"Here's the camera," Ms. Grant says to me as she hands me the Canon EOS R5 I will be using to photograph the football game tonight. "You can upload the pictures from the SD card onto your computer and email them to me over the weekend, or we can just do that Monday during class."
Taking the camera from her hand and putting the strap around my neck, I respond with, "Thank you. I'll see you on Monday."
"See you Monday, Lilianna."
I walk out of the classroom and head to where Cole parked his car this morning. He must have seen me walking to his car, because when I reach the vehicle, he already has the passenger side of his black Audi opened. "You need some help there Lil?"
"No I'm good," I say as I slide my heavy backpack off my back and onto the floor of the car. Cole makes his way to the driver's side of the car and gets in. I take the camera from my neck and set it down on the car console. I hop in the car and shut the door. After putting my seatbelt on, I take the camera from the console and set it on my lap. I take a deep breath of the cool air, as Cole put the AC on before I got in the car.
Only then do I register the fact that the car isn't moving and Cole is staring at me.
"Why are you staring at me weirdo?" I ask, looking at him and laughing. Instead of answering, Cole just looks at me, shakes his head and starts laughing. "What?" I say but he again, doesn't answer. "Is something wrong? Do I look funny?" Cole continues to laugh.
"You're crazy, Lilianna," he says after calming down.
"You've known that for a long time," I say, matching his playfulness, "Now drive us home you dumbass."
He chuckled and put the car in reverse, pulling out of the school parking lot. I connected my phone to the bluetooth audio in his car start to make a very difficult decision. Which song will I play to annoy Colson Kane Miller today?
I am currently debating between 'Little Black Dress' by One Direction, 'Heartbreak Girl' by 5 Seconds Of Summer, 'Picture To Burn' by Taylor Swift, or I could be bold and choose 'FRIENDS' by Anne-Marie and Marshmello. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions... No matter what song I chose, I will be extremely dramatic with it. Because I am Lilianna Grace Welt, and that is how things roll around here.
If I play 'Little Black Dress' Cole will probably think my feminism is non-existent.
Girl, your feminism has been on hold since you read The Deal. But whatever... great book though!
I mentally cross that song off my list, and before I can run through the list of pros and cons to all the other songs, Cole says, "You're mentally debating which song to play to annoy the hell out of me, aren't you."
"Awww, you know me so well," I say, blowing him a kiss.
"Good Lord, Lilianna. Must you really annoy me on the day of the first football game of the year?" He groans.
"Oh honey, it's my job to annoy you," I say with a smile that screams mischief.
"Yeah, well I guess I don't have a little sister so-"
"Ouch!" I exclaim putting my hand over my heart, "Colson, did you just friend-zone me?"
"I'm afraid I did, darling," he says and we both start laughing.
Playful.
That is the one word I would use to describe our friendship. It's funny, full of laughter, jokes, smiles. But there is also this different dimension to our friendship that brought us happiness; the pain. Cole has been there for me through one of the darkest chapters of my life. He looked in my eyes and saw the true pain, the ugliness of the hard times, and what it did to me. He didn't let that stop him from bringing out the best in me. He turned my frowns into smiles, he turned my tears of pain into tears of joy. He fixed me when I felt that I was broken, a shattered mirror that could never be fixed. He did that, he saved me.
"Okay, okay, Taylor is fine right?"
"I'll put up with it," he replies
"Oh Colson, you won't be 'putting up with it,' you will be listening to music at it's finest," I tell him. He shakes his head with a smile on his face while looking at the road. "I'm serious, I am blessing your ears."
And just like that, we listen to Taylor Swift's 'New Romantics' all the way home.
*******
What do you wear to high school parties?
Actually, let me rephrase that.
What do you wear to high school parties that doesn't show everything? EW.
The party is directly after the game tonight. Considering the game starts at 7:00, I am assuming it should be done with by 9:00. Since Cole is driving to the party after we leave the game, I have to wear something that is school appropriate. Not that I wouldn't be wearing anything crazy inappropriate if we were stopping at home before heading to the party. I am about five seconds from texting Cole to ask him what I should wear when my phone dings with a message from him.
Cole the Crazy: What time do you think you will be ready to leave your house?
Me: I have no idea. Currently trying to decide what to wear. What do girls wear to high school parties anyway?
Cole the Crazy: Well, are you trying to get laid or not...
Me: EWW. Of course not, dumbass.
Cole the Crazy: Awww. So no short dress that barely covers your ass?
Me: No you perv.
Cole the Crazy: I'm kidding, geez.
Me: Hmm... no you weren't
Cole the Crazy: Was too
Me: Yeah, yeah whatever. Okay, so what do I wear?
Cole the Crazy: T-shirt and jeans
Me: Thanks for the top notch fashion advice, dude.
Cole the Crazy: No problem, darling. Please be ready by 5:30. I need to be on the field by 6 to warm up.
Me: Okay, got it.
It's currently 4:45, so I have 45 minutes to figure out what the hell I'm wearing, do my hair, and fix my makeup.
I decide on wearing some light washed distressed baggy jeans, my navy t-shirt that has the school name, Lopelle High School, and our panther school mascot on the front in white. Colson's last name and jersey number, which is 17, on the back, also in white. I pair the outfit with my oversized white zip up hoodie and my white Nike Air Force 1's.
For my make up, I just put on a bit of foundation, concealer, a little dusting of rosey blush, some mascara, eyeliner, and my signature taupe pink lipstick. As for my hair, I just tie my long, brown hair into two French braids. After I'm done getting ready, I check my phone and the time is 5:20. Grabbing my phone and the Canon EOS R5 camera, I head out of my room and into the living room to say bye to my mom.
"Hey, Lily," she greets me when I reach the bottom of the stairs.
"Hey, Mom. Cole should be here in about 10 minutes to pick me up so we can head to the game. After we are heading to a party," I knew telling Mom about the party would be difficult. But, I didn't want to lie to her, either.
"Lily-"
"Mom, Cole is going too. He promised to stay by my side the entire time and he said whenever I want to leave, we are out of there. He won't let anything happen to me, and we both know that. He's not going to be drinking, doing drugs, or hooking up, and neither am I. We are going to be responsible, and if something happens, we will tell you," I say, cutting her off. I hope that is sufficient for her, but I know that at the end of the day, she trusts me and Cole. She trusts Cole with me. Hell, she might even trust Cole to take care of me more than she trusts me to take care of myself. I know I do.
"Cole's parents know about this right?"
"Yes." Cole told me Wednesday after school that his parents were fine with it as long as my Mom was too.
"Okay, but if something happens, Jane, Paul, and I better be on speed dial," she says.
"Without a doubt," I say with a smile. Just then, the doorbell rings and I know it's Cole.
"I love you. Have fun sweetie," Mom says, giving me a hug.
"I love you too," I say, pulling away. I open the door to be met with Cole.
"Hey. Are you ready to go?" He asks
I nod my head and open the door a little more so he can see my Mom.
"Oh, hello Ms. Welt," he says with one of those charming Cole smiles.
"Hello, Cole. I heard my little baby is dragging you to a party tonight," my Mom jokes.
"He proposed the idea!" I argue and Mom playfully rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, if it's okay with you, we are going to a party after the game. If you'd rather have Lily stay home, we can come crash here after the game. I wouldn't want to go against anything you would want, so it's totally up to you," Cole replies and the only thought that crosses my mind is Damn, he really is such a gentleman, well around my mother at least.
"Yes, of course, Cole. I trust you with Lilianna's life. So you two can go to the party or come back here after the game. It's totally up to you."
"Do you want her home by a certain time?" he asks
Oh my dear Lord, this man.
"As long as she comes home alive, not drunk or high, and isn't escorted home by the cops, I think we're good," she jokes and both Mom and Cole start laughing.
"Yeah, yeah. Are we going to go or are you two going to continue talking about me as if I'm not in the room?" I say, faking annoyance, but amused by their conversation.
"Yeah, let's go. Bye Ms. Welt," Cole says.
"Bye, Mom."
"Bye, you two!" Mom shouts and I walk out of the front door.
Once we get in his car, I turn to Cole and say, "'Do you want her home by a certain time?' Seriously, dude?"
"Hey, I don't want to do anything your Mom would disapprove of," he claims.
"You know, most guys these days wouldn't care if they went against what my mother approved of," I argue.
Right before he turns off our cul-de-sac, Cole lowers his voice, turns to me and says, "Well Lilianna, I'm not like most guys these days, now am I?"
No, he's not, not at all. He has better morals than most guys our age. He does better things than most guys our age. He treats me better than most guys our age treat girls. Hell, he treats me better than my own father treated me. And for that, I am one of the lucky ones.
author's note!
word count: 1,905
alright, alright, i know i said this chapter would be of the game, but this chapter would've been too long if i would've done that. so that will be apart of the next chapter lol. how was this chapter? feedback on chapters are always appreciated! see you all on the next chapter.