~Brett's POV~
About a week had passed and I was stood behind the till at work, drumming my fingers on the desk. I brushed my fringe from my eyes and adjusted my goggles. Business was slow as usual and I was bored out of my mind so I decided to take my break early. I let Rebecca know and went to sit in the back room.
About five minutes later my game of Angry Birds was interrupted by Becca poking her head in. "Hey, Brett." She whispered loudly.
"What?" I said not looking up from my phone.
"You've got a gentleman caller." She snickered.
"If it's one of my brothers please tell them they're supposed to be at work and that I'll speak to them when I get home." I replied, still not looking up from my phone.
"No, Brett, there's actually a guy here to see you." She repeated, I looked up at her. "Are you kidding me?" I asked, disbelievingly. Rebecca shook her head, causing her curly mop of hair to flip around dramatically. I got up, brushed off my Misfits t-shirt and walked back out into the main area of the shop and looked around. There were several groups of students huddled around laptops, sipping coffees. A guy loitering by the door and an elderly couple having tea and scones by the window that looked out onto the grey streets of London on a cold September afternoon. There was no one here for me. I frowned. "Becca you arse, there's no one-" I began but I stopped mid sentence when the guy loitering at the door turned around and waved shyly at me. It was Shane. I grinned manically and hopped over the counter, ignoring the complaints from the customers. I skipped over to Shane and gave him a hug. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around my waist softly. I pulled back slightly, so we were still in an embrace but I could talk to him properly. "Hello, Brett." He said quietly.
"Hi, Cy." I smiled. He stood silently for a minute, I could tell he was thinking hard about something. "What's on your mind, Shane?" I asked, slightly concerned. "Well, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go on a sort of date with me?" He asked nervously, a slight blush creeping up his neck. I could feel my cheeks heat up and I smiled. "I would love that!" I giggled.
"Alright, I'll pick you up from yours at about five? Oh and dress casual." Shane beamed.
"Yeah, sounds perfect. I've got to get back to work, see you later then, yeah?" I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "See ya." He replied with a smile before shoving his hands into the pockets of his long, black coat and exiting the store. I squealed and made my way back to the till. Becca looked at me quizzically. "So?" She said, inviting me to tell her everything.
"He asked me out on a date." I sighed dreamily.
"Where's he taking you?" She squealed.
"I don't know he didn't say. All he said is that he's picking me up at five and to dress casual."
"So you're not going somewhere posh then?" Becca said, sounding slightly underwhelmed. I chuckled Becca is one of those people who like big, expensive, extravagant things. "No, probably not, but I'll be with Shane so wherever we are I'll have a good time." I smiled.
"You really like him, don't you?" Rebecca chuckled.
"I don't know, I haven't known him long but I think I do, yeah."
"Well me and Deryn hadn't been dating long but he proposed so you never know." Becca giggled admiring her large diamond ring. I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of what the two of them have.
The day passed rather slowly and I began to get antsy as the time inched closer to the end of my shift. I was getting more and more nervous about my date with Shane, though at the same time I was really excited. After what felt like centuries the clock struck three thirty and I shrugged my leather jacket on before venturing out into the streets of London. I waited for the bus in the cold, tugging my jacket tighter around myself to try and keep warm: It didn't work. The cold September air chilled me to the bone and I hoped to god that whatever Shane had planned didn't take place outside. I checked the time on my phone, it was quarter to four and the bus still wasn't here. Could the bus not have picked another day to be late! I took a deep breath and willed for the bus to arrive. I let out a frustrated groan and checked the time again. "Running late are we, dear?" Asked a sweet elderly woman sat next to me.
"I've got a date tonight and I'm being picked up at five." I explained.
"Well, I'm sure the bus will be here soon and you can get to that date of yours." She smiled sweetly. I shot her a smile back and aimlessly scrolled through Tumblr while I waited for the bus.
Finally the gargantuan red bus pulled up and I rushed to get on board. The bus driver raised an eyebrow at my goggles as I showed him my bus-pass and shook his head muttering something about 'kids these days'. I stared out of the window and watched the busy streets pass by in a blur. I was getting more and more nervous by the second, silly little worries flooding my mind.
I stepped off of the bus onto the dirty pavement outside of my apartment building. I said a quick thank you to the bus driver and bolted into the building. It was now twenty past four and I was no where near ready. I slammed the apartment door behind me and yelled Paisley's name. "Hello to you too, Brett." She drawled.
"No time I need you to help me pick an outfit, I have a date." I rushed. Her eyes widened. "You're going on a date with Barrone?" She squealed running after me as I made my way to to my room. "Yes, can you please pick me out an outfit for this evening while I shower because he's going to be here in forty minutes!" I panicked, running around my room trying to find make-up and underwear. I rapidly pulled the draws open on my dresser and started sifting through the never ending beauty products within one of them. I picked up black liquid eyeliner, mascara and a bottle of foundation and set them down on the, dark wood, dresser. I grabbed a set of fresh underwear from the drawer next to it and bolted to the bathroom.
I quickly padded across the white tiled floor and stopped in front of the large mirror. I took a make-up remover wipe from the packet that was strewn carelessly on the ledge beside the sink and wiped my face clean. I examined my appearance for a while longer. I took in my artificially blood red hair, my dull grey eyes and the million freckles that covered my face. My skin was pale and patchy but my cheeks usually had a rosy appearance. I turned away and peeled off my clothes before stepping into the minuscule shower cubicle.
I emerged from the shower in a cloud of steam to find that Paisley had laid out a grey skirt, a Panic! At The Disco shirt and my thin khaki parka on my bed. I smiled, pleased with what she'd chosen. Slipping my clothes on I glanced at the time. Shane was going to be here in about twenty five minutes. I applied some eyeshadow and eyeliner along with mascara, nothing too fancy just the usual. I put some Pepsi lipsmacker on and straightened my hair. All with ten minutes to spare. I felt my breath get shaky and my hands start to quake as the nerves set in. So I wandered back into my, eggshell blue, bathroom and took a single pill from the little prescription bottle on the countertop, remembering I hadn't taken one yet today, before picking up a pair of converse and wandering back into the lounge to wait for Shane to pick me up.
Paisley was curled up on the sofa watching The Hills. I plonked down next to her and began to lace up my shoes. "What episode is it?" I asked.
"The one where Heidi and Spencer are horrible to everyone." She replied sarcastically.
"That could be any episo- you were being sarcastic weren't you?" I said stupidly. Paisley nodded and burst into fits of giggles. I shoved her playfully and she just grinned. "What time are you getting picked up again, Brett?" Paisley asked.
"'Bout five." I replied, nervously drumming my fingers against my knees. However before the conversation could progress any further somebody knocked on our apartment door.
~Shane's POV~
I knocked on Brett's apartment door three times before shoving my hands back into my coat pockets. Brett opened the door with a wide smile. "Hi, Shane." She said shyly.
"Hi." I smiled, taking a step forward and enveloping her in a hug. I felt her wrap her skinny little arms around my neck loosely, standing up on her tiptoes slightly. She smelt great, like honey and spices. I pulled back and gazed at the slight, red haired girl in front of me. "You look really pretty, Brett." I told her sincerely. My words caused a light pink blush to dust her freckled cheeks and she hid behind her hair. "Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself." She giggled, shuffling her feet shyly. "Come in for a moment, Shane, I need to go find something." She continued, moving to the side slightly. I walked into her apartment and saw that there was another girl laid out on the couch. She had mousy-brown hair with various bows clipped in it. "Oh, this is Paisley by the way." Brett chirped. Paisley turned around and said hello before promptly turning back to The Hills. Brett emerged from, what I assume to be her bedroom, and skipped over to the kitchenette and grabbed a little Doctor Who satchel. I raised an eyebrow at the bag that was blazoned with pictures of all eleven Doctors. She giggled and her cheeks were once again tinted red. "I really love Doctor Who." She stated with a shrug, slipping on a long knitted scarf which strongly resembled the one that belonged to the Fourth Doctor. "Which also explains the scarf?" I chuckled.
"My mum knitted it for me when I was younger." She laughed brightly.
"Don't even get her started on Doctor Who, she won't shut up." Paisley interjected. Brett blushed a deep shade of crimson and looked down at her beaten up converse dispiritedly. "Aw, I think it's cute." I said reassuringly, giving her a quick one armed squeeze. She smiled up at me, the light dancing in her pretty grey eyes. "Should we get going then?" I asked moving aside from the door to let her through. She smiled and bit her lip before nodding enthusiastically. "I'll see you later, Pais." She called behind her as she exited her flat. "So Shane, where are we going?" She enquired as she skipped out towards the van. "Ah, that's a surprise." I said as I put the keys in the ignition and started the van.