A/N I wasn't ready to give up on Chraniella yet.
This is soooo corny ugh, but you guys like corny things, right?
Wait a minute... I just realised that they're in the future lmao. Because I've mentioned Focus by Ariana grande a few chapters ago and this chapter is three years later.
Dedicated to _Caution_ for giving me the idea of writing this! Thank you so much! Your comments and gifs are so hilarious.
Chapter 32
"College is really stressing me out," I complained, curling up in a ball.
"Hey, look on the bright side," Charlotte spoke up as she stared up at the ceiling.
"What bright side?" I mumbled, peeking out of the covers.
She moved around to face me with a huge grin decorating her features. "Wherever you go, you see hot guys."
"No, wherever you go, you see college dweebs," I corrected her and she assumed a contemplative countenance on her face.
"Okay, true," she chuckled, sitting up and stretching as far as her limbs can go. "I have to go now. See you in college."
"Unfortunately," I muttered under my breath, earning a playful glare in response. Charlotte grabbed her things before heading out the door, allowing me to sigh to myself.
As you can already tell, Charlotte and I have decided to apply to state college, mainly because I didn't want to leave my parents. Beckett, on the other hand, managed to apply to an out of state college, much to our disappointment. I didn't want to stop him from pursuing his dreams, therefore I kept quiet and allowed him to do so.
Yawning, I rose out of bed and descended the stairs after pocketing my phone. "Mom, what's for dinner?"
My mother poked her head out of the doorway and narrowed her eyes. "Why do you look like that?"
I peeked down at my attire and smiled meekly. "I guess college does that to you." She merely shook her head, although I could see the smile that graced her features.
"Want to help me make dinner?"
"You know what?" I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder. "I think I have an essay to do. See you!" Rapidly, I jogged up the stairs in a futile attempt to escape. Once I reached my room, I changed my attire for a navy shirt with a pair of black leggings to go with it.
I gazed into the mirror, assessing my reflection. My once long hair now reached my shoulders, much to Charlotte's disappointment. She told me that I was going to regret it immensely, but so far, I liked it. In fact, it was much easier to tame in the mornings.
I ran a brush through my hair, untangling the knots in the very process. As I was in the process of applying some strawberry lipgloss to my lips, my phone rang and I allowed a small sigh to escape my lips. Reaching for it, I set my phone in-between my shoulder and ear as I layered some mascara atop of my eyelashes.
"Hello?"
For quite some while, nobody answered and I frowned.
"Um, is anyone there?"
Just as I was about to hang up, thinking it was some form of prank call, a voice rang through the speaker. "Daniella."
No. It can't be. Claiming in a deep breath, I capped my mascara and blinked. "Who is this?"
"Chris."
My heart began pounding against my chest at the mention of his name. It's so silly to think that after three years, he still receives the same reaction from me. "Christopher," I iterated. "How are you?" I sat cross legged on my bed, my lips parted in shock.
We haven't spoken to each other for a year, so you can see why I was so surprised.
"I'm great. How are you?"
"Great," I answered, smiling faintly. "How's your girlfriend?"
"Caroline and I are visiting her parents for the weekend," he told me.
"Oh, really?" I inquired, playing with the hem of my shirt. "Where do they live?"
"In America."
My brows furrowed. "You mean the place where I live in?" I hinted jokingly.
"No, as in the place where the Queen of England lives in."
I grinned. After all these years, and he's still a sarcastic idiot. "Where in America?"
"That's for me to know and for you to...not know."
I didn't have it in my to protest, so I just smiled. "Okay, Christina."
His chuckle resonated through the phone. "How's your boyfriend?"
"I haven't seen him since forever."
"Why not?" came his perplexed voice.
"Because he doesn't exist," I laughed softly.
"So you're single?"
"And ready to mingle," I grinned, hearing him hum in response.
"Wow, you're still as lame as I can remember," he spoke. "I'm sorry that we haven't spoken in a long time. It's just that I was so busy with Uni and Caroline."
"It's fine," I shook my head. "Don't apologize, because it's partially my fault too."
"Look, Daniella—," he cut himself off and I furrowed my eyebrows as I heard some shuffling on the other end. "I have to go now," he muttered unhappily and I frowned.
"We didn't even talk that much," I expressed.
"I know," he murmured. "I promise I'll call. Talk to you soon."
"You too," I muttered before hanging up. Christopher's 'soon' meant three or two months from now.
Oh, well.
+ + +
"And...I'm back!" I swung open the door to reveal the living room, grinning. Only as no response came back, I frowned. "Mom? Dad?" My footsteps guided me in the direction of the kitchen and I frowned once again as I caught sight of a note stuck to the fridge.
Sighing, I walked over towards it and scanned it with furrowed eyebrows.
Daniella, your mother and I are going out. There's some left overs in the oven. Don't bring any guys home, please.
Love, your amazing father.
I rolled my eyes as I crumbled the note and tossed it in the dustbin. My bag fell over my shoulder as I leaned down to look in the oven.
Nothing.
"Thanks a lot, Mom!" I called to nothing in particular as frustration surged through me. I hadn't even had lunch today, which may be the primary cause of my growling stomach.
I trod out of the kitchen and entered the living room, plopping down on the couch. My eyes drifted to the clock and I sighed to myself. Just another boring day in Daniella's boring life.
Just then, my phone rang, disturbing the silence the lapsed upon myself in the past few moments. "Hello?"
"It's Chris."
I immediately sat up straighter, fixing my hair. Might as well get some entertainment. "What's up?"
"She broke up with me."
"Who?"
"Caroline."
I frowned in response. "Oh, Christopher."
"She says that I've never liked her, and that our relationship was only one sided."
"Is it true, though?"
He kept quiet for a moment. "I don't know," he sighed. "I just..."
"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.
"I guess," he murmured, his voice tone matching mine.
"When are you going back to Australia?"
"After tomorrow," he responded.
"And where are you staying at?"
"At a hotel," he answered sadly.
"You're welcome to stay at our house anytime," I replied jokingly in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere.
"Really? And where do you live?" I relayed my address to him in a humorous manner. I knew that he wouldn't visit, mainly because I don't know which state he was visiting. "Okay, gotcha."
"I'm so hungry," I groaned lightly.
"When aren't you?" he jested.
"Right. Another fat joke. So original," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"You're not fat," he replied quite hastily. "I was joking."
"Sure. As much as I'd love to chat, food always comes first. I'm going to order some pizza and then get back to you, yeah?"
"Sure," he muttered. "Talk to you later."
After responding with a similar response, I dialled a pizzeria and ordered a large pizza just for myself. Smiling faintly, I set the phone back on the coffee table and stared at the T.V screen. The real reason why I didn't call Christopher back is because I'm fairly certain he's too busy mourning over his breakup, and I didn't want to add more stress to his life.
Fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang and I eagerly jumped up, opening the door and smiling widely. A teenage guy outside my door sported a bored look on his face as he shoved the pizza box towards me, earning a smile in response. I jogged back to the living room and grabbed some money before heading back to the front door.
Once he received the money, he rolled his eyes and mounted down the steps as I gently shut the door behind him.
I took hold of a plate from the kitchen and placed a few pizza slices on it before sipping on some water. I've given up on soda a long time ago, mostly because I was trying a 'healthy' lifestyle.
Fifteen minutes afterward, a loud knock on the door startled me. Frowning, I reluctantly placed my pizza back on the plate before standing up to my full height and wiping my palms on my jeans. My footsteps guided me in the direction of the door, and soon, I found myself opening the door and frowning in confusion.
My eyes wandered around the empty streets as I tugged at the end of my shirt. Hugging myself, I assessed the area that was covered with a thick blanket of snow. "Hello?" I sighed to myself. It's probably some kids playing ding dong ditch. "Is anyone there?"
Just then, my eyes caught sight of a dark figure, so I slowly worked my way over towards it. A befuddled frown marred my face as the figure stepped out of the shadows. Once the moonlight illuminated their face, I found the corner of my lips curving upwards into a goofy smile.
"Christopher," I addressed, unable to contain my grin.
He wore a little smile on his face as his eyes scanned my face. "Daniella," he acknowledged, rolling his lips into his mouth. He looked much better than I remember, that much I was sure of. His brown hair was covered in a red knitted beanie and a pair of black glasses framed his brown eyes.
"You're here," I murmured with a smile.
"Where's my hug?" he lifted his arms up and I stepped forward, encasing him in a hug. A grin broke out on my face as his arms snaked around my waist and he lifted me off the ground. "I've missed you," he murmured in my ear.
"I missed you more, Christina."
He set me on the ground, letting go of my waist and skimming my face with his eyes. "You cut your hair," he eventually spoke up, his eyes flickering to my short brown hair.
"I did," I smiled, lifting a chunk of my hair. "Since when did you start wearing glasses?"
"Since I spent so much time on my phone."
I smiled. "Come on. Let's go inside, because it's getting really cold."
"You're lucky you live in a place where it snows."
I just rolled my eyes in return as I walked alongside him. "It's not that great."
"So is anyone home?" he inquired as we both mounted the steps in tow.
I tucked my hands in my pockets and rolled my lips into my mouth, shaking my head. "No, it's just me." He fed me a nod as I opened the door, ushering him inside. Once we arrived at the living room, his eyes darted around it and he smiled.
"Your house is nice," he commented, dropping down on the couch.
"Thanks. Do you want some pizza?" He gave me a short nod and I nodded, too, speeding towards the kitchen in order to grab a plate. After returning back to the living room with a plate and a can of soda, I set two slices of pizza on the plate and pushed it towards Christopher.
"So, how've you been?" I still couldn't grasp the fact that Christopher was in America. The seventeen year old inside me was shrieking and jumping around at the fact that he was inside my house, looking as attractive as ever with his glasses and his red beanie.
He glanced over at me after taking a sip of his soda. "Good."
"What about Noah?" I found myself asking, my mind wandering to his now eight year old brother.
Christopher rolled his eyes with a long sigh. "Noah's becoming such a pain in the arse."
I laughed a little as I tucked my hands under my thighs. "Why?"
"I don't know, but he's getting really bratty," he grumbled after taking a bite of his pizza.
"I wonder where he learned that from," I rolled my eyes, handing Christopher a knowing look.
"I'm not a brat," he protested and once again, I rolled my eyes.
"Sure."
"So, what—?"
"Don't make a sexual joke."
"I wasn't about to," I denied. "I've grown out of the habit a long time ago. I'm a mature, twenty year old woman now."
"Right. And I'm Will Ferrell's son," he quipped, earning a shove in return.
"How's Adam?"
"He's good," he replied as he reached for his second pizza. "He's visiting for a couple of weeks."
"That's great. Tell him I miss him. What about Mason?"
His eyes narrowed before he shrugged, glancing around. "Good."
"And Delina and Jasmine?"
"They're okay," he shrugged once again.
"And your parents?"
"And my granpda? And my cousins? Do you want to know about my nonexistent sister too?" he wondered in a heavily sarcastic manner.
"Careful there. You're in my house. I can kick you out if I want."
"Technically, you can't. It's your parents house, not yours."
I smiled once I realized what he did. "Shut up, Christina. So...how do you feel? You know, after the breakup."
He shrugged as he leaned back on the couch and played with the pillow. "Better, to be honest. I'm glad that she broke up with me first, because I was planning on ending it soon."
"Why?" I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows.
"Because she was right. I didn't like her."
"Then why'd you date her?"
"To get over some girl," he shrugged mysteriously as he took his beanie off and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up in the process.
"Who was she?" I asked, attempting not to act too interested as I toyed with the hem of my shirt.
"She has brown eyes."
"Okay," I nodded, inching closer.
Christopher's eyes fell on my hair and then he sighed, nonchalantly glancing around the living room. "She has brown hair."
I have brown hair. "And?"
Before he could respond, my phone rang and I gave out an annoyed sigh as I reached for it, smiling apologetically at Christopher. "Hello?"
"Hey!" came Charlotte's perky voice. My gaze locked with Christopher and I pressed a finger to my lips, silently ordering him to keep his mouth shut.
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of his pink lips as he stared at me. "Daniella, where do you keep the condoms?" he exclaimed aloud.
I scrunched my face up as a result of embarrassment while Charlotte gasped into the phone. Flashing a glare in Christopher's direction, I leaned forward and covered his mouth with my palm, narrowing my eyes at him. Instead of taking my hand off his mouth, he only rolled his eyes and stared at me.
"Daniella, who was that?"
"Charlotte, I'll have to call you back later. Bye!" I hung up and then removed my hand from Christopher's mouth, flashing him one last glare.
"So, what were you saying?" I trailed off as I leaned forward and set my phone back on the table. "Oh, yes! About the girl you like. What's her name?"
He stared at me for a moment. "Her name's Daniella."
I felt my eyes widen before I mentally scolded myself. There's lots of people name Daniella. Don't get your hopes up high. "Well, there are thousands of Daniella's in this world. What's her surname?"
Christopher's jaw clenched as he stared me through narrowed eyes. "Are you fucking kidding me, Daniella?" his voice rose a little towards the end and I shot him a disgruntled stare.
"Don't yell at me," I snapped. "Why are you getting so worked up?" I asked in a gentle tone as an upset look made its way onto his face.
"Just forget it," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
I blinked a few times, groping with my words. "Well, okay," I responded in a quiet voice as I wrenched my gaze away from him and to his empty plate. "Do you want more pizza? I probably won't eat it all."
He didn't really answer me, causing me to let out a sigh. "Christopher, are you really going to do this?" I frowned. "We haven't seen each other for three years."
"I need to go," he replied, disregarding my previous statement. I watched, with my lips parted, as he rose from the couch and headed towards the front door.
"Wait." I darted ahead of him, pressing my back against the front door and watching him with cautious eyes. A sigh escaped his lips as his eyes flickered to the ground while he leaned against the wall to my left. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the hotel."
"What? No," I shook my head. "Stay here."
Rather than replying, he slowly advanced towards me and I felt my heart thudding against my chest at our close proximity. "Don't leave," I muttered. "Please."
He took a step closer towards me until I was trapped in-between him and the door. "Daniella, move."
"No," I shook my head. "Not unless you tell me one last clue about that girl."
His eyes moved around my face. "I'm staring at her right now."
"Me?" I squeaked, pointing towards my chest. Oh my god.
"No, I was talking to the door. Move out of the way, Daniella. You're ruining our moment." I wanted to open my mouth, to tell him that I liked him back, but instead, I froze to my spot and watched as he opened the door and exited the house.
When I finally came back to my senses, I hurried after him, shivering in the cold. "Wait, Christopher!" He stopped dead in his tracks, sighing as he twisted around to face me. "Look, I know that you're upset right now, but please stay. Why would you go back to a hotel when I'm offering you to stay at our house? We'll probably never see each other again."
"I have to go now. Are you done yet?"
"You're not even going to say goodbye?"
"Goodbye," he gave me a tight lipped smile before turning on his heels. No goodbye kiss?
I watched his retreating figure in exasperation. Finally, I hurried after him and stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "You forgot your beanie," I told him, my shoulders sagging in disappointment.
He nodded and I turned on my heels, motioning for him to follow me. I entered my house once again, listening to the sound of his footsteps behind me. To be honest, I expected him to tell me to keep it before hurrying away from me.
"Here," I responded quietly, shoving his beanie towards him.
"Don't give me that look, Daniella," he groaned.
With the beanie still in my hands, I furrowed my eyebrows. "What're you talking about?"
"That I'm-going-to-cry look."
"Maybe because I am going to cry," I replied, only half joking.
Christopher stared at me before dropping his gaze to the beanie and sighing. He grabbed it from me and I led the way towards the front door, handing him a forced smile.
"See you," I muttered.
Christopher didn't respond for quite a while, so I glanced up, watching as he stared at me with an unreadable expression on his face. "Daniella, look at me," he murmured as I dropped my gaze back to the ground. I peeked upwards, generally watching as he leaned closer with his lips slightly parted.
Before I could do or say anything, he tugged me towards him by wrapping his arms around my waist and placing his lips over mine. I froze there in shock for a moment, before returning the kiss and wrapping my arms around his neck. His soft lips felt foreign against mine, though soon, I grew accustomed to them as I angled my head to the side and gently bit down on his lower lip.
He traced my lower lip with his tongue and I eagerly opened my mouth, pressing myself closer towards him as his tongue entered my mouth. Much to my disappointment, he leaned back after a few minutes, his chest rising up and down as he took in a few breaths.
"Remember when we came back from Madrena's house and you asked me who I liked? It was you. Remember when we went to that party and I told you I shoved a girl off me for kissing me because I liked another girl? It was you. It's you all along, Daniella Evans," he deadpanned, his chest rising up and down as he breathed heavily.
I could only stare at him, wordless and breathless all at the same time. "So, you liked me?" I demanded in a quiet voice.
"Lo—like you," he corrected, nodding.
"Oh." So he still likes me.
"Yeah," he replied, looking into my eyes.
Christopher likes me back. All those weeks of questioning myself, it turns out he likes me. Oh my gosh. "I still like you," I blurted.
He peeked at me, bringing up an eyebrow. "Really?" I nodded shyly and he smiled, inching closer towards me and placing his hands on the door behind me on either side of my face. "Sweet." I nodded as I stared at the floor, trying to wrap my head around things.
I wanted to say something, but before I could do so, he hooked his hands under the back of my thighs and picked me up, connecting our lips once again. I gasped as an outcome of surprise as I quickly wrapped my legs around his waist. "I thought I'd fall," I laughed softly as he pressed me against the door and laid kisses on my jaw and neck.
"I won't let you fall," he muttered against my neck and I nodded, running my hands against his back. His back muscles bunched under my touch and he brought his lips back to mine again, quietly moaning in my mouth.
I ran my hand through his soft hair, slightly rubbing against him. "Daniella," he panted against my lips as I sucked on his bottom lip.
He tightly wrapped his arms around me as he began walking towards the living room, his tongue roaming my mouth. "Christopher," I gasped as he laid me down on the couch and slid his hands under my shirt, resting them against my stomach.
"Mm?" he mumbled absentmindedly against my neck. I placed my hands on his chest and pushed him off, breathing erratically and gazing up at him.
His face scrunched up in confusion before he leaned in, going to kiss me again. I shook my head and he furrowed his eyebrows, scanning my face.
"Christopher, this doesn't feel right," I frowned.
Instead of responding, he placed kisses on my neck and I sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "Why?" he mumbled against my neck as he sucked on the skin.
"Because you just broke up with Caroline," I replied.
He didn't respond, and instead, brought his head up to meet my gaze. "How many times do I have to repeat that I only dated her to get over you? Now can we please make out?"
I bit down on my lip in order to hold back a laugh. "Christopher, you're leaving after tomorrow. We're probably never going to see each other again."
"Then come with me," he begged quietly, directing his gaze to my hair. He began toying with a few strands of it and I sighed.
"I have college."
"Then come in the summer holiday."
"But then you'd have Uni."
"I'll make time for you," he assured.
"But then I'll leave again."
"And then you can visit me next summer."
"And then I'll leave again," I protested.
"And then you can visit me the summer after that and the one after that until we graduate."
"What happens when we graduate?"
"We get married," he grinned.
I took a sharp intake of breath as I felt my heart thumping against my ribcage. "What?" I demanded.
Christopher chuckled. "We'll get there, Daniella."
"But didn't you say you wanted to study over here?"
His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at me. "Yes?"
"Then why don't you?" I muttered, frowning.
"I don't know," he shrugged.
"I mean, you don't have to. Don't base your life choices on me. It'd just be nice if you can, you know?" Christopher cut my rambling off by cupping face and pressing a kiss to my forehead.
"I'll see about it. Now can we make out or not?"
This time, I crawled atop of him and pressed my lips against his, loving the way he tugged me towards him and wrapped his arms around my waist. He flipped us over, his hands roaming each and every inch of my body. We continued passionately making out until I heard the front door slam and a few laughs followed by it.
I immediately disconnected our lips, slapping Christopher's chest as he went to kiss me again. "My parents," I stated quickly, widening my eyes at him. "My parents are here."
He flipped us over, allowing me to straddle him. "I don't care," he muttered before cupping the back of my neck and connecting our lips again.
"Christopher!" I hissed, pushing him away. I got off him and quickly smoothed out my shirt, watching as he frowned.
"Oh, come on," he muttered in evident disappointment as he ran a hand through his already messed up hair. I laughed a little at the frown that dented his face.
"Are you laughing at me?" he narrowed his eyes, parting his slightly swollen lips.
"I'm sorry, but—," I didn't have time to continue my sentence before Christopher tugged me towards him and pushed me down on the couch, placing his lips over mine.
"Christopher, no," I hissed as I pushed him off. He let go of a frustrated sigh as I sat up, rolling my lips into my mouth. "Come on, let's go." He nodded and followed me towards the front door. I watched in anticipation as he smiled at the sight of my parents, who froze in shock at the sight of him.
"Chris?" my mother questioned, frozen in shock.
A smile tugged at the nook of Christopher's lips as he nodded. "Hey, Katherine."
"Oh my god, you've grown so much!" she screeched, launching herself at him. He offered a short laugh as he hugged her back, wincing as she shrieked in his ear. "You're so old and tall!"
"I'm only twenty one, but okay," Christopher chuckled as she released him. His eyes flickered over towards my father, who narrowed his eyes at him as he shook Christopher's hand.
"You have a little something." Using one hand, he gestured to Christopher's mouth and I found myself blushing. Christopher's forehead scrunched up in confusion as I glided my thumb across his bottom lip.
He peered down at me and I smiled in a sheepish manner, removing my thumb. "Lipgloss," I whispered and he nodded in understanding, the corner of his lips twitching upwards.
My mother clasped her hands together in excitement, oblivious to what just went down. "So, what'd you guys do while we were out?"
"Oh, I know," my father interjected with narrowed eyes. I noticed that he was eyeing the hickey on my neck and I rendered him an awkward grin in return. "Trust me, I know."
t h e e n d