themselves before joining us. Leo and Elliot offer to wash up after dinner, so the rest of us retreat back to the living room.
"Alex." Jack calls, catching my attention. He's settled on the bean bag in front of the TV, holding one of the controllers.
"Yeah?"
"I challenge you to a game of Call Of Duty." He grins, jerking his head towards the empty bean bag beside him.
"But I don't know how to play." I say, walking over and plopping down. Miles passes over the second controller to me, along with the headset.
"We'll do a demo."
"Alright." I shrug, pulling on the headset.
"I'm gonna win though." Jack huffs cockily, to which I narrow my eyes at him.
"We'll see about that."
Three rounds later, I'm winning.
"She learned today and she's beating your ass, mate!" Liam hoots in laughter along with everyone else, the big GAME OVER sign flashing on the screen as our third round comes to an end.
"Whatever, beginner's luck." Jack says grumpily.
"If you say so." I throw Jack a wink, before giving Elliot my place and the controller.
My eyes scan a place to sit, and the only free space is a small free patch next to Hunter, who's watching the new round that Elliot and Jack just started to play. He notices me looking at him, jerks his head slightly towards the seat, gesturing to me to come. I slowly walk over and try to sit down comfortably, but there isn't enough space for my entire body.
"Jesus, why're you squiggling like a fish out of water?" Kye, who's sitting on my other side chides, and the next thing I know, he reaches over and grabs my leg, plopping it over Hunter's knee. My body freezes, and my eyes snap up to watch Hunter's reaction. He tenses for a moment, and then relaxes, his eyes still fixated on the screen as he places a hand over my knee absentmindedly. Even through the material of my joggers I can feel the warmth of his hand against my skin, sending a small tingle down my spine.
I feel eyes on me, and I turn my head to see Nessa grinning like a cheshire cat at me. I throw her a what? look, to which she responds with a kissy face and a wink, beckoning with her head to Hunter. Rolling my eyes, I bite back a laugh, throwing her the middle finger before diverting my attention back to the TV, where once again, Jack's losing.
"What's your excuse now, J?" Elliot grins in triumph.
"I don't know! You're like, taller than me!"
"How does that—" Kiara starts, frowning.
"Shut up! Another round." Jack exclaims, turning back to the TV, sheer determination on his face.
He loses that round too.
✢ ✢ ✢
"You've got to wear that."
"Nessa! It's freezing outside!" I groan, running my hands down my waist, feeling the thin material of the dress. It's the day of the party that the soccer team is throwing, and Nessa, Kiara, Chloe and I are at the dorm, getting ready.
I was going to go with my usual 'comfy but cute' style outfit, until Nessa pulled out a sheer white spaghetti strap satin slip dress from her closet and demanded that I wear it. The dress is gorgeous, hugging my body snugly in all the right places, the cowl style neckline revealing my collarbones and a little bit of cleavage. It reaches a little past my upper thighs, quite shorter than the usual things I've been wearing for the past year or so.
"Wear a jacket or some shit. It'll be warm inside anyway. You're wearing that, Alex Rose." Nessa huffs, poking her arm into her closet, before throwing a cream coloured wrap jacket in my direction.
I pull it on, and immediately feel warmer. "Fine."
"Shoes?" Kiara asks from her spot on my bed. She's already dressed in a cute white latex skirt and a lacy black top, Chloe sitting next to her in a sweater dress, a big chunky black belt emphasising her waist.
"Wedges." Chloe points to a pair of white sandal-like wedges settled by the foot of Nessa's bed.
"Whose are these?" I ask, sitting on the bed, reaching down to grab the shoes to put them on.
"Mine, you can wear them." Kiara nods in approval as I get to my feet, walking over to the mirror to get a glimpse of how I look. My hair is styled in loose waves, cascading down my shoulders. Nessa did my makeup simple but effective, winged eyeliner and silver eyeshadow that brings out my green eyes.
I decide to just take my phone, because I can't be bothered to bear responsibility for a clutch tonight, so I slip an emergency twenty dollar bill into my phone case.
"Are we ready to go?" Chloe asks, sliding off the bed, Kiara doing the same.
"Yup." Nessa nods, opening up a tube of shimmery lip gloss, gliding it over her lips before screwing it back shut, rubbing her lips together. She's also in a hot pink slip dress paired with a white leather jacket, thigh high boots on her feet, dressed in the Barbie version of my outfit.
"Let's go." I quip, walking over to the door, and all four of us set off to the soccer house.