A/N Here's your Christmas present! Ah, that sounded so lame.
I noticed that whenever Chris does something nice, the Chris hate club keeps quiet, but the second he makes a rude remark, they quickly attack him.
You guys have to understand that he's been through a lot, and I will give him some character development. You can't expect him to warm up to Daniella in the fifth chapter. Personally, I hate stories that move too fast.
Are you a Chraniella shipper or a Dason shipper? Comment your thoughts below.
Dedicated to Sleeping_Sxrens for being such a supportive reader. Your comments honestly put a smile on my face. Thank you so much for reading this and recommending it to others.
One last thing, do you guys like long chapters or short ones? I feel like some people skip over some paragraphs in long chapters...
Edited 3/12/2016
Chapter 28
The next morning, I quietly slipped out of my room and tugged at the sleeves of my sweater. In all honesty, I was scared of Christopher's reaction. What if he goes back to ignoring me again? I don't think I can handle it.
Let's just hope that he's over it, and if he isn't, I'll simply remind him that he was the one who initiated the kiss first. That's a reasonable excuse, right?
I was also optimistic about the fact that his attitude would change towards me. I mean, yesterday he apologized, so I suppose that must say something within itself.
I entered the kitchen at a languid pace and then managed to catch a glimpse of Christopher sitting at the kitchen table. Thankfully, he hadn't noticed me yet, so I slowly backed away in hopes that I could run far, far away. While I was in the process of taking a step back, his voice stopped me. "Really, Daniella?"
I daubed on an innocent smile. "Hi."
"I'm not going to kill you or anything," he rolled his eyes and I awkwardly nodded, shuffling over towards him. I lowered myself on a stool situated in front of him and studied his face. As expected, he was decked out in his school uniform.
He was staring down at his plate, well aware of my gaze on him. "Can I help you?" he cocked an eyebrow, pushing away his empty plate.
"Um..." I trailed off, directing my gaze to the plate. "We kissed," I blurted out after a moment of brief silence. Christopher froze for a second, and for a moment there, I genuinely thought he'd jump over the table and throttle me.
Don't be dramatic.
He fumbled out a quiet breath from his mouth and nodded with his eyes trained to the table. "I know."
"Why'd you kiss me?" I furthered, resisting the temptation to punch myself. Well, I've already said it; might as well get some answers from him.
"Because I wanted to," he shrugged.
My eyebrows furrowed. "Why'd...you want to?"
"Because."
I nodded, brushing aside the feeling of utter disappointment that settled within me. What was I really expecting? For him to admit his nonexistent feelings for me? "Oh...alright."
He nodded and grabbed his school bag. "I have to go now. See you later."
"See you," I muttered quietly, watching as he grabbed an apple along the way. I stared at his back as he exited the kitchen, sighing in disappointment. Why won't he like me?
Was there something wrong with me?
I cease thinking insecurely and instead, dragged myself towards the living room. I flicked on the T.V and commenced watching a random cooking show.
+ + +
"Jasmine, your boyfriend is here!" Delina announced after capturing a peanut in her mouth. My head snapped upward and I practically shoved Jasmine aside in order to get to the door.
"Hi, you're Robbie?" I inquired, brushing my hair away from my face. Robbie, I'm guessing, nodded with a rather dubious look on his face. "I'm Daniella, Jasmine's friend."
"I'm her boyfriend," he stupidly replied and I grimaced as Jasmine walked over towards him and locked lips with him. With a wrinkled nose, I whirled around and caught Adam's gaze. He quickly averted his gaze to the T.V and I wanted to sigh. Poor him.
I headed over towards him, nudging him. "You okay?" I asked, my eyes scanning his face.
He shrugged. "Yeah." I nodded and left it at that. I genuinely feel sorry for him, because a few days ago, he and I were both experiencing the same thing. But now that I've worked things out with Christopher, it seems as if Adam was all alone.
"Don't worry, you'll get over her soon," I reassured him, making sure not to speak in a loud voice.
Adam nodded, crossing his legs at the ankles. "I sure hope so."
As the group began conversing among themselves, I silently watched T.V in complete and utter silence. Before long, though, the doorbell rang and I quickly jumped up from my seat and jogged over towards the door. "Hello from the other side," I joked, grinning at Christopher.
"Hurry up, it's cold," he mumbled, shedding off his coat. He had to go grocery shopping, which explained the numerous amounts of bags in his hands.
"Want me to help you with them?"
Christopher nodded and I grabbed a few bags from him and led the way towards the kitchen. We worked in silence, stacking the items where they belong. When I finished, I was just about to exit the kitchen had Christopher's familiar voice not stopped me. "Wait, I got you this."
I spun around to see a chocolate bar in his outstretched and I couldn't help allow a grin to slip on my face. "Thank you." I ripped the chocolate bar open and offered him a piece, watching as he accepted it.
"Get out of the kitchen, Daniella," he joked, a small smile appearing on his lips. I smiled, too, and then left the kitchen, once again entering the living room.
"I want chocolate too. Why'd you only get for her?" Delina whined, eyeing the chocolate bar in my hands.
"Because I'm special."
Delina ignored me as her eyes fluttered over to Christopher. "Chris, I'm starting to think that you like Dani more than you like your own childhood friends," she pretended to sniffle.
Christopher let go of a quiet groan. "Go away, Delina."
Delina only rolled her eyes as I stood up from my seat, preparing to leave. "Where are you going?" she called after me.
"To call my friends," I replied over my shoulder as I galloped up the stairs. I made it to my room and instantly pulled out my laptop, dialling Charlotte and Beckett. Even though time zones existed, they still made time for me, which I thoroughly appreciated.
After chatting with the both of them for quite a while, I closed my laptop and stared down at my nails, deciding to paint them. While I was in the process of painting my left hand, the door to my room swung open and I didn't even bother holding an eye roll as Jasmine and Delina barged in.
They dumped a handful of junk food on my bed and then commenced jumped up and down on the bed, messing up my nail polish in the process. "What do you guys want?" I sighed tiredly, capping my nail polish. Only two of my nails were coated in nail polish, while the other ones weren't.
"What happened yesterday after we left?" Delina demanded. "Because you and Chris seem to be on good terms."
"He bought you a chocolate bar," Jasmine added in, as if we didn't know that.
"He wanted to forgive Madrena and asked me to come with him. I asked him about her and he told me everything- why she cheated on him, and when she cheated on him. When we arrived back at his house, he apologized for being a dickhead and then kissed me," I explained in a composed manner.
Jasmine leaped up from the bed. "Woah, woah, woah. He forgave Madrena?"
I bit my lip, nodding. "Yeah, and he asked me to come with him."
Delina, on the other hand, narrowed her eyes. "He asked you to come with him?"
I nodded again slowly, wordlessly. "Yeah, he told me that you guys weren't really with the idea of forgiving her, which explains why he chose me."
Jasmine thoughtfully nodded with a small smile on her face. "I'm pretty sure that wasn't the only reason as to why he chose you." I only rolled my eyes at her absurdities, while Delina urged me to explain exactly what happened.
"He showed me a picture of her," I nodded, blowing on my nails. "She's pretty."
Delina leaned closer with a creepy grin on her face. "And what else happened?"
"We ate McDonald's?" I trailed off, watching as Jasmine rolled her eyes.
"You mean he ate your Donald's," Jasmine snorted.
"That made no sense at all," I pointed out.
"What I'm trying to say is that you guys kissed, right?" I nodded, confirming her statement in the very process. "How did he kiss you?"
"Well, first he apologized for his childish behavior and he told me that I wasn't fat nor was I ugly. I joked around by suggesting that a hug would make it better, but obviously he had better things in mind because he took a few steps towards me and kissed me."
Delina and Jasmine began screeching at the top of their lungs and I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway. "So, yeah, that happened," I muttered.
"Did you guys use tongue?" Delina asked and I shyly nodded.
"Oh my God, this is perfect!" Jasmine beside her remarked and I shook my head.
"It was just a kiss." Yet, even I couldn't get over my excitement. Christopher kissed me, meaning he must've wanted to. Just how long has he been wanting to do that? Not longer than me, that's for sure.
But even though he initiated the kiss, I'm not so sure he magically harbored feelings for me overnight. I mean, I don't really know what a guy does when he likes a girl; for example, if I hadn't heard Aiden state that he gained a crush on me, I would've never known. It's not that I'm dense...it's just that I just don't know.
But then again, maybe he doesn't like me. Maybe he only kissed me because it was his way of saying 'sorry'. I wanted to sigh. I feel like he's playing with my feelings.
"I don't know; I still feel like he doesn't like me," I confessed in a small voice.
"Look, Dani," Jasmine spoke up. "I know that Chris has been a dickhead to you for the past month, but believe me when I say that he likes you. He confided in you about Madrena, and he also asked for your opinions about the topic. He also apologized, and I'm not so sure you know this, but Chris isn't one to apologize."
"He also bought you a chocolate bar," Delina grumbled with her arms folded across her chest.
"And he kissed you."
I just shook my head. "I don't want to set my hopes up high."
We were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. "Is Jasmine here?" came Robbie's voice. I detected that he possessed a very noticeable Australian accent.
I nodded to myself, smiling. "Come here, Rob." I swear I saw Delina roll her eyes in a very insolent manner as Robbie gingerly made his way over towards us. "So, Rob, you're dating Jasmine, right?"
"Yes?"
Delina clucked her tongue and narrowed her eyes, ignoring Jasmine's death glare. "Are you sure about that? You don't seem so sure."
Robbie nodded his head vigorously. "No, no. I'm sure," he wiped his palms on his jeans.
"And what are your intentions with Jasmine?" I took it on from there.
"I just want to date her because I've been crushing on her for a long time."
"Not as much as Adam has, that's for sure," Delina muttered under her breath and I nudged her in the side.
"But do you know what will happen to you if you hurt her?" I questioned, attempting to act intimidating. If you're wondering, I failed.
"No?" Robbie looked between the both of us, seemingly lost.
"I'll tell you," Delina sat up, plastering a smile onto her face. "You'll never be able to make kids again."
"What?"
"It means that I'll grab a butcher's knife and cut your tiny, little d—," Jasmine came to the rescue by clamping a hand over Delina's mouth.
"Thank you for your concern Delina, but we have to go. Come on, Robbie." Jasmine jumped off the bed and leaped towards Robbie, looping her arm through his and practically dragging him out the door. I didn't miss Robbie quietly muttering 'girls are weird'.
"Let's go downstairs." I nodded at Delina's request and followed her down the stairs, making sure not to bump into her back. I spotted Mason sitting alone on the couch, so I walked over towards him and handed him a smile.
In all honesty, I was still marginally shocked at what Christopher said yesterday. He thought I liked Mason? Not that there's anything wrong with liking Mason; I just didn't think that I acted as if I liked him. Though, it would've been more probable for me to gain a crush on Mason rather than Christopher, since Mason has a nice face and he's kinder to me than Christopher is. I could ask Delina for advice, but she'd probably tell me that Christopher is jealous of Mason.
Let's just hope that Christopher changes his attitude towards me.
"Hi, Masey."
Mason pretended to sigh. "I don't know what to do in order for you to stop calling me by that horrible nickname."
I gaped at him in shock. "It's not horrible, but I'll try and come up with a new nickname."
Mason playfully rolled his eyes. "Finally," he muttered under his breath and I weakly punched him. He fed me a small smile in response and I returned the smile before looking around the living room. My eyes caught Christopher's gaze, and I noted that his eyes were slightly narrowed at us.
Hesitantly, I lifted my hand and handed him a wave, to which he blatantly disregarded. He guided his gaze to the T.V and proceeded to turn the volume up, effectively drowning out our noises.
"Aye, dude," Adam reached over and shoved his shoulder. "Gavin's throwing a party."
I pretended that I wasn't listening as I kept my eyes glued to the T.V. "And?"
"His parties are the best!" Adam exclaimed. "I don't know about you, but I'm going." And with that, he swung his legs over the couch. "Who wants to come?" Silence fell over our group and Adam sighed, turning to give Mason a pleading look. "Come on, Mason."
Mason looked dubious for a second before sighing. "Alright."
"Delina?" Adam puckered out his lips for her as he clasped his hands together.
Delina threw a pillow at his face. "Don't do that with your nonexistent lips. And yeah, I'm coming."
I noticed Adam gingerly turning to face Jasmine. "Jasmine?" Jasmine's eyes flickered over to Robbie, who shrugged.
"Sure, but we won't get drunk," Robbie answered for her.
"No one asked you," Adam bitterly muttered under his breath as he turned to face Christopher. "Chris?"
Christopher looked indescive. "Um..."
"Daniella?" Adam trailed off.
"Um..." I stuttered, awkwardly looking over at Christopher. It would be rather weird if I just decided to invite myself to a party where I know no one.
Christopher only raised his eyebrows at me and I bit the inside of my cheek. "I'll go if you go," I nodded my head towards him and his eyebrows shot up.
"Okay, then," he muttered.
"So you'll come?" We all nodded and Adam fist pumped. "Yes!" I excused myself and bolted towards my room, hurriedly changing into a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. I should've never agreed to this. I didn't really like parties, for many reasons.
In some way, I have a really bad feeling about this.
+ + +
It took me quite a while to get ready, much to Adam's utter annoyance. He complained that the party was going to end, when in reality, it just started. It also took me quite a while to convince my mother, who was still on the edge of allowing me to go. Like me, she never was a fan of parties nor was she a fan of alcohol. I was one step away from getting down on my knees and begging her until she agreed, albeit reluctantly.
I was just about to make my way over towards Christopher's car had Mason not stopped me. I noticed that Christopher was eyeing us with a cigarette in-between his pink lips. "Want to come with me?" My eyes flickered to Christopher, who only stared back at me.
"Um, okay," I concurred, nodding stupidly.
"Okay, cool," Mason smiled, turning on his heels and approaching his car. I charged one last look Christopher, who stared back at me, before spinning on my heels and attempting to catch up with Mason's long strides. He opened the door for me and I paid him a grateful smile before mounting into the car.
"Are you planning on drinking?" I asked him after a few minutes of silence.
Mason chuckled. "I don't think so." I nodded and the conversation came to an end.
Minutes passed by, until Mason's car eventually halted to a stop in front of a large house. I could very well identify a large amount of cars lined up on the street and I wanted to sigh. Should I just stay here? Grudgingly, I followed Mason out of the car and grimaced at the couples making out in the front lawn.
Mason led me inside the house and I let go of a sigh. Great. I couldn't even hear myself think, as the music was playing rather loudly. "Over here!" Delina grinned, waving us over. Grumbling expletives under my breath, I shuffled over towards the group and stood beside Christopher.
I poked him and he glanced down at me with furrowed eyebrows. "We're basically breaking your mother's rules," I informed him, annoyance coating my voice.
Christopher looked confused for a moment there and I had a huge inkling that he couldn't hear me, so I motioned for him to crouch down. With a sigh, he slightly crouched down to reach my height and I cupped my mouth. "We're basically breaking your mother's rules!" I screamed into his ear.
Christopher recoiled back and cringed, cupping his ear. I grinned in satisfaction, shoving my hands in my pockets. "I hate you so much," he muttered, leaning closer towards me so I could hear him. "And no, we're not breaking my mother's rules. Technically, she banned me from throwing parties, not attending them."
I shot him a dirty look and then tuned back into the conversation. "Are you going to drink, Delina?" I asked her loudly.
She grinned. "I don't know."
I gawked at her for several moments. "I want someone sober to hang out with me!"
"Hey," Christopher interjected with an offended look on his face. "I exist." I rolled my eyes, watching as the group dispersed. Robbie and Jasmine disappeared to God knows where, while Adam disappeared the second we arrived here.
As for Delina and Mason, she practically dragged Mason away, probably so that she could allow Christopher and me to 'bond'. I folded my arms across my chest as I awkwardly leaned against the wall, watching people practically grind on each other. "I'll be back," Christopher suddenly said.
"Wait? No!" I unconsciously grabbed his arm. His gaze dropped down to my hand, but I didn't bother removing it. "You're going to leave me by myself?"
"I'll be back soon, don't worry." I watched with a frown on my face as Christopher disappeared out of sight, leaving me alone. With a sigh, I kicked myself off the wall and built my way towards the kitchen, searching for something to drink. I grabbed a Cola can and then spun around to face an unfamiliar face.
The guy standing in front of me handed me a grin as he motioned to the cup in his hands. "Want some?"
I shook my head as I felt my heart pound against my chest. "N-no." The guy looked confused, probably questioning why I bothered to come when I wasn't even going to drink. I quickly slipped away from him and galloped up the stairs, searching for an empty room.
Once I located an empty room, I sighed in relief before closing the door behind me. It was somewhat quieter than downstairs, much to my profound relief. I stared at the queen sized bed, approaching it. Deciding against it, I plopped down on a desk chair and began twirling around.
You never know what happened on that bed.
I spent half an hour on my phone, searching through my photo albums. The wifi was too slow for me to scroll through my Tumblr or Instagram, which explained why I ditched my phone and decided to stare up at the ceiling.
Moments later, the door swung open to reveal Christopher, who stopped dead in his tracks as he noticed me sitting there. "Okay, I'll just go," he muttered under his breath and then took a step towards the door.
"No!" I quickly exclaimed. "Please stay. I'm bored." With a sigh, Christopher locked the door and grudgingly made his way over towards the bed. He stared at it with a wrinkled nose before plopping down on the ground and extending his long legs in front of me.
"What are you doing here?" he asked me as he spun his phone in his lap.
"Practicing ballet," I sarcastically responded. Christopher didn't bother saying anything else, allowing silence to settle upon us. My phone pinged and I sighed as I grabbed it, skimming the message that my mother just sent me.
'Are you pregnant?'
I let out a short chuckle as I assured her that I wasn't. "What's so funny?" Christopher spoke up, embracing one of his knees to his chest.
"My mother thinks I'm pregnant," I blurted without thinking. My face immediately heated up as I realized what I said.
Christopher directed his gaze to his shoes. "Who needs logic, anyway?" he muttered. After a few moments of silence, he spoke up again. "Are you trying to seduce me?"
My lips parted and I blinked. "What? I've never attempted to seduce you!"
"You dragged me into an empty room, Daniella."
"I didn't drag you into an empty room," I mocked his accent. "You chose to come up yourself! I just told you to stay because I was bored!"
"Really?" Christopher titled his head to the side. "You kissed me on your birthday."
"You kissed me yesterday."
He groaned, shaking his head. "Don't make me come over there."
"What are you going to do? Kiss me again?" I grinned at the red blush that painted his cheeks. How cute.
"No, I'll leave this room."
I rolled my eyes at his feeble threat. "I'm so frightened."
He uttered a quiet scoff. "You should be."
Rolling my eyes once again, I seized my Cola can and opened it. What I didn't expect was for it to explode, dropping all over my jeans.
Christopher fell into a full chuckling fit as he took notice of my wet jeans. I wanted to yell at him, but resisted the impulse to do so. It was rare to see him laugh, even though most of the time, he'd express joy at my expense. I gritted my teeth as I grabbed a few tissues and stalked towards the bathroom that was attached to the room.
I wet the tissues before furiously scrubbing at my blue jeans, attempting to rid them from the brown stain. After doing so and failing miserably, I left the bathroom and discovered that Christopher was now sitting in the desk chair. "What are you doing?" I frowned.
Christopher propped his head with his hand. "Building a tower."
"Get off my chair, Christopher," I sighed wearily.
"No," he retorted quite rudely as he looked back down at his phone.
"I'll sit on your lap, Christopher," I warned. Of course, it wasn't like I was actually going to.
"Then sit," he shrugged, nodding towards his lap, and I gaped at him.
With a sigh, I dragged myself towards the floor and plopped down on it. There was no way that I'd sit on his lap. I'm one hundred percent sure that he would've shoved me off before darting out of the room.
"I have a headache," I complained with a groan. "And my jeans are stained."
"You look like you crapped yourself," Christopher pointed out and I shot him a dirty look. That caused him to throw his head back and let out a small chuckle, causing me to grow irritated.
I puffed my cheeks out indignantly and sighed, gazing down at my jeans. "Sorry," Christopher muttered softly, clearing his throat.
My lips parted into a little smile, cheeks growing pink. "It's fine," I mumbled.
Christopher's brown eyes bored into my face, analysing it from top to bottom. Then he said, "You remind me of her a lot."
My heart skipped a beat. "Who?"
"Madrena," he said quietly.
Frustration swelled up in me. "Way to go, compare me to your ex who cheated on you," I blurted, eyebrows furrowed in anger and lips pursed.
"I meant it in a good way. Like, you do small stuff that remind me of all the stuff I liked about her," he corrected himself, fumbling with his iPhone.
I pressed my lips together in grim acknowledgement, because I didn't know what to say. After moments worth of consideration, I asked, "Do you still love her?"
He paused. "No," he then answered honestly. "I mean, I may always care about her, but I don't love her."
I understood where he came from. Nodding, I smiled slightly. "I get what you mean."
Five minutes of silence passed, until I got up from the floor and grabbed my things.
Before I could take another step, his voice stopped me. "Where are you going?"
I whirled to face Christopher and extended him an annoyed look. "I'm going back to your house."
Christopher snorted. "And who's going to drive you?" His voice was laden with amusement.
I paused for a moment before answering. "Mason," I finally decided.
Upon hearing that, Christopher abruptly shot up from the chair and grabbed his phone. "No, I'll drive you." I nodded, holding back a devious smirk as I opened the door and climbed down the stairs.
People were mingling among them selves and I pushed my way through them, finally making it outside. My nose crinkled as I caught sight of a guy throwing up on the lawn, causing me to gag. I thrust my hands deep in my pocket and allowed Christopher to lead us to his red car.
It took us quite a while to get there, seeing as he parked his car at the end of the street. As soon as we climbed into his car, Christopher quietly swore under his breath. "We're stopping for gas," he told me and I just nodded, resting my head against the window.
Fifteen minutes later, Christopher's car came to a stop in front of a gas station. "Lock the doors behind me, okay?" I rolled my eyes.
"Why?"
"Look, do you want to be snatched off by a killer clown?" he questioned as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
My eyebrows furrowed. "Killer clown?"
Christopher nodded. "Yeah, haven't you seen that prank on YouTube?" I just rolled my eyes but couldn't help but smile as he climbed out of the car and began filling the tank. Once he started making his way towards the store, I locked the back doors and decided to lock mine as well. However, I didn't lock the door positioned beside the driver's seat.
Moments later, Christopher returned back with two slushies in his hand. "For you," he smiled, handing it over towards me and I accepted it with a large smile on my face. I attempted not to slurp too loudly as he started up the engine and backed out of the gas station.
"Do your friends know that we left?"
"Our friends," he corrected. "And no, I don't think so." He placed his slushie in the cup holder while I gave a small nod.
I just hope that none of his friends spotted us leaving a room together; they'd probably assume things and I really didn't want things to get awkward between Christopher and I again.
"So...what happened at the party?" I asked him.
"A girl kissed me."
My head practically snapped in his direction. "What?" I demanded.
"A girl kissed me," Christopher repeated.
"Oh..." I mumbled quietly, wringing my hands together. "And what did you do?"
"I pushed her off."
My heart fluttered with hope. "Really, why?"
"Because I didn't want her to kiss me," he shrugged, squirming in his seat.
"Why didn't you want her to kiss you?" I swear I sound like a professional interviewer.
"Because I like someone else."
Lena. "Why'd you kiss me if you liked someone else?"
Christopher turned to yield me a frustrated look. "I seriously hate you."
I frowned and moved around to stare out the window, closing my eyes. "Okay."
"You should go to sleep," he muttered, breaking the silence that managed to dawn upon us. "I'll wake you up when we get there." I placed my half filled slushie in the cup holder and nodded, resting my head against the window. Christopher made sure not to drive too recklessly as I lulled off to sleep.
Once we arrived at his house, he gently woke me up and I blinked, taking in my surroundings. "Where are we?"
"Home," he responded. I was surprised that he didn't make a sarcastic comment. "We're sleeping over at Adam's house so you might as well go grab some clothes."
"Okay," I nodded, unbuckling my seatbelt. I hopped out of his car and silently followed him up the steps. My cheeks heated up as I recalled exactly what occurred yesterday in this very place. As I was climbing up the stairs, I twisted around to see Christopher standing at the bottom of the stairs and staring at me. "Uhm, aren't you going to get some clothes?"
He shook his head, snapping out of his daze. "Yes," he bobbed his head up and down.
I think I gave him an odd look. "Okay..." Turning on my heels, I quickly jogged towards my room and pulled out a duffel bag, stuffing some clothes into it. After snagging my toothbrush and phone as well as its charger, I grabbed my duffel bag and climbed down the stairs, careful not to make too much noise. Christopher joined me minutes later, and together, we walked outside in the direction of his car.
"Did you get your school uniform?" I asked and Christopher nodded. "Who's going to drive me home tomorrow morning?"
"Me."
I nodded and then bent my head to stare out the window, gazing at the night sky. "Are your friends coming too?" I nudged him as I saw that he wasn't responding. "Christopher."
"I'm not going to respond unless you correct your question," he stated.
My eyebrows furrowed as I struggled to form a response that would please him. "Um..." I gauged his reaction, which primarily consisted of pure indignation written along his face. Later on a moment, I nodded to myself. "Are our friends coming too?"
It was a small time before he responded. "Yeah, they are. But we'd probably be the first ones there." I gave a small nod as Adam's familiar house came into view. As Christopher's car came to a halt, I grabbed my duffel bag from the backseat, as well as his. A sheepish smile lined my lips as he passed me a flat look before climbing out of the car.
"Here, give them to me," he requested, extending his long arms.
I shook my head. "No, I've got it."
Christopher stared at me for a moment too long before shaking his head and muttering something to himself. He ambled ahead of me towards the front door and leaned down, peering behind the flower pot. After a moment or two, he plucked out a set of keys before standing up back to his full height.
"Come on," he waved me over and I waddled over towards him with the duffel bags in my hand.
"His parents aren't going to freak out and think we're kidnappers?"
Christopher inserted the keys into the lock, twisting it and opening the door for me. "No, I do this all the time." Shrugging, I stepped inside the house and dumped our duffel bags on the couch.
"Want to watch a movie?" Christopher proposed. I nodded, shrugging, as I fell back on the couch.
"I'm so tired and sleepy," I mumbled, curling up in a ball.
"Then why don't you sleep?" he inquired as he put a disc in.
I yawned. "I think I will," I murmured to myself. "The Hangover?"
Christopher nodded as he joined me on the couch. "It's a great movie."
"The Hangover 3 was the best one."
He shook his head. "No way. Number one is the best."
"Three," I argued.
"One."
"Three."
"One."
"Three."
"Three," Christopher repeated.
"One—no you can't do that," I frowned.
He raised his shoulders in a somewhat shrug. "I think I just did."
I rolled my eyes as I placed my feet on lap. "Is this okay?" I asked him. He stared at my feet for a moment before nodding and directing his gaze back to the T.V.
Before long, an overwhelming sensation of exhaustion coursed within me, causing my eyes to droop. I would've tried waking up, but to my utter consternation, I ended up falling asleep.
Though, Christopher ended up waking me up a few hours later. "Daniella, wake up." I opened my eyes and glanced around the dim living room.
"What's the time?"
"It's two o'clock." Rubbing my eyes, I sat in an upright position.
"Are your—our friends sleeping?"
Christopher nodded. "Yeah, come on, let me take you to your room." Nodding, I stood up and tiredly followed him up the stairs as he led the way towards a guest room. My duffel bag was already placed on the bag, thanks to Christopher.
"Thanks," I told him as he stood beside the doorway. "Goodnight, Christina."
"Night, Dani," he murmured quietly as he closed the door.
+ + +
At around four o'clock, I woke up in order to pee. I opened the door and climbed down the stairs, furrowing my eyebrows as I heard voices. "Jeez, Chris, what'd you eat?"
"I don't know," a hoarse voice mumbled back.
Tucking my hands in my pockets, I rounded the corner and entered the kitchen, spotting Jasmine soothingly rubbing Christopher's back. "What's going on?" I frowned.
Jasmine glanced over at me, breathing a sigh of relief. "Chris vomited," she informed me, fixing her glasses. "Come take over. I'm sleepy." And with that, she pushed past me and I sighed, looking at Christopher.
"What're you doing up?" he demanded in a gruff voice, still bent over the sink. I advanced towards him and leaned against the counter, giving him a worried look.
"I needed to pee," I explained quietly. "What—?" My words came to a halt as Christopher leaned over and emptied his stomach contents into the sink. I rubbed his back in a comforting manner as he opened the faucet and washed his face and hands. Grabbing a glass, I filled it with warm water and handed it over towards him.
He accepted it and downed it, his face distorting into a facial expression of disgust. "I don't like drinking warm water," he told me as he slid down the counter and sat on the cold ground. He hugged his knees to his chest while I plopped down cross legged beside him.
"Did you drink yesterday?"
Christopher let out a quiet groan, his head thumping against the counter behind him. "I told you I don't drink."
It was silent between us, until I shifted closer towards him and cleared my throat. "Want to hear a joke?"
He shrugged, staring up at the ceiling with his head resting against the counter behind him. "Okay," he replied quietly.
"What did the hurricane say to the coconut tree? 'Hold on to your nuts, this ain't no ordinary blowjob'." I commenced silently laughing at my own joke, covering my face with my hands in order to muffle my laughs. The sound of Christopher chuckling reached my ears and I took immense joy in knowing that he was feeling better.
"Another one," he requested and I nodded, racking my brain for funny jokes.
"What's the difference between your wife and your job? After five years, your job still sucks." I began laughing so hard that I had to lean against Christopher's arm in order to silence my laughs. His arm vibrated, meaning that he was laughing.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked him with my head still propped against his arm. I had to crane my neck in order to properly look at him.
He nodded. "Yes, actually."
"Good," I patted his arm, lifting my head off. "I'm going to sleep now."
"Wait," his voice stopped me. He scrambled up from the ground and immersed his hands in his pocket. "Stay."
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "What?"
"We didn't continue The Hangover," he hastily corrected himself and I nodded slowly.
"Okay, let's watch it." He nodded and I led the way towards the living room, plopping down on a couch. He lowered himself beside me after placing the disc in, also remembering to lower the volume.
We occasionally let out laughs, expressing joy at the humour and levity that was used in the movie. Once the credits rolled, I peered over at Christopher. "You feeling better?"
He gave me a nod as he glanced over at me. "Yeah," he smiled.
"Okay," I sat up, patting his lap. "Because I really need to pee."