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Tap, tap, tap. Tap.
Tap, tap.
I stand, tapping my fingers on the roof of my car.
Currently, I am waiting for my best friend, Brandy, at an almost empty parking lot near her school in Hensville. The city is around three hours away from my city. We arranged two days ago to meet up and hang out since it had been a month when we last seen each other. Now is the early summer morning, and a good amount of sunlight is prickling my skin. Looking down at my black leather watch, I sigh. She is a great and fun friend, but she can be very forgetful. At the moment, she is an hour late. I dial her number once again, this time, she finally picks up.
"Brandy," I greet her while poking the holes of my ripped jeans.
"What's up, Lou?" Her energetic voice comes to my hearing.
I roll my eyes and run my fingers through my dark long bob hair, "did you happen to have any chance to forget something?"
"Hmm," I hear the sound of things falling and Brandy swearing under her breath. "Wait, let me check—"
"I'm at the parking lot, waiting for you," I say, cutting her off.
"Louane! Oh my, I'm so sorry! I totally forgot about texting you that I can't go! My mom asked me to stay home and take care of Matt!" She pleads, "sorry, Lou! How can I make up to you?"
"You owe me one of those extra large New York style milkshakes."
"Deal," she laughs, "sorry again."
"It's fine." I hang up. It's ok, Louane, at least you get a free milkshake, a huge one, to be exact. I take off my sunglasses and walk to my car door, thinking about heading home.
"I've never seen you around."
Spinning around abruptly, I find the source of the playful voice. A guy around my age is standing in front of me and wearing a white t-shirt and navy chino shorts. He is about 6 feet tall, and his eyes are brown like his slightly messy bed hair. He has his hands folded across his chest while he is smirking at me.
The guy and I lock eyes as I pause, "uh, I don't think you have."
"New to town?"
"No, I was going to meet a friend." I frown lightly.
He surveys me curiously, "does your friend go to Hensville High?"
What's with all these questions? I nod while fiddling my keys with my fingers, "her name is Brandy. You know her?"
"No, but I do go to the same school." He actually does look like one of those attractive yet arrogant boys in a typical high school. He grabs my wrist and leads me away from the car.
I have no idea what is going on, but his touch isn't making me uncomfortable at all.
I think I like it. What?
"What are you doing?" I raise my eyebrows while holding my purse with my free hand tightly.
"Obviously, I am in the middle of the process to take you out."
"No, you're not! I—I have plans!" I fight lamely. Take me out?
"Yeah, yeah, your friend just bailed on you." He continues walking and finally stops in front a black Volkswagen, "get in." He holds the door for me. My heart is beating rapidly while I struggle to break away.
"I don't think—" Oh my goodness is he kidnapping me?
"Get in."
Okay, I admit to myself that he's hot, but he's also a jerk. It seems like I don't have a choice, and there is no way that I can fight over this guy. I have a stuffy feeling in my chest, a feeling I get whenever I am nervous.
Breathe, breathe.
I sit on the passenger's seat and fold my arms.
"This is kidnapping! Why are you doing this?" I say as soon as he gets in the car as well. His smell is distinctive in a good way, like refreshing shampoo and new leaves.
He chuckles, "I need you to be my girlfriend for a day."
"Why would I do that?" I pull my gray cardigan closer to the center of my body. He has the temperature in the car conditioned to the coldest possible, and I have always been the one who just can't deal with coldness. He seems to feel at ease, not looking nervous or awkward at all.
"Because I said so."
Did he just treat me like a kid and brush me off?
"I'm serious!"
"So am I, sweetheart. See those guys over there?" He gestures to a group of boys in our age that I didn't notice earlier. They are laughing and bantering around, some of them are even directly looking at us. They look like the same type of boys as this guy, all having the same haughty look on their faces. He continues, "they are my friends. Oh, that's Finn, the one laughing. And sucks to be their friend, they forced me to do this dare. Please, just for today."
He is looking a little desperate, and I'm not the kind who refuses to help when I actually can. I mean, what else can I do except going back home and watching random TV shows, now that school is over? So I give him a shrug, "okay then." I just hope I'm not making a terrible decision by doing this.
His face brightens up, "then let's go!" He steps on the accelerator and starts driving out of the parking lot.
"What about my car?" I ask, hoping that he hasn't forgotten about it.
"Don't worry, I'll drive you back here. I'm Blade. What's your name?" His name actually fits him perfectly. Well done, Blade, you somehow get yourself a "daily disposable" girlfriend and you don't even know her name.
"It's Louane."
"Louane? Are you French? Bonjour, m'dame." He looks away from the streets and glances at me while faking a French accent. I see a flicker of surprise on his face.
I roll my eyes. Sometimes I think I roll my eyes a little too much.
"Just because of the fact my parents decided to name me Louane doesn't necessarily mean that I am French," I reply sarcastically.
"Okay okay, chill, grizzly bear," he laughs.
I giggle at his choice of words, then I take out my phone to text Brandy.
I'm in the car of a stranger called Blade who goes to your school. Don't worry, I'm safe for now. Letting you know in case he decides to kill me.
She responded in less than a minute.
R you kidding me, Lou? U're seriously in Blade freakin' Brighton's car???
I raise my eyebrow, even though she can't see me. Shouldn't she be worried about her best friend's life status?
Yeah... I think so. Why?
"Who are you texting?" Blade suddenly asks.
Ding-ding. Another text from Brandy.
Omg he's like one of the hottest kids in my school! Do what you gotta do, get the guy! xx
"Brandy, telling her where I am in case you decide to kill me," I tell him the truth. So I was right. He is one of those attractive yet arrogant boys in a typical high school.
Haha, nice try, Brandy. Xx
He shoots me a questioning look, but he doesn't say anything. Then he pulls over in front of a convenient store and turns the engine off. "You don't mind entering a store with me, don't you?"
"Nope," I say as I open the car door. I catch him staring at me before he gets off the car, too. "What are we doing here?"
He locks the car. "Getting some things that we need for a date at the beach?" The beach? I haven't been to the beach in Hensville. He reaches for my hand and holds it casually as if it is no big deal. I mean, we did just meet. I can feel my hand tense up in his warm and large one as we walk right into the store.
"Um, Blade?" I call. We are in the store, hand in hand (he won't budge), shopping, where the cashier and other few customers are staring at us weirdly. Blade is throwing lots of things inside the basket, including dessert bars, drinks, sunscreen, wet wipes, and more.
"Yes, babe?"
"Don't call me babe," I mimic his tone. "People are staring."
"Good, then they'll know that you're mine and untouchable." He says as he swiftly leans in and kisses my cheek. I can't tell if he is joking or sedate, but I can feel that my cheeks are now pink by the heat of my face. Really? "Do you think I look good in these?" I look up and see him wearing a pair of neon pink decorative glasses with Barbie logos on it.
I burst out in laughter, "definitely!"
"Nice, I'll get it." He smirks and throws it into his basket.
I am actually having a good time.
After rushing him a few times and laughing restlessly at his stupid remarks, he finally finishes shopping and pays for what he has bought. I think he buys too many stuff and we won't ever need half of it as I snort lightly at the thought. We get out of the store and walk towards his car, but before we reach it, Blade turns. "I'm hungry, it's lunch time."
"Well, there's a diner there," I gesture to a shop a few feet away.
"Nice."
We place the groceries and other items in the back of the car and walk to the store. The door bell rings as we open the door to the diner called Dane's, then a waitress who is chewing and blowing a pink bubblegum shows up and leads us to our booth. I sit down opposite of him and have my back to the door.
"Hello, I'm Kasey, serving you today. Would you like anything to drink first?" She says hurriedly, glancing us back and forth.
"I'll have a root beer," Blade orders without looking away from me. I feel like I'm an animal that he's observing. Is there something on my face?
"Orange juice, thank you."
"Root beer and orange juice," she writes it down on her worn-out notepad and leaves.
"Seriously, orange juice?" He chuckles.
I shoot back, "seriously, root beer?" Of course, there's nothing wrong with root beers, it's just that I have to defend myself, even though it is completely unnecessary.
"Whatever," he replies, opening his menu. I open mine, glancing at the food choices.
Kasey the waitress comes back and settles our drinks on the table, "ready to order?"
I'm not that hungry, so I settle on a club sandwich while he orders a cheeseburger. She nods impatiently, scribbling down notes and popping her bubble gum.
The diner is playing EDM songs that are great tunes for summer, and I am nodding my head lightly along with the beat unconsciously. Blade seems to notice it since he is chuckling again. I ignore him, sipping my orange juice from the black straw the waitress gave us. I examine him closely as I haven't had the chance to. He has a slightly lighter olive skin covering his firm, toned body. His clothes are clean and well-ironed, too. I shake my mind clear, not wanting him to notice that I am staring.
"Tell me more about you," he suggests, playing with his straw.
"What do you want to know?"
"Anything from your school to the color of your underwear."
"Hey!" I throw a random napkin on the table at him.
He roars in laughter at my reaction, as a result, he attracted unwanted attention from others towards us. "Honestly, you can tell me anything, but I surely wouldn't protest if you tell me that, too."
How can he maintain such a charming smirk so effortlessly?
"You wish," I roll my eyes. "Why don't you tell me about yourself first?"
"Well, if you insist, I go to Hensville High, which you already know, and I guess I like to take strangers out for a drive."
"Well," I mock him, "I live in Casten City, go to the school there, and I guess I like going out with strangers."
The waitress shows up once again, placing our meals on the surface of our table. The food looks like a typical one from a cheap diner, but when I taste it, it sure tastes better than its appearance.
"So, grizzly bear," he resumes our conversation. "How come you got ditched?"
"Really? You're going to call me that?" I snicker at his serious tone.
"What, it fits you perfectly. Or do you want me to call you babe?" He wiggles his eyebrows, settling his gaze on me.
"No, thank you," I respond quicker than I expect to, but I shrug it off. "Brandy needed to take care of her little brother, so she couldn't meet me." As I take another bite at my sandwich, I hear the doorbell ring, and Blade curses under his breath. Turning around slowly, I see a mean-looking blonde girl with heavy makeup and an extremely short skirt walk in. Even though I don't go to their school, I still recognize her since Brandy has told me tons about her. Oh, nothing good, by the way. What I don't know is why Blade seems uneasy to see her.
And why I feel uneasy to see him this way as well.
Let's just hope she doesn't notice us. He sees that I perceive the cause of his dismay, and speaks. "She's a girl at school. Not someone you'd mess with."
Is he scared of her?
"And? That doesn't explain why you almost panicked."
He nods, "and she has been annoying the hell out of me. I told her that I won't go out with her and I'm not into her, but she just won't leave me alone. Besides, I'm afraid that she might do something to you since you're with me."
I guess not.
"Anyway, let's eat quickly before she sees us." He proposes. At this point, his burger is nearly finished, however, my sandwich still has half left. I am not a fast eater, and I get full easily. But hey, I love any food like my baby. I look up from my food after I finish, and see that he is already done and is now playing with his straw. Wiping my mouth with a napkin, I let him know that I'm done eating by nodding my head. He drops his straw back in the glass and stands up, reaching out for my hand. I take it quickly and follow him to the counter. There is a line, so we line up and wait.
"Next," the red-haired cashier calls us.
I fiddle my purse for my wallet, about to pay for my meal. I'm not planning to let Blade pay since we are practically strangers and he certainly doesn't have to, but he pushes my money away and passes his to the cashier.
"No, I'll pay, Blade." The clerk looks at me weirdly as I stuff my money onto Blade's hand.
"It's fine, I dragged you here." He replies, ignoring my stretched arm.
I frown, placing my money back into my wallet, "but you don't have to."
"True, but I'm—"
"Oh my god, Blade, is that you?" An ear-piercing—fine, maybe not that exaggerating—voice comes to my hearing. I look to the owner of the sound and see the girl that we were talking about earlier with her hand pressed on Blade's chest. Well, well, well, guess who's here? I feel his grip on my hand tighten as he steps a little in front of me, what is he doing?
"Maddison," he greets her monotonously.
"I haven't seen you in a while! I have missed you so much! How is your summer vacation? Mine is pretty nice, but it is getting better since I now meet you." The so-called Maddison babbles in a strident way. Then she notices our entwined fingers and moves on to stare at me in disgust. "Bladie, who is she?"
Bladie? I really have to control myself before I laugh out loud accidentally.
"I'm sorry, but we need to go. We've got something urgent to do." He lies smoothly, nevertheless, she either doesn't believe him or doesn't want to believe him. My bet is on the second one. I think she'd believe everything he says.
"You're not done with me," she tells him and glares at me, "you there, who are you? What are you doing with my Blade?"
I roll my eyes and open my mouth to defend myself, but Blade snaps, "Maddison, there are things to clear out. First, I'm most definitely not yours. Second, this is Louane, my girlfriend. So before you start making accusations or anything, make sure you know this."
"How can you—"
Without thinking properly, I seize Blade's collar and press my lips against his. His eyes widen in surprise, but he kisses me back immediately. As cliché as it is, I have to say that he is an amazing kisser. Breaking away, I speak. "Save it, Maddison."
Her jaw visibly drops, and she withdraws her hand from Blade. Seeing that he isn't doing anything, I grab the receipt from the astounded cashier, thank him, and pull both myself and Blade out of the place. We walk back to his car silently, my hand no longer in his. He opens the car door for me when we finally reach the vehicle.
"I'm sorry," I say as he starts the engine by turning his key.
"For what?" He raises his right eyebrow but doesn't face me.
"You know, the kiss."
We face a red light, and he stops the car and meets me in the eyes. "Why are you sorry?"
"Because you obviously didn't feel like it," I answer, looking outside the window, something I do when I feel uneasy.
"Then I'm sorry, too."
I turn to him and give him a confused look.
The next thing I know is that his lips crash against mine once more.
Our lips move in sync while he has his hand placed on my chin gently. I can't even think as my lips move on their own accords. Oh boy.
He pulls away, "because I did like it." He continues driving as the green light flashes up, smirking. I blush furiously at his words, utterly speechless.
We stop when we approach our destination. The trip takes us around one and a half hours. The beach isn't how I imagined it to be. Its sand is black like charcoal and isn't crowded at all. Actually, there is no one other than us. It contains mostly rocks and cliffs, unlike beaches in California, where they consist of white sand, lazy waves, and a crazy amount of people. Blade gets off the car and gathers the things we bought earlier. I inhale and exhale deeply before getting out myself, trying to settle my rapidly beating heart. He doesn't take off his shoes, so I guess we aren't going to get ourselves wet.
"Here, grizzly bear, I want to show you something," he beckons me over and extends his hand for me to hold. I link my hand with his and follow his steps, climbing over huge rocks and cliffs. It is fun if you don't count the fact that I almost have fallen every now and then. Fortunately, Blade keeps a firm grip.
We reach to a particular grand cliff, where it bears no sand and no rocks. I have to say, the view is absolutely beautiful and astonishing with the clear blue sky and unending horizon. "This is amazing," I manage to say.
"Yeah," he replies. "It's a great place to think and relax."
"So you do a lot of thinking?"
He shrugs his shoulders and gives me a weak smile, "hmm, you can say that."
I sit down on the ground, patting the spot beside me to indicate him to sit down as well. He sits, and I ruffle his already slightly messy hair. "Good boy," I tease.
"Do you want to die?" He lunges towards me jokingly, and I squeal at his sudden movement. We both burst out in laughter. Setting the grocery bag in front of us, he takes out the no longer cold drinks and hands one of them to me. I thank him and open the bottle. "What time is it?" He asks.
"Don't you have a phone?" I pass my phone to him.
"Great, thanks."
"So, what did you do that your friends dared you to do this?" I ask nonchalantly, at least trying to.
Blade shifts uncomfortably, "I kind of dared one of them, Finn, actually, to ask the principal her measurements. But I was kidding and they took it seriously."
"Woah," I laugh, trying my best to contain myself.
"Then this morning we were supposed to hang, but they saw you alone in the parking lot so they suggested the dare. See, they say that it's a dare, even though I won't have any chance to refuse." He adds, passing my phone back to me. "Now I guess I'm glad that they asked me to."
Did he mean that he is enjoying my company?
"I guess I'm glad that Brandy ditched me today, too."
We chat for a long period until the sun starts to go down, which grabs our attention. It has a calming effect on us as I lay my head on Blade's shoulder, and he places his chin on top of my head. Crazy, isn't it? For people to meet, kiss, and even bond over a day. I don't know, but I think I like him both as a friend and a romantic interest. Is it possible to develop feelings for someone in such short of a time?
Getting into the car and heading back, we both don't speak. I wonder if it is because of the upcoming parting. I hate to say goodbye, especially when I don't know when will be the next time I meet that person. Blade pulls over back to the parking lot, where we met and where my car is. I stay sitting, not leaving yet.
"Thanks for today, Blade."
"I should be the one thanking you," he looks at me earnestly, "so thank you, too, Louane."
"You're always welcome," I say while stretching my body.
He scratches the back of his neck and opens his door. "I should walk you to your car."
The parking lot is no longer empty-looking, so it is a little hard to find my car. "Will we meet again?" I blurt out, "because I definitely want to."
Blade looks surprised at my unexpected statement before nodding, "trust me, you're not done with me yet, now that you stole my heart."
I don't know if he is kidding me or not.
"No, I'm not kidding you." He seems to read my facial expression.
"That's only fair when you took mine, too," I smile. Wow, I didn't think that I'm capable of such type of speech. So cliché and cheesy.
We reach my car, and I unlock it, climbing in. "So I guess this is it."
"Goodbye, then."
I shut the door and wave him goodbye. Buckling my seatbelt, I head home. He stands there while watching me drive away until I vanish out of his sight. On my way back, I visit a fast food drive-through and eat dinner in my car. I return home faster than I thought I will. I let my parents know that I'm home and head right back to my room. After changing into my sleepwear, I call Brandy and fill her in on what has happened throughout the day. She is even more excited than I am, and the way she teases me makes me cringe and giggle foolishly.
"Wow, wow, you really kissed the legendary Blade Brighton! Lou, you're even more brilliant than I thought! My baby's all grown up!"
"Oh, shut up," I roll my eyes, but my lips are curled up on the corners.
"Forget about one milkshake, I'll get you two for the effort."
"I'm not opposing. Goodnight." I hang up, only to pick up another phone call. I don't recognize the number, however, I still slide the screen to answer.
"Don't say that you miss me already," the owner of the familiar playful voice speaks, the same person who used my phone to call his cell so he has my number, the same person who makes me blush.
Yeah, apparently, I'll never be done with him.
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Word Count: 4108 words