Kennedy's POV
Holy shit. I want her house.
The comfy , cosy , autumn/winter aesthetic is MY THING ; every single house I've ever built on the sims 4 looks like this. I'm in awe.
If I wasn't so crap at things like art and admittedly budgeting, I would without a doubt go down the interior design route and furnish homes for a living.
Gently sitting myself down onto her couch , leaning back comfortably with one leg crossed over the other , I looked around at the layout of this room , taking in every little detail.
The floors are dark hard-wood , and the walls are painted an off-white almost creamy colour ; it's not quite cream but it's not as white as magnolia either , it's somewhere in between.
You know she's financially stable just by the sizeable brown corner-sofa filling a large portion of the space , made out of this soft, almost fluffy but not quite , fabric , and decked out with a creme throw tossed over the back of it as well as matching cushions spaced out periodically.
She has a black glass coffee table sat in the middle of the room , placed centrally on top of a creme-coloured circular teddy rug. Upon the table sat a large pile of presumably unmarked papers , a red pen balanced on the top of them.
She has her TV mounted to the wall above a dark-stone fireplace , built into the forefront of the space ; it would be an understatement to say that I'm jealous.
"Kenn?"
A voice emerged from the hallway behind me ; I obviously knew who's voice it was , it just caught me off guard.
I turned around , meeting Rosie's gaze accompanied by a noticeable smile tampering with her expression.
"Yeah?" I replied , my eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. Why is she grinning?
"Everything okay?" she asked.
I frowned confusedly, "Yeah..why?"
"I said your name about three times before you came to?!" she told me as she walked over and sat herself down on the other side of the couch.
I sipped my tea and nodded , "Oh crap sorry , yeah I'm good."
I pulled my feet up underneath me to get more comfortable and sat cross legged , balancing my mug in the gap between my legs.
"I'll be honest with you , I doubted you originally purely going off of the decorations in your classroom, but you actually have great taste , your house is beautiful." I stated.
Her jaw dropped , "Ms Wilson and I spent ages putting up those displays , I'm not sure whether to be offended or flattered?"
I smirk , "Just focus on the latter of the sentence, your house is very pretty."
She squints her eyes , "Mhm , why thank you."
I smile , wrapping both hands tightly around my mug of tea to keep them warm. "I have a question"
Rosie sighs , pulling her knees up to her chest and leaning back against the side of her sofa. "What is it with you and questions , Miss Matthews?"
"I'm eager to learn , Miss Foster." I quip back at her.
She lets this one go , as technically she also called me by my last name.
"I also have a question for you , actually"
I raise my eyebrows in surprise, "Wait what? Am I in trouble? What's your question?"
She chuckles , "You're not in trouble, and you started it so you should go ahead with your question."
"But I-"
She cuts me off , "Kennedy what did you wanna ask me?" she said softly.
As her tone relaxed , so did I ; my shoulders dropped from their subconsciously heightened position and my jaw unclenched.
I look at her and hesitate for a slight second, "How old were you when your mum passed?"
I articulate my question slowly and in the least imposing/pressing tone possible.
Usually I don't do personal questions ; I never ask them nor do i answer them when I'm asked either. But , after hearing about her mum having passed away during our chat at the coffee shop , and knowing that she went through the same thing I'm experiencing daily , I'm genuinely curious and feel as though it's safe to ask her.
For a millisecond I could visually see on her expression that my question was not anywhere near what she was most likely expecting. Nevertheless, our eye-contact never wavered nor did she display any signs of upset or annoyance regarding what I had asked.
"My mum passed away when I was 17.." she said , "It wasn't sudden or unexpected or anything, we knew it was coming...although that doesn't mean it's any easier to process sometimes."
A small , sincere smile lingered on her face as I took in the information I had just heard ; I know first hand that it makes no difference when someone's hurting, but still I had to restrain myself from apologising.
Tentatively, I begin , "May I ask how she passed?"
Rosie nodded softly, "Yes you may , she had been fighting breast cancer.."
Shit.
...
I said nothing. Weirdly , I simply sat there silent.
"Are you okay?" Rosie said , leaning forward slightly as she spoke.
I shook myself out of whatever emotional black hole I'd been sucked into and composed myself almost completely. If you practice it enough, it becomes a skill.
I nod , "Yeah , yeah I'm fine..I'm just sorry for your loss." I tell her , feeling myself open back up again with each word.
Rosie smiles softly, "Can I ask my question?"
I nod.
"I was wondering if you'd be willing to stay behind after school for the Sixth Form opening evening next Tuesday..The humanities department needs a few students to advocate our subjects to the upcoming year 12's , but honestly, more importantly to their parents. You won't be alone , there'll be 3 or 4 other year 12's and 2 year 13's. I'll be there with Ms Wilson so even if you don't really know any of the other students there's no need to worry."
Rosie looks at me hopefully as I try to revise my schedule for upcoming week in my head ; I visit Mum on Mondays , I work on Wednesdays..nothing on Tuesday though.
"It'll only be until 7 , I could take you home afterwards if you don't have a lift?" Rosie continues.
I nod my head , "I mean yeah I can stay , is there anything I need to bring?" I ask her.
"Just your folders , but you'll have those in your school bag anyway." She tells me.
I smile , "In that case yeah I can help."
Rosie smiles , placing her hand temporarily on my knee and squeezing gently before removing it again.
"Thank you , it really is a massive help. Finish your tea , I'll drop you home." she says , standing up from the sofa and walking back out towards the hallway.
I smile to myself, quickly gulping down the last of my tea before following Rosie out.
While she stands in the hallway putting her jacket back on , I make my way into her kitchen and quickly run my empty mug under the tap , picking up a sudsy sponge sat conveniently next to the side of her sink and wiping it down. I rinse it out once more before setting it upside down on her draining board.
"There's no need to wash that up , silly child." Rosie says from the doorway behind me.
I turn around , "I'm not prepared to leave a mess after you've been so kind as to let me into your home." I tell her , a smile on my face.
Rosie laughs , "It's one mug , hardly a mess"
I shake my head , "Doesn't matter.."
"So stubborn.." Rosie returned whilst rolling her eyes.
________
As we drive down various roads back to mum's house , the closer we get the stronger the feeling of not wanting to go grows. I don't know what it is about Rosie , there's just a calming element to her whenever she's near ; yes she's unimaginably attractive so maybe that contributes something, but even just the sound of her voice makes you instantly feel comfortable.
"It's just that one on the left , right?" Rosie asked as we approached the end of my street.
"Yep" I replied simply.
Seconds later she pulled up next to the pavement and put the gear into neutral , keeping the engine running.
"Before you go.." , she began "I still have your coat in the back from the other day."
Rosie reached into her back seat , feeling around for that jacket I leant her the other day at the park. She seemed like she was struggling, running her hand along the chair whilst bending her shoulder at the most awkward angle to get there.
"I've got it don't worry.." I mumbled whilst reaching my own arm back there , grabbing hold of the fabric from behind the driver's seat and pulling the jacket forward.
It was then that I turned my head only to find myself centimetres away from her , so close that I felt her breathe tickling my skin. Our eyes met , and although it would have likely only been a few seconds , it felt like an eternity that our gazes were locked together.
I had to physically restrain myself from leaning into her , remembering that she wasn't a girl my age that I could come on to without consequences. I could've sworn she glanced down at my lips though, but before I had the opportunity to ponder it much longer , she leaned back again into her seat.
Jacket in hand , i unbuckled my seatbelt and opened the door.
"Thank you for everything tonight, Miss Foster.." I told her with a smile.
Returning the smile , she nodded , "You're welcome, now go get inside it's cold out."
I step out and close the car door behind me , a smile on my face as I walk up to my front door. Once unlocked , I step foot inside and turn around , waving briefly at Rosie who was still parked outside waiting for me to get properly into the house.
She waves back , and so I shut the door , lock it and throw my keys onto the same spot on the couch that I always do.
Rosie's POV
I'm forced to take a deep breath , my hands tightly gripping the steering wheel as I wait for her front door to close.
Shit.