The next morning the amount of snow on the ground is indescribable, even George stares despite being used to the weather here. Honestly, we haven't moved very far since waking up. With his blanket wrapped around us both, we sit by his window simply looking out at the empty street. As I bring a spoon full of cereal to my mouth I wonder if my dad is still stuck in work. At that thought I pick up my phone, clicking on the closest contact and lifting it to my ear. George raises an eyebrow, watching me, while devouring his breakfast.
"Hey, honey."
A small smile grows on my face at his voice, "Hey, are you home?"
His sigh is audible, "Nope. All the roads are blocked so we're being warned not to drive."
My eyebrows furrow, "So, what, you just sit in work and wait?"
"We're living it up," I can hear the amusement in his tone, "They've set us up with sleeping bags—"
"Are you in one right now?"
Despite the situation, dad actually chuckles, "Yes. Let me tell you these things are not comfortable. Sleeping in it tonight is going to be tough."
"What? You're staying overnight, again?"
He sighs again. It's strange, he's switching between sounding fed up and sounding amused, "Unless you want to clear the road for me to get home, Luna."
An image of him laying on a cold, grey floor in work freezing inside a small sleeping bag pops into my head and it makes me wince. Here I was wrapped up in a warm blanket with great company where my dad was on a random floor somewhere.
"Are you in the house?"
I shake my head before realising he can't see me, "I'm at George's."
"Oh," he sounds surprised but his tone has lightened, "You guys made up?
For some reason, an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment washes over me and I know my cheeks have reddened. How did he know we had a falling out? Am I that transparent? Or had George spoken to him?
"Made up?"
My voice is higher, I know that, and I'm trying to sound innocent but seeing George smirk in response lets me know that I suck at trying to sound nonchalant.
"Okay, fine, I'll pretend I don't know," dad replies, which I am more than thankful for, "Right, I'm going to get some sleep. I'll call you later. Goodnight sweetie."
I smile, "Good morning."
I throw my phone on the bed after that, watching it bound a few times before it rests on the white sheet.
"Dad?" George asks.
I nod, "Dad."
"Stuck in work?"
"Stuck in work."
George laughs a laugh I'm not sure I've heard before. It's not forced, sarcastic, or flirtatious. Gosh, he actually found something I did funny. Before we even get a chance to speak, a phone goes off. We both turn to look at mine but it's blank meaning it has to be George's. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen George speaking on the phone. When we're together, he barely looks at it while I'm usually scrolling while we chill.
George reaches over onto the wooden table to pick up his phone before a frown settles on his face. As I go to ask him what is wrong, he lifts the phone to his ear and answers.
"Elliot..."
Despite my efforts to eavesdrop the conversation, all I can hear is George's grunting as a response. Plus, anything he does say makes no sense because I don't know what on earth the other person is saying.
"What? Dude. Yes, yes she's here.... No! Dude. Dude, fuck you. No," George goes quiet for a few seconds and I assume that she is me, "Fuck you man. Look I've got to go... No I'm not - she's not... Look, bye."
....
Do I ask him? Do I pretend that I wasn't listening? Although, he'd have to be stupid to believe that. What else would I be doing? After he chucks his phone back onto the table, George looks at me almost waiting to see my reaction.
"Uh..." Is my intelligent reply.
He rolls his eyes, "Elliot obviously finds you interesting."
A thought comes to mind, "I don't know any of your friends."
At my statement, a small smile crawls onto his face, "Now who's clingy?"
I'm not sure why but the face that he remembers our conversation last night makes a smile grow on my face but a sense of vulnerability stem in my chest. However, the comment is less appreciated. Clingy? Please. He wishes.
"Clingy to your friends? Sure..."
That smile turns into a dangerous smirk. Despite our happy moods, the smirk reminds me of the George that was strangling a stranger against the wall. My mind reels at the thought. No, I didn't want to go there.
"What do you want to do all day?"
I'm thankful he's changed the subject and thankful that I don't spend too much time thinking about negative things. My head snaps back to the snow outside as I think of our options. How could it still be snowing? Hasn't the sky run out yet? Even though I'm trapped in George's house, I'm still enjoying the weather. Did I think it was time to stop? Yes. Did I want it to melt right away? No.
"Luna?"
Oh right, he asked me something. "We could eat and watch Netflix all day?"
George rolls his eyes again, "If we run out of food I know who's to blame."
My eyebrows lift as I pretend to be offended, "Are you trying to say something?"
He laughs while getting up from our seats, "Don't push it, princess."
With his hand he motions for me to follow him. Bringing my empty bowl, I do just that. George leads us to the kitchen before looking in the cupboards in search for movie snacks. Yes, I am aware we just ate. Did I care? Not really. I open the fridge to check if we have eggs when a loud vibration causes me to jump. George laughs at my surprise while setting his tuning phone against the microwave as he leans against the cupboard. Instantly, I see one of his friend's face fill his phone screen and realise he's accepted a FaceTime call. The caller looks thrilled while George has a serious face painted on which causes me to laugh. Gosh, why did he naturally look so grumpy? My laughter catches the attention of them both as George looks at me as if to say what are you laughing about? While George looks perplexed, the caller has a devilish smile on his face.
"Is that Luna?"
The stranger's voice is shaky from the lack of connection, probably due to the weather, but I hear my name loud and clear. In response, George rolls his eyes while turning his face back towards his phone.
"Jesus, Elliot. You're obsessed."
Oh, it's Elliot again.
Elliot (I need to remember that) chuckles at the accusation, "Bring her here. Put her on!"
My eyes narrow at his interest. Why would he want me to be on there? Was this guy actually obsessed? Was he a stalker? George laughs at my expression, "Why?"
"I have something to tell her."
George looks at me warily as I walk toward him, still holding the eggs in my hands, placing my body behind his in an attempt to hide the fact I'm wearing his clothes. At my appearance Elliot grins wildly which, if I'm honest, looks quite weird.
George whispers to me, "He's obsessed with girls."
"Boys! QUICK! Luna's on FaceTime!"
I stiffen and so does George. Boys? Now, that didn't sound good. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the George Mason fanbase arrives.
One asks, "Is she wearing your shirt, mate?"
"I thought you said nothing was going on," Another comments.
"You're locked in the house? Alone?"
They're acting like children at Christmas by fussing over virtually nothing. I watch as George places his fingers on the bridge of his nose while inhaling.
Elliot, the only person I know by name, interrupts the silence, "Does she speak?"
"She does." And that's my clever reply. George turns to face me with a smirk on his face which I reply with one of my own.
"Are you wearing George's clothes? I thought you argued?"
With George still looking at me, I give him the eye telling him that I'm hungry. His smirk grows into a warm smile as he takes in my expression. His friends look confused at our mental chat while sitting in silence as they watch us.
"What are you going to make out of eggs?"
My eyebrows furrow, "Eggs..."
That gets a laugh, "You just want eggs? To watch a film?"
Okay, maybe not. "What else have you got?"
George motions towards the cupboard, "There's bread in there for sandwiches, popcorn in the bottom, and a shit load of chocolate in the back cupboard... I might even have a few packets of sweets."
The thought of junk food makes me very, very happy. Okay, no eggs then.
"Sounds good."
He shrugs, "What fillings are you putting in the sandwiches?"
"You think I'm making them?"
"Well, you are the guest and this was your idea."
I look at him as though he's insane, "You just said it: I'm the guest."
George goes quiet but remains watching me. In our food talk I've forgotten that we're on FaceTime until I hear an exhalation of breath. George and I turn back to the camera to see his friends watching us with amused faces.
"I feel like this chick is stealing our friend."
"Was there any reason for your call?" They all tare their eyes away from me and towards a bored looking George.
"We just wanted to see her, that's all."
The statement is creepy but I'm sure they don't mean it in the way it sounds. Perhaps they wanted clarification that I was here with George. I wonder if George has ever had any other friends apart from them?
A little while later while I'm sat on the counter watching him cook, I let my interest get the best of me. "Have you had any girl friends?"
Now, sounding is everything. I meant female friends but it sounded as though I was asking about girlfriends. While cutting some cheese, George looks at me from the corner of his eyes.
"No."
Maybe I confused him.
"You've never had a friend that was a girl?"
He shakes his head, "Nope."
"Or a girlfriend?"
At that, he turns to face me, "I said no. Why the sudden interest?"
Deciding to completely ignore his question, I interrogate, "Why?"
George has forgotten the food and placed his whole attention on me, "I haven't needed anymore friends. Plus, nobody has caught my eye."
"Who doesn't need more friends?"
He tilts his head, "Where's this coming from?"
"It's just," I begin, treading lightly, "Your friends seem very interested in your life. Interested in you having other friends and that's a little weird."
The laughter he lets out is a real, deep laugh that forces me to join in slightly. Even when he's done laughing, his little dimple remains on his cheek. "They're not obsessed Luna. And it's not weird for them to be interested. I've never had a girl who is a friend and that's... unusual for them. Plus, they saw you ignore me for all that time so you've got them interested in you as well. They're confused."
I raise my eyebrows, "Confused?"
George shrugs while going back to work on the food, "Like I said, nobody caught my eye before."
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Here they are, stuck together.
I wrote this one quite quickly so if you spot any errors please let me know!