I take a sip of water once my workout is finished. Sweat beads cover my forehead as the harsh sun warms my skin and I can feel my arms starting to burn. Why do I always forget to apply sunscreen? You'd think I would remember when I have fair skin and every time I step into the sun I turn into a tomato. But no.
I roll up my mat, tie the band around it and place it under my arm. I look up and am startled when I see Jason's face in the window. For a second I thought he was just standing there watching me. When I realise that his head is down as he concentrates on something.
He turns his head and jumps back when he spots me. I hear something clatter to the ground and I cringe.
He cusses as he looks down at the ground. He looks back up at me with a confused look. "What the hell?" He laughs. "You scared the shit out of me!" I can't help but let a laugh escape my mouth as well. "We're you watching me?" He asks as he lifts the window up slightly so I can hear him.
I guess it probably seems like that when you turn your head to find someone looking at you through a window.
"No, I just stood up and saw you there." I laugh along with him. "I'm sorry, did I make you drop something?" I ask, worried, as he looks down again.
"Yea just a stupid plate, I never liked it anyway." He shrugs with a half smile.
"I'm so sorry!" I tell him again.
"It's ok, really, we only have like 20 more." His tone is light as he smiles.
"Sorry." I apologise again, a worried expression on my face.
"Stop apologising it's fine really." He laughs at my repeated apologies.
"Ok." I give in and he laughs. "I'll try not to pop up at your window again." My smile is playful as he laughs.
"That sounds good. Next time maybe just take a photo, it lasts longer." He smirks.
I laugh at his comment. "That's old." I laugh.
"You're right, but it still worked." His smile is contagious. Literally, his dimpled smile is amazing.
"Hmm maybe." I smile. "Anyway, I'm going to get out of this sun before I turn to a crisp."
"Ooh have fun." He studies my face and arms as he cringes.
"I sure will." My tone is sarcastic. I walk to the front door and the creek door shuts behind me with a bang. I chuck my mat in my room and walk into the bathroom. I look at the outcome of being in the sun for forty minutes without sunscreen and heavily sigh. "Hey Nell?" I call out.
"Yea?" She replies from her bedroom.
"Do you know if we have any aloe Vera?"
"Umm I think we might in the fridge, why?"
"I'm sunburnt." I go to the fridge and scan the contents.
"You had one job." She states jokingly.
"I guess I messed that up." No aloe Vera. Great. I shut the fridge and decide to take a shower. This will be fun.
After finding a not-too-hot but not-too-cold temperature, I hop in, but my arms still seem to burn at the impact. I struggle to wash my hair and my body, trying to keep my arms out of the water as much as possible.
After the painful shower is over, I wrap a towel around my body and walk to my bedroom.
"Did we have any?" Danielle asks when I walk past her bedroom. I stop in her doorway and see her on her laptop sitting at her desk. She looks up at me and frowns once she sees my arms.
"No, I'll just put some moisturiser on it or something. Is my face bad?"
"Not really, just a bit pink. But your arms are another story."
"Yea." I sigh, looking down at my cherry-coloured arms. "Doesn't the garden next door have aloe Vera plants?" I think back to when I last looked at that garden and remember that there was a big aloe Vera plant in the corner.
"Eh, I can ask them later."
"Surely they wouldn't mind you just taking it, they probably don't even know that it's there considering they only moved in two days ago." She clicks her pen as she looks at me. I shrug my shoulders and lean off of the door frame.
"I don't know." I walk to my bedroom and wrap the towel around my wet hair. I put on some underwear and and find a big t-shirt and shorts to wear. My brain hurts after today. My two classes were spent on the computer the whole time hurrying to write notes as both my Homicide and Law professors talked a million miles an hour. I have to admit, I do like writing notes for some reason, just not on a computer, and not decoding the words and rushing to get them down.
I walk into Nell's room and fall down on her comfortable bed filled with pillows. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just want to lay on your bed." I say and mean it. Her bed is more comfortable than mine. My bed looks comfortable, but it takes me ages to get to sleep every night.
"Alright then." She chuckles. I look over on her wall at the board she has hanging up. There a ton of photos of her and I, and a few with us and Lana and Emma, and some of her family who she isn't that close to anymore. I wouldn't say that she dislikes them, but she doesn't exactly love spending time with them. They're a little overwhelming and in my opinion, they expect too much from her.
"Hey, do you want to maybe see what Emma and Lana are doing tonight?" I suggest, and she stops tapping her pen on the table.
"Yea alright, I'm sick of studying." She turns around in her chair to face me. She only had one class today so she's been home since 12.
"Cool, I'll text them." I pay the bed around me for my phone until I realise I left it in my bedroom. I'm too comfortable to move, so I look up at Nell with pleading eyes.
"I'm not getting your phone for you." She reads my mind. I frown at her and push myself up from my position.
"Bitch," I walk out of the room and grab my phone from my bed. We already have a group chat with them, so I decide just to text them through that, that's what I normally do.
We met them a month after moving here at an Imagine Dragons concert, after coincidently tripping over each other trying to exit the arena.
[Hey guys, you up to do something tonight?]
[Sure, what'd ya have in mind?] -Emma
[We should go to Evolution]
One thing you need to know about Lana, is that she loves going out, and she parties hard. So any night with Lana is a great one. Emma is the sensible one who would hold your hair while your puking, so they're basically a package.
[Alright, see you guys there at around 9?]
[Ok, we're bringing a friend if that's alright :)] -Lana
[Please don't tell me it's some random guy you met on tinder]
A few months ago Lana signed up with Tinder, and she was so obsessed that it'd be weird if she only had two dates a week.
[Surprisingly it's actually not] -Emma
[No calm down I'm done with that. I met him through Ben, he's cute and Irish and I'm not into him] -Lana
Ben is Lana's outgoing older brother, basically an older version of Lana.
[Wow Lana's not into a guy she just met? What is happening]
[Ha ha very funny. You make me sound like a whore] -Lana
[That's because you are :) we'll see you guys there]
[Bitch.] -Lana
[Where's Danielle at?] -Emma
[I think she's still studying]
[Nope I'm here just cbf replying] -Nell
[So the usual ;)]
[Only sometimes] -Nell
I put my phone down and look up at the clock. It's only five. That means four hours. I hate planning things for later, because from then on its just a waiting game.
~~
"Are you nearly ready?"
"Yep, let me just finish putting my make-up on and I'm all good." I finish applying the eyeliner and mascara, and stand up to look at myself in the mirror. My strapless black dress reaches halfway down my thigh, and the silk material is soft against my skin. My black high heels aren't too high, but enough to make me the same height as Danielle, unless she chooses to wear high heels. My hair is in a messy high bun with loose curls hanging down. It actually looks pretty good, considering my hair is usually a curly mess of frizz.
Danielle arrives at my door and I'm disappointed to see her wearing 3-inch heels. Great. "Damn, I was hoping to be the same height as you." I pout.
"You will never be the same height as me." She laughs.
"I can only hope." She is wearing a pink halter neck dress and her hair is down with her fringe clipped back. She looks stunning, although she always manages to look flawless. "You look really pretty."
"So do you." She smiles, taking in my appearance.
"Thanks." I grab my white purse from the bed as we walk into the kitchen. "Are we going to take a taxi?" I don't think it would be responsible of us to drive if we are going to be drinking.
"Well I'm going to be drinking, so if you are then yes." She explains as she picks up her small pink shoulder bag.
"Ok, I hate taking taxi's." I shut the door behind us and lock it as we leave.
"We could ask Jason and Blake." She suggests. She met them yesterday, when they came over and asked for help to arrange their lounge room. They said that they needed someone else's perspective because they couldn't sort out where the couch looked best. But with Nell and I being fussy over organisation, we ended up changing around the whole room. In my opinion it looks a lot better than when we first walked in.
"I would feel rude if we did that." I confess.
"Why? It's only like 5 minutes away and they wouldn't mind."
"I don't know, we could just walk if it's only 5 minutes away."
"I am not walking in these heels, come on let's either ask them or take a taxi." As if on cue, the door opens and out steps Blake, followed by Jason. As soon as they see us they both smile.
"Oh hey, what are you two all dressed up for?" Blake asks out of curiosity.
"We're just going to catch some drinks with some friends." I reply.
"Where are you guys off to?" Danielle asks them.
"Getting take-out." Jason smiles.
"Do you think you would be able to do us a huge favour?" Danielle's smile is pleading.
"You want a lift?" Blake guesses.
"If it's no trouble." I add.
"Of course it's no trouble! Only if you don't tell us where you're going." Blake grins. He's got such a child-like adorable smile. They get in the car and we follow behind them.
"See I told you." Danielle looks back at me with an 'I told you so' look.
"Whatever." I chuckle. I hop in the back seat of the jeep and put my seatbelt on.
"So where are you going?" Jason asks with a laugh.
"Have you heard of Evolution?" I ask.
"Oh yea, isn't that the club on the corner of Brindle street?"
"Yea, I'm surprised you know that."
"What can I say, I know my clubs." He smirks, making me laugh.
"So where is that?" Blake asks dumbfounded.
"You know the place we got fish n chips at yesterday?" Jason try's to explain the whereabouts of the club to Blake. He nods his head. "Well it's that huge place on the corner with Evolution written on the top." He states the obvious as Blake shakes his head.
We pull up in front of the club in exactly 7 minutes.
"Thank you." Danielle says.
"Thank you so much for that." I thank them.
"That's alright, any time. If you guys need a lift home just call us." Blake tells us.
"I don't think we have your numbers do we?" I state.
"Here, give me your number and I'll text you Blake's so you'll have both of ours." Jason gets out his phone and I tell him my number. "Done. Don't hesitate to call us we have nothing to do anyway." He smiles. We laugh at his response and I hear my phone beep. That would be the message from him.
"Ok, thanks again." I say as I get out of the car.
"Thanks." Danielle repeats.
"Have a good night, you both look beautiful." Blake compliments us.
"Aw thank you, we will." I shut the door behind me and they drive off a moment later.
"They're really nice." Danielle confesses as we walk up the path.
"They are aren't they, almost too nice and funny." I smile. "I just hope they don't turn out to be serial killers or something." Danielle laughs at my outrageous idea.
"Yea, for some reason I find that highly unlikely."