A/N Guys, I've noticed that a lot of you hate Christopher, and I don't blame you. He's a dick head. But please give him a chance! He gets better, I swear! And he has his reasons.
Chapter 21
I let out a long yawn as I blinked up at the ceiling. I had been like this for approximately half an hour, though I never mustered up enough energy to drag myself out of bed. Of course, I spent the majority of the time scrolling through social media.
With another yawn, I hauled myself out of bed and trudged in the direction of the bathroom. I took a long, hot shower and then converted into a white sweater with black sweatpants. After throwing my hair into a careless bun, I tugged at the sleeves of my sweater and bounded down the stairs.
"Good morning," Lauren greeted me. I noted that she was wearing her work attire.
"Morning," I mumbled back, rubbing my eyes. In a slow paced manner, I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich with a glass of milk to go with it. Pushing past my father, I walked towards the living room and noticed Christopher sitting in the living room.
"Good morning," I spoke, placing my plate in front of me. Christopher's eyes flickered to the plate, before they landed on me.
"Hey," he responded quietly, flicking through his notebook in a bored manner.
"What are you doing?" I asked him after taking a bite of my cheesy sandwich.
"Revising for my exam," he told me with a shrug of the shoulders.
"Ah, I see," I nodded. "Break a leg." Christopher simply nodded in response and I resolved not to disturb him again, so I quietly ate my sandwich and drank my glass of milk. Once I finished, I went to stand up, but then I promptly sat back down as a loud gasp escaped my lips. How come I never noticed before?
Abort mission. I repeat, abort mission. Christopher lifted his head and offered me a confused stare. "What happened?"
"Oh, I think I saw a spider," I lied. I don't think Christopher would appreciate it if I informed him that I'm currently leaking blood through my clothes. What have I done to deserve this?
"If you saw a spider, wouldn't you want to escape the room instead of just sitting there?"
I definitely wasn't expecting that one. "I'm learning to embrace my fear of spiders," I nodded. "Can you get me some tissues, please?" With a sigh, Christopher grabbed a tissue box and flung it at me. It slapped against my face and I gave him a flat stare.
"That wasn't on purpose," he told me.
"Sure," I nodded sarcastically, grabbing a few tissues. "Can you...I mean, do you..." I groped with my words.
"Do I what?"
"Pass me that hoodie," I requested quite bluntly, nodding my head at his grey hoodie this was strewn across the back of the couch.
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"
"The hoodie," I iterated. "Give it to me."
"But it's mine," he argued, gingerly grabbing the hoodie.
"But I want it." In a hesitant manner, Christopher handed me the hoodie and I inwardly smiled. I didn't expect him to give it to me. I was just about to ask him to kindly leave the room when he stood up and snatched his notebook. "Where are you going?"
"To Antarctica, want to join me?" I wanted to laugh, but held it in.
"Okay, do well in your exam! I believe in you!" I called after him.
"Daniella, I'm going to school, not to military camp!" he called back as he opened the front door. I just rolled my eyes and waited for the sound of the door slamming. Once I was sure Christopher left, I quickly leaped up from the couch.
I do admit that I sniffed the hoodie once before wrapping it around my waist, but it was only once. Besides, no one's looking. Grabbing a few tissues, I sped to the kitchen, wet them, and then hastened back to the couch. "It's a mission against time," I quietly laughed at my own joke as I proceeded to wipe the blood.
After doing so and failing miserably at removing the stain, I just gave up and ascended the stairs. I cleaned myself and then flopped down on my bed with a loud sigh. Dear god.
+ + +
"Yeah, I know," I mumbled quite dejectedly into the phone. "Okay, only if he lets...yeah, bye, Delina." I hung up and placed my phone beside me, blinking at the T.V. I had never felt this kind of pain in my life. It hurt so bad to the point I felt tears form at the back of my eyes.
"What's wrong?"
My eyes snapped to Christopher, who was causally lying on the couch. Oh, how I wish I was a guy. I'd rather deal with random boners than this. "Nothing," I managed to mumble back through the severe pain. "How'd you do in your exam?"
He shrugged. "Fine, I guess," he muttered, staring at the T.V. Nodding, I changed my position and sighed in relief. Much better. "Are you sick or something?"
I managed to shape my lips in the form of a small smirk, but I'm pretty sure I ended up looking like somebody shoved a hedgehog up my ass. "Is this you caring about me?"
"No, it's me being cautious. It's probably the AIDS. They're finally kicking in," he riposted.
I laughed dryly. "You're so funny, Christina. Please teach me your ways."
He muttered something under his breath and I simply bared my teeth at him. "That was really unattractive," he informed me.
I scoffed. "So? It's just you." By you, I mean the person I have a huge crush on.
"And? You shouldn't make yourself seem more unattractive than you already are."
"I'm beautiful," I mumbled, clutching a pillow to my chest.
Christopher gave out a loud, rude snort. "Yeah, and I'm Donald Trump's son." I cracked a smile.
"Well, then stay away from me," I joked.
"He might be your president. Good luck, America."
I groaned. "I know, right? I'd love to move to Australia." Christopher only rolled his eyes in response while I stared down at my hands. I was really in need of a good pedicure.
"What's your favorite color?" I inquired, trying not come off as annoying. Frankly, I ask him way too many questions.
Christopher sent me a skeptical look from the corner of his eyes. "Is this some sort of twisted joke?"
I clasped my hands together. "What are you talking about?"
"I mean, what if I respond with "red" and you reply with "that's the colour of my period blood"?"
I found myself at loss of words as I openly gawked at him. Did he think that low of me? "You're disgusting," I snapped. "You disgust me."
"Daniella, you always make sexual jokes. Do you see me crying like a little b—?"
"Don't call me a bitch!" I ordered with narrowed eyes.
"I wasn't about to."
I let out a deep sigh, feeling myself at loss of words as an outcome of embarrassment.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" I asked him after five minutes of silence.
"No."
"Christina, can I ask you something? Christina, can I ask you something? Christina, can I ask you something? Christina, can I ask you something? Christina, can I ask you something?" I let out a loud huff of air as I realized that he was ignoring me. I genuinely thought this tactic worked on him.
"Fine, I'll just...go on my phone and watch YouTube videos." I ended my statement with a sad sigh.
Three...
It would be incredibly embarrassing if this didn't work.
Two...
I could just imagine it.
One...
"What do you want, Daniella?" Christopher snapped and I grinned.
"Well, I wanted to visit a few tourists spots in Melbourne and..."
"Not my problem," he quickly shot down the idea.
"Oh, come on! You can just drive me there and then come back here! When I'm done, I'll call you!"
Christopher shook his head. "And leave you there by yourself? Not only will my parents disown me because they apparently favor you over their own son, but you'd probably get kidnapped by some druggie."
"Please, Christopher. There's tons of people over there. I'll just scream."
"Ask my dad," he shrugged indifferently, stretching his legs on the couch and cupping his left elbow with his right hand.
"But I want to go with you," I told him, feeling somewhat sanguine.
"And why's that?" Christopher muttered, propping his head with his elbow and staring at me.
"So you can keep me company. I like hanging out with you," I responded.
He pulled his eyes away from me. "Unfortunately, that feeling is unrequited."
"Stop talking like a professor at Harvard and help me out!" I retorted.
"How does saying unrequited make me sound like professor at Harvard? Wow, your vocabulary sure does suck."
"Christopher, please. We can even invite your friends so that you won't have to be forced to hang out with me," I besought. "I just want to take a few pictures and look around."
"No."
My shoulders sagged. "Fine," I muttered, allowing my gaze to drop low to the floor. I set the pillow beside me and got up from my seat. Throwing one last glance to Christopher, who was causally scrolling through his phone, I headed towards the stairway and climbed up to my room.
He's so stubborn sometimes.
A few minutes later, I got a text from Delina saying: 'Did he let?'
With a frown, I responded with: 'No. :/'
She sent me another message, but I just pocketed my phone and stared up at the ceiling, suffering from severe cramps. I really wanted to go out in order to take my mind of things, but I knew that required asking Christopher, who'd probably laugh in my face. Minutes afterward, my phone pinged incessantly and I groaned to myself as I grabbed it and allowed my eyes to scan the message Delina sent me.
'Why u always lyin?' she sent.
'About what?' I responded.
'Chris just sent me a text and he said u guys r coming. stop lyin, Dani.' I rolled my eyes at her last sentence, which seemed to be her phrase of the year.
'I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about,' I replied back.
'first off, why ru texting in perfect grammar? and second of all, Chris said u guys r coming!!!' she answered.
'Blame it on autocorrect. And also, I just asked Christopher and he said no. XD!' I added the last part just to irritate her.
'i'm blocking u.'
Okay, am I really going to get out of bed, open the door, close it behind me, climb down the stairs, ask Christopher if what Delina said was true, face another blow to the gut, walk up the stairs again, open the door, close it, and walk back to my bed?
No.
So being the lazy person I was and still am, I sent Christopher a text. He answered with a few choice curse words and told me that what Delina said was true, and that I should go get ready before he personally dragged me out of the house. A grin lined my lips as I got up from bed and staggered towards my closet while pressing a hand to my stomach.
Wincing, I grabbed a few clothes and then changed into them. I lazily brushed my hair and adjusted it into a French braid before grabbing my wallet and shoving my phone and lip balm into it. After grabbing money from my mother, who reluctantly handed it over towards me, I promised myself that I won't spend a lot, unless we're stopping for food of course.
"Who managed to convince you?" I asked Christopher as we climbed into his car. He didn't bother responding, earning a frown from me in response. "I take it that you're mad."
"Why would I be mad?" he raised an eyebrow, briefly glancing over at me for a second.
"Because I'm forcing you to come with me?" I answered in a small voice.
"You didn't force me; I wanted to come."
I nodded in response, lowering myself in my seat and staring out the window.
We spent the entirety of the ride in silence, until I turned to face Christopher and held out his grey hoodie towards him. "Here," I prodded him, eliciting a sigh in response. His gaze dropped down to the hoodie in my hands and he shook his head.
"Keep it; I don't want it."
"How come?" I inquired.
"Because it already touched you," he replied back and I scowled.
"I'm not taking it." And as we stopped at a red light, I shoved the hoodie at his face and listened to him mutter a few curse words.
"It smells like you," he told me.
I couldn't help it; I smiled. "And what do I smell like?"
"Like sh—," I cut him off by pressing my hand down on the horn, earning a glare in response.
"Just drive, boy."
+ + +
"Daniella."
I let out a quiet grunt as I stirred in my sleep. "Daniella, get up." My eyes peeled open and I wanted to groan at the pain in my neck. Did I sleep?
"Yes, you did sleep," Christopher answered my unvoiced question. "And you drool."
"No, I don't," I quickly denied. Before Christopher had time to form a retort, I had already flung the door open and stepped outside. "Wow, it's actually sunny for a change," I mused as I looked around at the bustling streets.
"Don't count on it," Christopher shook his head as he walked by my side. "Melbourne weather is as confusing as a girl on her p—."
"Oh my god!" I practically shrieked as a feeling of mortification enveloped me. "It's a horse!" I gathered a lot of annoyed looks from onlookers as I pointed to a horse and cart.
"Oh my god," Christopher mocked my accent. "No one cares."
"Let's please just go." We walked alongside each other, attempting to dodge people walking by. I stopped by a man, who was sitting on the side of the road with a guitar case in front of him. He provided us a grin, displaying his set of yellow teeth.
"That's nasty," Christopher muttered under his breath and I elbowed him. He tensed up at my touch and I quickly retracted my arm, grabbing some coins and handing them to the man.
After doing so, I turned on my heels and walked beside Christopher as we passed by some stores. "He's going to use your money to buy drugs," he informed me casually as his eyes roamed around the streets.
"Shut up," I hissed, shooting him a death glare. He simply shrugged in response and continued perambulating. Butterflies formed in my stomach as we walked alongside each other. This almost felt like a date. I quickly pushed the idea to the back of my mind. I don't even want to know Christopher's reaction if he found out about my fantasies.
"Uh, so where are we going to meet you friends?" I queried.
"Wait," he told me, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. I nodded and thrust my hands in my pockets as I waited his answer. "We just passed it." Before I could ask him to elaborate, he had already pushed past me. "Come on."
As we passed the Queens Garden, I stopped Christopher by grabbing him by the upper arm. "Can I take a few pictures?" When I saw the doubtful look etched across his face, I added, "You can wait here."
He shook his head. "No, I'll come with you." He kicked himself off the pole he was leaning on and followed me inside. I had to grit my teeth at the pain that seared through me as I walked through the garden and snapped a few shots; mostly of flowers, statues, and fountains.
Of course, Christopher had to make one or two rude remarks. But then again, he wouldn't be Christopher if he didn't, right?
"Sorry I took so long," I apologized as he was walking to the restaurant that we agreed to meet his friends at. He brushed off my apology and entered a fast food restaurant. A sigh escaped my lips as I followed him to the back of the restaurant and I smiled as his group of friends came into view.
"What's up?" Delina asked, scooting over to create more room for me. She had already ordered me a banana milkshake.
"Thanks for this," I nodded towards the milkshake and took a sip. As Christopher began conversing with Adam and Mason, I slurped on my milkshake and studied his messy hair that stuck up in different angles, his pink, plump lips, and his long eyelashes that created shadows against his cheeks.
I didn't realize I was staring until Delina nudged me in the side, causing me to double over in agony. "Checking him out, eh?"
"Delina, that hurts," I rasped, ignoring her previous accusation.
"Woman up," she rolled her eyes. I straightened my spine and nudged Jasmine, who looked up from her phone. "Who're you texting?" Delina beat me to the interrogation.
"Uh...someone." Delina snatched the phone from Jasmine, ignoring her protests. Her eyes slowly widened as she handed the phone back to Jasmine, who sported a small blush.
"Who's Robbie?"
"The one that sits beside me in class," Jasmine answered in a small voice. I looked between the two with a confused look on my face.
Delina let out a shaky breath, looking horrified. "Green haired Robbie?"
Jasmine nodded. "That's the one."
Delina threw her head back and let out an agonized wail. "No!" she whined. "He's ugly!"
"No, he isn't," Jasmine came to his defence.
"May I ask who this Robbie is?" Both of them ignored me and proceeded in arguing. I shrugged before slowly sipping on my milkshake.
"He's a pervert and you know it!" Delina snapped, slamming her hand down on the table.
"No, he isn't! Jesus Christ, can he not be nice to people without being labelled as a pervert?"
"He touched my arse," Delina replied cooly, arching a plucked eyebrow.
"I thought it was your hand," Jasmine raised her eyebrows.
Delina waved a dismissive hand. "Same thing."
Upon hearing that, Jasmine came to his defence and they began arguing once again. "Can we switch spots?" I asked Jasmine. Jasmine kept her eyes on Delina as she moved over and allowed me to sit beside Christopher.
"You're right," I spoke up, staring outside at the streaming rain. "Melbourne weather is confusing."
Christopher instantly turned his attention away from Adam and moved to stare at me. "Told you."
"Do any of you guys happen to have an umbrella?" I asked Adam and Mason, who both slowly shook their heads. "Well, damn."
After finishing our drinks, we waited around for the rain to stop pouring down. It took quite a while for it to stop, and we used the opportunity to step out of the restaurant and walk outside. I shivered as a blast of cold wind blew harshly. "It's so cold," I complained as I walked alongside Christopher, feeling goosebumps arise.
I watched as he unzipped his hoodie while manifesting signs of irritation. He passed it over towards me and I slowly grabbed it, feeling my face heat up. "T-thanks," I stuttered, putting the hoodie on. I prayed that he didn't notice my momentary speech impediment.
His eyes fell down to the hoodie, before he nodded and walked beside me. I smiled down at the ground and zipped up the hoodie. I noticed Delina slightly slowing her pace down, mainly because she wanted me to catch up to her. I waited for Christopher to catch up to Adam and then I paced towards her with an arched eyebrow. "Yes, Delina?"
"He gave you his hoodie!" she grinned, pointing to the hoodie. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and tried to fight back a blush.
"I'm aware," I responded. She only grinned again and walked beside me.
Moments passed by, in which I spent either joking around with Christopher or speaking to Jasmine and Delina. All of a sudden, Delina gasped and pointed to a large building in front of me. "Look! It's Myers!"
"Noo!" Adam echoed dramatically as Delina dragged us down the street.
"Stop being a baby," Delina slapped his arm as we reached Myers. Fundamentally, it was a large store that sold clothes and makeup among other things. I sighed in relief as warmth enveloped me. I shuffled behind the group and looked around the store, smiling once my eyes landed on a section that sold perfume bottles.
"I'll be back," I called to the group as I walked over towards the perfume section and inspected the different scents. When no one was looking, I sprayed a small portion of perfume over my clothes. What? No one was looking.
"I saw that," a voice spoke from behind me. A feeling of relief surged within me as I spun on my heels and spotted Christopher.
"Saw what?" I asked stupidly.
He nodded his head towards the Dior perfume bottle. "That."
I tendered him a small, ashamed smile. "It was a sample," I explained, setting the bottle back.
He nodded, looking past me at the perfume bottles. "Aren't you going to buy it?" I glanced down at the budget and felt my eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets.
"Uhm, no."
Christopher stared at me with furrowed eyebrows. "Right..." he nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"So..." I began as an awkward silence encased us. "What did—?"
"For the love of god, don't make a sexual joke."
I felt myself blushing furiously. "I wasn't going to," I denied hotly. "See you later, alligator." I quickly hurried past him and felt a cringe attack coursing through me. See you later, alligator? Really?
Can somebody punch me, or should I just do it?
"What's wrong with your face?" Jasmine asked me as I caught up to her. She was looking through a few dresses, occasionally lifting a dress up and surveying it.
I cringed. "I told Christopher 'see you later, alligator'," I told her with a frown.
A paroxysm of laughter escaped Jasmine's lips as she leaned against the clothes rack in order to support herself. "Oh my god, are you five?!" she laughed, earning a glare.
"S-shut up. I was under a lot of pressure."
She let out one last laugh before leaning her head against my shoulder. "You're something else, Dani."
I patted her head with a tight lipped smile. "So...who's this Robbie?"
"Just a guy," she responded, skipping away from me.
"No, I thought he was a pole." Jasmine merely rolled her eyes as I accelerated my pace. "You're already over Adam?" I questioned, disbelief lacing my tone.
Jasmine shrugged. "I-I don't know...I'm trying to get over him. It'll be easier when he leaves, y'know?" I just frowned in response.
"Well, as a friend, I have to ask you this: is he hot?"
Jasmine smiled. "Well, I mean he isn't hot, but he isn't ugly."
I nodded. "I see how it is. I'm going to go look through the clothes."
"Catch you later, alligator!" Jasmine called after me and I cringed in embarrassment as I practically galloped up the escalator. Remind me to not tell her things again.
Once I arrived at the second floor, I began searching around. Maybe I should buy something for my mother; that way, she wouldn't yell at me for wasting money. So with a sigh, I began searching for something my mother would like. What do woman in their mid-thirties like to wear? "Adam, my boy," I called as I reached him.
"Bonjour," he replied back, gazing up at a mannequin.
"What do you think my mother would like to wear?"
"Clothes?" he answered with furrowed eyebrows.
"No, I was thinking about buying her grass skirts," I deadpanned, earning a short chuckle in return.
"I don't know, she's your mother."
"Thanks a lot, Adam," I responded.
"No problemo."
+ + +
Eventually, after a full hour of shopping, we exited the store and I sighed in relief. I can now see where Adam was coming from. I swung the bag in my hands as I ambled alongside Mason. "What'd you buy?"
"Lipstick," Adam responded for him with a contemptuous smile. I contemplated elbowing him in the side.
"Clothes," Mason shrugged, smiling slightly.
Oh my gosh, he's so adorable. "Like?" I furthered, trying to get him to talk.
"Like a jacket."
"That sounds cool," I replied with a smile.
"No, it doesn't," Christopher scoffed from in front of us.
"Mind your own business," I bit back.
"Look, can we just go home already? It's evening," he nodded his head towards the sky, which cast a mixture of colours that consisted of orange, pink, and purple.
"No!" I contended. "Night is the best time of the day."
Delina nodded, furthering my statement. "It is," she appended. Christopher only sighed in response and continued sluggishly walking behind us. I felt slightly overwhelmed with guilt for dragging him along with us, when it was clear he didn't want to come. But then again, Christopher is Christopher, and if he didn't want to come, I'm sure he would've came up with a plausible excuse as to why he couldn't.
"Hey, there's this cool spot we always used to visit," Adam informed me in an elated tone. "Should we check it out?" After agreeing, we split up and I grudgingly followed Christopher.
"Should I go with one of them?" I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder.
"No."
Shrugging, I dipped my hands in the pockets of his hoodie and attempted not to sniff it. I contemplated asking him what cologne he used, since he always smelled so good.
We silently walked back to his car, which was parked on the side of an empty road surrounded by sketchy buildings. I rounded the car and slid into the passenger seat, rubbing my hands together in an effort to warm up my hands. Thankfully, though, Christopher opened the heater and drove off, allowing the sound of Ariana Grande's Focus to play through the radio.
I held back an eye roll. "Why are you so obsessed with this chick?"
"Because she can sing, unlike someone," he looked over at me with upraised eyebrows and I scoffed.
"I'm a great singer."
"Sure, Daniella." I ignored him and stared out the front window, which was studded with small droplets of water. As we neared the said area, or so I'm assuming by the way Christopher's car pulled to a stop, I unzipped his hoodie.
"What are you doing?" Christopher sounded panicked and somewhat alarmed. I moved around to stare him, realizing how bad this must of looked like.
"You're such a pervert," I snapped with narrowed eyes. "I was going to give it back to you."
"Jesus Christ, I said I don't want it. Do you not understand English, or should I speak in another language in order for you to understand?"
"Speak in another language," I joked as he extracted the key out of the ignition.
"Ya no lo quiero." The way the words rolled of his tongue in his familiar deep voice caused me to blush.
"Lo siento, no hablo espaneol," I told him with a smile. His eyebrows rose as the corner of his lips twitched upwards. I got out of the car and followed him outside with furrowed eyebrows, assessing the said area we were in.
"You sure you guys aren't going to kill me?" I asked as we climbed up a slope. Christopher had to wait for me as I slithered down the slope countless times, much to my chagrin. In the end, he ended up pulling me up by dragging me by the arm. As you can already tell, I blushed.
We continued walking along a trail surrounded by many trees until we reached a high cliff. When I looked over the edge, I held back a gasp. "I didn't know we were going to be this high!" I snapped, taking a few cautious steps back. I would never admit to Christopher's face that the place was truly beautiful. When I looked over the edge, I could clearly perceive a lake situated not to far from where we were standing.
"Delina said they'll be here soon since they stopped to get some food," Christopher told me. I nodded and walked towards the edge of the cliff, looking over. As soon as I took another step, somebody jerked me backwards from the back of the hoodie, nearly choking me in the process.
"Are you suicidal or something?" Christopher snapped, letting go of the hoodie.
"That's offensive," I informed him as he sat cross legged and stared at the ground.
"No, it isn't. You're just easily asshurt," he rejoined.
I lightly shoved him as I sat beside him and a small smile overcame his features. "Hey, can you take a picture of me?" I asked him after moments of silence.
"I don't how to use that crap."
"Don't insult my hobby," I glared at him. "Tell me, Christina, what are your hobbies?"
Christopher shrugged. "I like playing soccer."
"You also like cooking," I rejoined with a small laugh. He narrowed his eyes at me as I continued laughing.
"I also write," he told me with a small shrug of the shoulders. I almost gasped at this newfound information.
"You write?" Christopher nodded. "Like what?"
He shrugged, biting the inside of his cheek. "Like stuff."
"Stuff as in?" I prompted.
"As in stuff," he replied quite hotly. It was clear that he was getting aggravated.
"Can you show me?" I asked, scooting closer towards him.
"Sure," he muttered under his breath, shrugging.
"When can you show me?"
He leaned back on his palms and gave out a sigh. "Someday." I nodded in satisfaction, fighting back a smile.
"Let me show you how to use this," I changed the subject, standing up and extending my hand. Christopher simply stared at my hand for a few seconds before hauling himself up. He stood up and dusted off his pants, while I stood on my tiptoes and pointed to the buttons he needed to press.
"Okay," I muttered as I walked over to the edge. I smiled brightly at the camera as a blast of cold wind caused me hair to sway. Once Christopher took the picture, I shuffled towards him and looked over his shoulder at the picture. "Ew," I wrinkled my nose. "I look horrible."
Christopher's eyes scanned the photo, and for a moment there, I genuinely thought he'd say, "no, Daniella, you're beautiful just the way you are," before grabbing me by my chin and kissing me. Though, he hardly managed to surprise me by agreeing. "Tell me something I don't know."
"Your turn," I attempted to push him, but he barely moved.
"My turn?" he lifted his eyebrows.
"Yes, your turn," I nodded, pushing him over. "Say 'Daniella is beautiful!'" I joked, angling the camera. Christopher offered me a blank look in return and my smile dropped. "Or not," I muttered.
"Okay, smile," I ordered with a smile of my own. Christopher merely blinked back at me and I sighed, dropping my arms by my side. "Smile, the worst is yet to come." He only looked back at me and I sighed once again. "I won't take the picture unless you smile."
Christopher gave a slow shrug of his shoulders. "Then don't," he walked over in my direction, only to be stopped by me.
"Okay, fine," I drawled.
"Why do you want to have a picture of me on your camera so bad?" he wondered as he got ready.
"For the sake of a memory." I snapped a shot of Christopher, only to find out he was smiling at the camera. He walked back to his original spot and plopped down in it.
"You have a nice smile."
"And this is why I don't like hanging out with you. You make me feel so uncomfortable," he muttered, leaning back on his palms and staring up at the sky.
"What? You should be flattered I gave you a compliment," I defended myself.
Silence consumed us and I quietly sighed as I took hold of a piece of bark and scratched the surface of the somewhat rocky mountain. "Will you miss me when I leave?" I asked, staring into Christopher's brown eyes.
He sighed, leaning back on his palms and staring up at the sky. "I don't know," he answered honestly.
"Oh, come on, Christopher," I urged.
"I—oh, look. They're here," he used one hand to point to our group of friends who held bags of food in their hands. With a nod, I stood up and dusted dirt off my pants.
"I brought chocolate," Delina sang. I simply nodded in response and unzipped Christopher's hoodie.
"Here," I told him, handing him back the hoodie.
"Oh. My. God," Christopher grounded out between gritted teeth, clearly aggravated. "I said I don't want it." He turned on his heels and marched away from me.
I just offered a frustrated sigh as I sat on the dirt and rummaged through the bags. "Is this cheeseburger for me?"
"No, it's for my great grandfather," Jasmine responded through a mouthful of fries. I rolled my eyes at her heavy dosage of sarcasm and bit into the cheeseburger.
Noticing the state of melancholy I was in, Delina nudged my cheeseburger with hers. "To diabetes and high blood pressure," she announced proudly. I offered a laugh at that and munched on a fry. Adam was the only one who wasn't eating with us, mainly because he stated that McDonalds was an unhygienic, filthy piece of crap restaurant that used rats to make their meat. He stuck to eating a bag of Doritos while we just rolled our eyes at him.
"So, do you like it up here?" Delina asked me curiously after we finished eating. We decided to move to a spot marginally far from where the others were standing.
I positioned my hands on the tree behind me and leaned against them. "Yeah, it's pretty," I remarked, gazing up at the night sky.
"Hey, I'm just curious about something," Jasmine told me, and I only furrowed my eyebrows. "Why do you like Chris?"
I shrugged and remained staring up at the sky. "Well, I mean, he has a great sense of humour; he can be nice when he wants to; he's sarcastic, but in a good way; he's tall, which I find hot; he remembers the things I say; he's caring and independent; he cares about his looks, unlike some guys; he always smells so good; he's smart at school, or so I've been told; he doesn't act high and mighty just because he's rich; he can sing; he writes; he doesn't sit around all day; and the list can go on," I finished my speech with a small smile.
Delina let out a low whistle, but before she could form a sentence together, we were interrupted by the sound of somebody clearing their throat. When I twisted around, I felt my stomach dropping to my knees.
It was Christopher.
"C-Christopher," I stuttered with wide eyes. I shot an urgent look to Delina and Jasmine, who both looked equally as panicked. "How long have you been standing there?"
The neutral expression on his face did absolutely nothing to clue me in on just how long he decided to grace us with his presence. "I just came," he responded calmly and I felt relief wash over me. Thank the Lord for that. He stretched out his hand towards me and my gaze dropped down to the camera in his hands.
"Oh," I swallowed, snatching the camera. "Thanks." With a curt nod, he spun on his heels and I wanted to sigh in relief.
"As I was saying," Delina drawled. "You're in deep." I pursed my lips and nodded. I was. "No offense or anything, but I don't see why you like him. Even I admit he's too mean to you."
"He can be nice if he wants to," I defended him.
"Well, I can see where she's coming from. It's Chris we're talking about here," Jasmine interjected with a smile. My eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Christopher and I used to have a thing back then. We dated for a while, until she came and stole him away from me," Jasmine spat out bitterly.
"What?" I spluttered out with wide eyes.
Jasmine let out a loud bark of laughter. "I was joking! You should've seen your face!" I stared at her with a flat look on my face as she held her stomach and continued laughing. "I'm sorry, but I cannot see Chris as anything but my little brother."
"Well, then who's she?" I quoted, imitating quotation marks with my fingers.
"The girl you saw at the park," Delina responded, plopping down on the ground and snacking on some chips.
"His ex?" I asked quietly, biting my lower lip.
"Yup," Jasmine responded, snatching a few chips from Delina.
"What's her name?" When I caught the doubtful looks on their faces, I sighed. "Guys, I just want to know her name, not her backstory."
"Madrena."
I sighed wistfully. "That's such a pretty name." Whereas I have a name that sounded like I came from the nineteen hundreds.
"Yeah, that's what drew Chris to her in the first place," Delina told me and I nodded awkwardly, wringing my hands together.
"How'd they meet?" I found myself asking.
"Well, she was a new student at our school and the only seat available was beside Chris. It kind of blossomed from there, especially since Jasmine found a new liking towards her. She was pretty and smart. Who wouldn't like her?"
"When was this?" I inquired, biting the inside of my cheek.
"In grade three." I let out a low whistle. "Chris liked her since grade three, and he finally managed to gain the courage to ask her out in year ten."
"So they dated for a year?" I questioned after nodding.
This time, Jasmine intervened. "Yeah, before she cheated on him. No one really saw it coming. She didn't seem like the type who would do that, y'know? But now that I think about it, she was kind of a flirt."
"Oh," I muttered, tugging at the sleeves of my sweater.
"Don't worry, you look much better than her. I mean, she had the thinnest eyebrows ever," Delina spoke.
Jasmine nodded in agreement. "I know, right? Now compare them to yours." As they began complimenting my eyebrows, I smiled to myself. They sure knew how to comfort me.
Soon, Jasmine and Delina dispersed, leaving me alone by myself. They claimed that they were feeling rather tired, so I just shrugged and waved them off. Deciding to explore the place, I pocketed my phone and set off, aimlessly wandering around. Frigid air began to blow and I shivered, suddenly regretting not wearing a coat. Oh, well. At least I have Christopher's hoodie.
I shot a few images of the lake under us, but other than that, I simply walked around. At one point, my legs grew tired, so I decided to rest for a while. I sat beside a tree and decided to watch a movie I downloaded on my phone earlier. My lips curved upwards into a small smile as the title came into view. White Chicks.
Halfway into the movie, a figure stepped out of the shadows and I almost screamed in terror. Though, I soon realized it was Christopher, who stared down at me with an arched eyebrow. I stared back at him before looking back down at my phone and resuming the movie. Astonishingly, he sighed and dropped down beside me, watching the movie with me.
On rare occasions, Christopher would let out a small laugh, which would cause me to smile. As soon as the movie finished, I placed my phone back in my pocket and awkwardly looked around. "That was funny," Christopher commented quietly from beside me.
I nodded. "I know." A thick fog of silence settled upon us, until Christopher eventually broke it.
"Remember when we first met?" he asked me and I nodded with a smile. Seems like so long ago. "Why were you so afraid of the idea of me driving really fast?" I froze for a second. He noticed that?
"My uncle got into a car crash about a year ago," I informed him, attempting to act nonchalant by shrugging.
"Oh." I pursed my lips and stared down at my hands. "Were you guys close?"
I nodded. "Yeah, we were really close. He always used to buy me gift cards on my birthday," I told him with a sad smile.
"Gold digger," Christopher muttered under his breath and I cracked a woeful smile.
"I was in the passenger seat when the car crash occurred. I still feel guilty to this day," I spoke in a quiet voice. Christopher moved around and sat cross logged, guiding his full attention on me.
"Why do you feel guilty?" he questioned in a tone that matched mine. I refused to stare at him, and instead, chose to stare down at my hands.
"Because I suggested that we go buy some milkshakes. If I hadn't suggested that, maybe he would've been still alive," I responded in a thick voice.
"It's not your fault, Daniella. You shouldn't—."
"Do you have commitment issues?" I quickly changed the subject, finally gaining the courage to stare into Christopher's eyes.
"Uh..." he looked surprised as he averted his gaze. "No." When he caught the flat look on my face, he only rolled his eyes. "The way I see it, relationships are for idiots. They're stupid and a waste of time and energy."
"I'm the complete opposite," I confessed. "When I like someone, I get really clingy and annoying."
Christopher slightly tilted his head to the side and I watched as his eyes enlarged. Oh my god, I should've never said that! I basically gave myself away. "Well...you're an idiot," he finally responded and I offered a nervous chuckle.
"We should get back," I replied as I stood up and dusted dirt from my pants. With a nod, he stood up, towering over me in the process. I grumbled to myself. While his height may be attractive, it made me feel somewhat intimidated.
I stood on my tiptoes and Christopher stared down at me, looking lost. "What are you doing?"
I smiled. "Trying to be tall."
Christopher scoffed under his breath before placing his hand atop of my head and lowering me down to my original height. "I don't think that's possible, Shortie." He retracted his hand and tucked it in his pockets, biting the edge of his lip.
I nudged him in the side. "Shut up."