Morning came way too soon.
I was woken by my throbbing ankle, making me groan against my pillow in pain as I contemplating on whether to get out of bed. Stretching out all of the tired aches in my joints, I sat up and sighed groggily as I hauled myself out of bed. My mind wandered to the night before as I gingerly padded across the room to the bathroom, making sure not the press too much pressure on my ankle.
Zach. The image of his dark copper eyes and him pressing me up against the wall in a passionate clinch pervaded my thoughts as I switched on the shower. With the memory still fresh in my head, my heart hammered against my ribcage and my pulse drummed loudly in my ears as if it had happened all over again.
Muttering a curse, I let my clothes pool at my feet and quickly sprung into the shower and beneath the lukewarm water to cool me down. I pondered to myself as I washed my hair.
Did I even like Zach? Surely not. He was always horrible to me, acting all mighty on his high horse when he ran me over in the first place. But...when I remembered the way his brow creased in concern when I sprained my ankle and how he carried me to the hospital he didn't seem so bad after all. Maybe the devil actually had a heart. I scoffed to myself as I remembered his abrupt dismissal when he took me home the day before. Maybe not.
I suddenly heard the familiar sound of my phone ringing, muffled by the splashing of the water from the shower. Crap. Snatching a towel from the rail I quickly turned the shower off and hobbled out of the room. I burst into my bedroom and hopped over to the bed, picking up my phone from the bedside table and pressing it to my ear.
"Hello?" I answered breathlessly. I shivered as a few droplets dripped from my hair on to my shoulders.
"Is your ankle okay?" I heard Alyssa question through the phone quickly.
"Um, yeah, it's fine. Who told you?" I assured her before furrowing my brows. I doubt Zach would have informed her about my little accident.
"Noah." she responded simply.
"Oh, what did he say?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing much..." she replied in a bored tone and I could almost hear the shrug evident in her voice, until she suddenly shrieked excitedly down the phone not even a millisecond later.
"Just that Zach Caldwell carried you bridal style through the building and to the hospital! What did I miss?!" she exclaimed so loudly I had to move the phone away from my ear in case she burst my eardrum.
"It was so embarrassing." I responded, fidgeting awkwardly.
"But he carried you!" she reminded me. "That's so sweet!"
"No. It wasn't. And I was perfectly capable of walking on my own two feet anyway!" I insisted firmly.
Alyssa scoffed. "Whatever, Lou. Anyway if you're so capable of walking, are you still coming to the cinema today?"
I internally groaned - I'd completely forgot about it.
"You forgot, didn't you?" she accused.
"No-" I began but cut myself off with a sigh. "Yes...is Josh still coming?"
"Yeah." she admitted quietly, sensing my reluctance. "Do you still want to come?"
Truthfully?
No, I didn't want to go at all. But did I have a choice? Also, no.
Noah, Alyssa, a cinema and her cheating boyfriend of whom I shared mutual hatred with didn't exactly sound like a good idea - something deep in my gut just told me it was going to go wrong; it always did when Josh and I were forced into each others company. We disagreed on everything and it usually ended up with an argument, which always resulted in an upset and angry Alyssa. Fact.
Upset Alyssa by going and arguing with her boyfriend...or don't go and upset her anyway?
It was six and two threes. I was completely stuck.
"I'm still coming." I replied, camouflaging my lack of enthusiasm with a neutral tone.
"Really?" she squeaked in disbelief.
"Yup." I reassured her, struggling to hold my nonchalant tone.
"Okay! Right- well, we're all meeting inside at two o'clock. I'll see you then!" she explained quickly, excitement coating every word. I smiled to myself, knowing she was beaming by her cheerful tone.
"Yeah, see you-" I didn't even get to finish as the call ended with a click.
I rolled my eyes.
That girl will never learn how to end a phone call properly.
So I have to be there for two o'clock... My eyes flickered to the clock hanging on the wall to check the time. I have an hour. I frowned, realising it usually takes me half an hour to walk to the cinema in the first place-
I only have half an hour to get ready?!
Suddenly the front door swung open and I panicked, jumping slightly backwards on one leg. My wet foot slipped on the floor and I tumbled backwards, landing on my backside. I groaned, looking up to see my Mum clambering inside with the groceries.
"Oh Louise! Are you okay?" she questioned frantically.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I mumbled.
She let out an exasperated sigh, "You should dry yourself off properly before walking around. How many times have I told you?" she scolded.
"Too many to count." I told her monotonously as I stood up, making sure to only press a little bit of weight on the toes of my foot to avoid hurting my ankle.
I heard a gasp and I looked up to see my Mum staring at my blistered feet. "Louise Whitlock, what have you done to your feet?" she asked.
"Well, I was wearing those heels-"
The doorbell interrupted my sentence. My Mum gave me her infamous this-isn't-over-yet look as she tottered over and opened the door, revealing the familiar handsome blonde stood on my doorstep.
"Hi, is Lou here..." Noah asked, but trailed off when his eyes landed on me, widening significantly to two large silver saucers.
A frown swept across my face. Why was he looking at me like that?
Suddenly a small droplet dripped from my hair and splashed on to my shoulder like a little tap of realization and I was suddenly acutely aware I was only wearing a towel. My face went beetroot. I was horrified.
"Wait here!" I blurted before spinning on my heel and quickly shambling up the stairs as quick as I could with one foot.
I heard my Mum tell Noah to come in politely as I rushed into my bedroom, cursing under my breath. Why oh why oh why did he have to get here early?
A little mewl made me turn my attention to the little ball of fluff sat at my feet. Jinx tilted his head to the side, his big blue eyes blinking a few times in a silent understanding to my stressful situation before he trotted past me and leaped on to my bed.
Scanning the room for suitable clothes, I found some jeans in my drawers and a grey tank top before shrugging on my deep burgundy cardigan. I quickly brushed my teeth and dried my hair, glad that for once the natural waves in my hair were reasonably tame and fell over my shoulders neatly. I looked into the mirror, spotting my makeup-free face. I frowned. I wasn't exactly happy with going au naturel but I didn't have any time so it would have to do.
Damn Noah for coming early.
With one last run of my hand through my hair to make it look more acceptable I pulled on my Converse, careful to avoid aggravating any of my blisters. I gingerly put both feet on the floor, wincing when it began to twinge in pain. I walked a few steps forward, testing the endurance of my ankle. Thankfully it seemed to be okay, as long as I didn't put my whole weight on one foot.
I sauntered out of the room and down the stairs to find that Noah and my Mum were no longer in the hallway. The faint chatter emanating from the living room confirmed their whereabouts.
"This one is adorable!" my Mum gushed.
My face paled as I ran - well, walked as quick as I could - into the room. Oh God, please don't tell me she's showing him what I think she's showing him. Maybe I can stop her in time, I thought hopefully as I entered the room.
Or not.
Holding up the familiar photo of my toddler self paddling in the bath, I watched in horror as my Mum handed it over to Noah.
"I'm ready!" I announced loudly, desperation evident in my voice as I quickly snatched the photo out of his hands.
Noah looked up at me, flashing me his Hollywood worthy smile, his dimples prominent. I almost swooned - until he held up another childhood photo of me when I was four years old, my chubby face scrunched up into a frown as I stood uncomfortably in a pink dress, my hair in short curls.
My expression mirrored my younger self's as I scowled at the photo.
"I hate that photo." I huffed, making Noah chuckle.
"I think you look cute." he grinned, his grey eyes staring into mine. I felt a blush crawling up my neck to my cheeks so I quickly turned on my Mum who was looking at me 'innocently'.
"Okay, well if you're done embarrassing me, we should probably go now." I told her.
Noah stood up, still smirking at me as we walked through the corridor, my Mum leading us out. He glanced at my Mum and smiled.
"It was lovely meeting you." he told her politely and she returned his smile with her own.
"You too." she replied as we walked out. "Have a nice time!"
"We will, see you later." I smiled at my Mum.
As soon as my front door closed I groaned out loud in embarrassment and Noah chuckled as we approached the silver car parked outside. He opened the passenger door, bowing slightly.
"After you." he grinned. I rolled my eyes as I slid into the seat and buckled my seat belt. He closed the door before jogging around to the other side and climbing in.
We lapsed into a comfortable silence as he started the car and began driving. I turned to see him driving, one hand on the wheel as he leaned back slightly in his chair. He looked calm and relaxed, his grey eyes tranquil as he drove. It was a complete contrast to the way Zach drove; he was always tense with concentration. I wasn't sure who I felt more safe with in a car.
"So I gather you don't like dresses?" Noah jibed, a small grin curving across his lips.
I shrugged, "They don't bother me now, but I hated them when I was younger."
"How come?" he asked, turning his head toward me for a moment, making me internally panic - I really wanted him to keep his eye on the road. I was not having luck with cars this year.
I glanced at him, my eyes rolling over his handsome features before replying. "They got in the way most of the time. A pretty little princess dress isn't exactly practical when you like to run around and climb trees." I laughed.
"Not exactly." he chuckled.
After babbling about my, quite frankly, extremely embarrassing childhood, we finally arrived at the cinema. Noah climbed out of the car, quickly rushing around to the other side to open mine.
I raised an eyebrow at him. "I can open doors you know."
He smirked down at me, his tousled dark blonde hair outlined by the sun as he slapped a hand over his chest dramatically. "And here I thought I was being romantic!"
"Yeah, right." I laughed, rolling my eyes as he pouted at me.
"You're so mean to me." he complained.
"I know." I smirked as I walked forward, still making sure not to put much pressure on my foot.
A tanned arm wrapped around my waist and I looked up at Noah grinning, his dimples on full display. I gave him a questioning look, but he just shrugged, a cheeky smile on his face a Cheshire cat would be proud of. "Just helping you walk."
"Right." I arched a brow.
I suddenly remembered what he said in the kitchen at work.
For the record, I was checking you out too.
My face heated up a little before I shook it off. Noah winked at me before he suddenly frowned, scanning the area around us.
"Where's Alyssa and Josh?" he queried.
There were a few people going into the cinema but none who resembled either one of them. "What time is it? I thought they were meeting us outside?"
My eyes wandered over to the glass door entrance before they narrowed as I spotted Alyssa walking quickly out of the cinema, her gaze fixed on the ground. I frowned when I realised she hadn't seen us yet and was now walking in the opposite direction away from the cinema.
"Lyssa?" I called her name, my voice filled with concern.
She stopped in her tracks and spun around, giving me a full view of her face. My jaw dropped in shock.
***
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Sweets xxx