- kinda a long chappie (2660 words) to make up for lack of updates! i love this chapter so much! just don't get comfortable with the book just yet c; -
Aleigha's point of view
"I don't know what to wear." I said to Arzaylea, shutting my bedroom door so my brothers' screams were muffled.
Honestly, how hard is it to play a multi-player game together? It's called multi-player for a reason.
"It's a date Lee! You wrote what happened in it! You should know what to wear!" She told me and I shrugged, a bit panicked because I've never been on a date.
"I don't know! You know I'm not confident, the idea of wearing dresses and stuff like that makes me feel weird." I said and she hummed.
"Wear skinny jeans then, it doesn't really matter. Michael likes you for you. If you showed up in a banana suit and he'd still be into you." She told me and I shrugged my shoulders as I look through my clothes.
"Here," she said, handing me a black tank-top with a floral lace on the back. I looked at it, unsure of when and where I even bought the thing. "This, and this, with this."
She handed me a whole outfit and I took a deep breath. "Are you sure? Can't I just wear a band tee?" I asked her.
"If it makes you more comfortable with yourself then go ahead." She said and smiled. "I just think this outfit would be super cute and that you would rock it. At least try it on though."
"I can do that..." I said and she nodded. I went to the bathroom down the hall and then locked the door, closing it behind me.
I pulled off the t-shirt I had on and then fixed my bra a bit since it was crooked. I pulled the tank-top on, which hugged my body in a way that made me even more self-conscious than before, andbyye jeans followed soon.
The all black outfit was soon topped with a thin grey cardigan. I looked in the mirror, in love with the outfit, but not my body. I put my hands in my pockets and looked down at the outfit, a bit worried.
What if Michael thinks I look even bigger because of the tight shirt?
"Did you die in there Leigha?" Arzaylea asked and I laughed lightly asked I unlocked the door.
"N-No, just looking at myself." I said and she looked at me, telling me that I was 'killing it'. "Am I?" I asked and she nodded.
"Come on, let me fix your makeup. I know the perfect look." She said and I nodded as I picked up my dirty clothes. "I mean, if you don't want makeup that's fine."
"Just a little." I said after awhile and she nodded as she sat me down on my desk chair.
-
"Mom! Aleigha's going on a date!" My youngest brother yelled and I shook my head as Arzaylea laughed. "Are you gay?"
"Aleigha can't go on a date, no one likes her enough." My other brother said and Arz sent him a nasty look.
"With an attitude like that, I can see why you're sitting on a couch playing video games instead of being with your friends." She said and I rolled my eyes as my brother tried to insult her.
"At least I'm not some wannabe Kardashian that has to show off her body to have people talk to her." He said and Arzaylea looked at me.
"I'm going to kill that son of a-"
"Aleigha! Who's your friend?" My mom asked as she walked in, rubbing her eye a bit. "What's this I hear about a date?"
"It's not a date. We're just going to go hang out with a friend, he's picking us up." I lied smoothly and she nodded, not asking questions.
"I'm Arzaylea by the way." Arz said and my mum gave her a wave and a smile. "We're going to my house to chill for a bit, it's fine. Is it alright if she stays the night?"
"My, Aleigha is eighteen, go ahead. Just text me that you're not dead." My mom joked and the doorbell rang. "You girls have fun."
"I forgot my purse in your room, Leigha, get the door." Arzaylea told me, giving me a wink after my mom left the room to go in the garage.
I stood up and went to the door, opening it to reveal Michael standing there. He had on a simple black shirt and black jeans with his combat boots and denim jacket. However, in his hands he had a rose and I blushed just at the sight of it.
"You look great," he told me and I looked him in the eye. "Absolutely beautiful."
"I'm just in skinny jeans."
"So? You still look beautiful." He said and I laughed a bit. "This is for you." He told me and handed me the rose.
I thanked him and winced when my brothers yelled. "Siblings?" He asked and I nodded. "Oh uh Arz, I um-"
"I'll put this in a vase." She said, plucking the flower from my fingers. "Have fun kids, but but too much fun. Is Luke here?"
"He parked behind my car." Michael said and she nodded. "Shall we?" He asked and held a hand out for me.
"Oh god, here we go with the cringe." I said and he laughed as I took his hand, following him away from my house. "Are you really going to do this?"
"Yes." He told me and opened the car door for me. "Besides, I'd do this even if it wasn't scripted. You deserve to be pampered and spoiled, and I'm more than willing to be of service."
"Be normal Mikey."
"Okay, I will. Maybe I'm not perfect, maybe you aren't, but tonight, that doesn't fucking matter cause it's about us and no one else." He said and we both laughed as he closed the door. I buckled my seatbelt up and he got in the driver's side.
He started the car and then turned the radio up. I shook my head and looked down at my lap as a Fall Ouy Boy song played. I couldn't help the smile on my lips however as he pulled out of the driveway.
He sang along to Alone Together and I shook my head, crossing my legs and watching him as he held a hand out to me, his eyes off the road for a split second. "Let's be alone together, we could stay young forever," he sang to me and I glanced at the road, my cheeks burning.
"I'm done." He said and laughed. "Alright, I'll stop, swear. I just like seeing you embarassed. It makes me feel like I achieved something great." He told me and I shook my head.
"That's so sad." I commented and he gasped and he pushed me a bit. We both laughed and I looked at him. "Tell me the truth, do I have to worry about being embarassed tonight?"
"No, I was just fucking with you." He said and I nodded. "You're good."
-
Turns out, he was right.
Instead of some dumb, cliche picnic at some secluded part of a beach, he just took me to a restraunt on the boardwalk. Similar, but not exact, and I was glad.
If he ended up doing exactly as I'd written, I would have been cringing the entire date, and most likely not having any fun.
I sat down across from him and he smiled at me. "I didn't want this to be all awkward for you so I didn't do it, but don't think I forgot. One day." He said and I shook my head.
"Don't." I said and he just held a finger up to his lips. "So, how was the studio today?" I asked and he shrugged.
"Same ol', same ol'. We wrote some songs, casted some aside, messed around a lot." He told and I nodded. "It was alright. I actually did something right though! I made up a chorus that they actually piggybacked on. It felt great."
"That doesn't normally happen?" I asked actually I furrowed my eyebrows together and he shook her head.
"No, my stuff is either too dark or too preppy, so this was new. It was great to finally get it right, you know?" He said and I nodded. "It made me happy, well, happier than I normally am."
"I'm glad." I told him and smiled. "I like when you're happy." I said honestly and he told me that he liked feeling like that.
"How was your day?" He asked me and I shrugged as I messed with a napkin.
"It wasn't horrible." I said and laughed. "This is definitely the highlight of today." I said and he nodded.
"I'd be lying if I said seeing you wasn't the highlight of my day aswell. Studio could have gone perfectly, I could have woke up actually feeling pumped and confident, but seeing you would still have been the best." He said and I could feel myself blushing for the millionth time tonight.
"Aww, Mikey." I said and he just gave me a charming smile. "You're such a sap, it hurts."
"I'm hopeless and a romantic." He said and I shook my head. "So you can call me a hopeless romantic."
"You seem like that type." I told him and he rose an eyebrow at me. "Just saying, whatever you're doing, keep doing it."
"Was that a reference to my own song? Really Leigha?" He asked and I looked at him confused.
"Wha-Oh." I said and laughed. He smiled, clearly amused by me, and I shook my head. "No, it wasn't supposed to be. I just said it, take it as you will though."
"I'm done." He said and pretended to stand up. "How's school been? Have people been giving you a hard time?"
"Nah." I lied and he looked at me. "Things have been fine lately actually. Surprisingly, nothing real bad has happened. I ignore a lot of stuff and focus on schoolwork and actually going instead of skipping."
"I'm glad." He told me and our waitress came by. "You didn't deserve all the shit that they put on you."
He looked at the waitress and gave her a polite smile as she asked us what we'd like to eat.
-
"I'm so full, I'm gonna die." I complained as I clung to Michael. We walked along the shore, the cold water splashing around our ankles. Our shoes were in one hand, our other hands intertwined as we walked.
"Same. I feel like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers." He said and I laughed loudly as he looked at me. "I'll dye my hair and beard orange and wear a kilt with no shirt."
"Please don't."
"Why not? Would I looked ugly?"
"I don't wanna think of Fat Bastard everytime I look at you." I said and he laughed, asking me why not. "Because it'd be weird!"
"You're weird." He said and I pushed him a bit. He stumbled since I pushed him harder than I thought and we ordered both tumbled into the water.
We looked at each other and then laughed, the extremely shallow, but cold water hitting us. "You're lucky our phones are in the car, and my wallet is in your purse." He told me and I nodded, showing him it was safe.
We stood up, but when a slight wave hit us we grew unbalanced and fell again. "Maybe this is a sign." He said and I hummed. "We belong to the sea... Ariel here I come!"
"Oh my god Michael." I said and he ran into the water after throwing his boots away from the water. "You're so weird!"
"But so are you!"
"Okay, where's the lie." I said, looking around the area. No one was around since it was late at night and I set my purse and shoes by his. I walked into the water and he looked at me.
"Who came up with that thirty minute rule about water? It doesn't exist." He said and I shrugged. "Myth, it's a myth, just like Ariel."
"Woah there, don't say that." I said and he grabbed my arm, pulling me towards him. "Ariel is very much real. Don't kill my childhood, she's my favourite Disney Princess."
"Fine." He said and looked at me. "You're my favorite Disney princess." He said and I rolled my eyes as he pulled me close.
"I'm no princess."
"You are if I say you are." He said and pushed my hair it if my face. "You can be the princess, and I can be the commoner who tries all he can to impress her."
"You mean Aladdin?" I asked and he shrugged. "Take me on a magic carpet ride and I'll be yours for eternity."
"I can't do a magic carpet ride, but I can give you first class on an airplane." He said and I shook my head.
"Magic carpet ride seems a hell of a lot better." I said and he laughed as he nodded.
"Let's write out own fairytale; where neither are royalty but still live happily ever after." He said and I looked at him.
"How about; one is famous and the other isn't and despite their different lifestyles, they still live happily ever after?" I asked and he nodded.
"I like that one." He said and set two fingers lightly on my chin. He tilted my jaw up and pressed a kiss against mine.
"You're so cheesy." I said as I closed my eyes and he laughed.
"Shh, just kiss me." He said and I nodded as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He set a hand on my hip, the other cupping my jaw a bit.
Water splashed on us and the only light we had was from the large moon and stars. It felt like something straight out of book. It must have looked like something right out of a cliche romance movie.
He smiled against my lips and pressed his forehead against mine. I looked up at him and he opened his eyes gently. "I've been waiting for the perfect moment to do that." He said and I laughed breathlessly.
"You couldn't have picked a better time." I told him and he agreed with me. "We gotta dry off, we can't stay here all night. It's really late."
"Or can we?" He asked and I laughed. "Follow me." He said and I nodded as we walked towards the shore.
I followed him and he picked up our stuff. I thanked him and he walked off a little further. I laughed as I saw a couple of chairs, a few blankets, an acoustic guitar, a small basket, and a large beach umbrella.
"We can stay all night, if not all night, then all longer than this." He said and set his things down. I sat down on a chair and he did the same.
"You really did?" I said and he nodded. "We just ate, what's in the basket?"
"Drinks." He said and I nodded as he picked up a guitar. "This is gonna be corny, but I think this fits." He told me and I nodded.
I looked at him and he looked at his guitar briefly. He began to strum and then he looked at me and he played. "I've never been serenaded before." I said and he smiled.
"There's a first time for everything." He said and I shook my head as I looked at him. Is felt a bit giddy, my stomach doing leeps and somersaults as he began to sing the lyrics to a familiar song.
"Stay for tonight, if you want to, I could show you, what my dreams are made of," he sang and I just watched him, my heart jumping in my chest.