As Christmas approached, we all headed back to our homes for the break.
I was so glad to see Violet again, because this time I really was going to mention Lily to her.
No, I wasn't running away with my thoughts, but I did believe that Lily and I were getting along a little better.
In saying that, though, she still confused me.
She had briefly mentioned liking me, and my heart still raced at the memory of it.
I didn't know whether I should bring up me liking her any time soon or not.
I didn't want to make a mess of things.
"Hey, loser," Violet greeted me, as she wandered into my bedroom back at home.
I really had missed this room, even if that might have been slightly strange to admit. It was filled with my favourite things.
I had my books, my art journals from back when I was in secondary school, a lot, and I can't stress this enough, a lot of notepads filled up with stories that I had written over the years, too.
"Hey Violet," I replied.
She smiled.
"I'm kidding, by the way. You're not really a loser. Now, how is university going?" she asked me, as her eyes flickered to my laptop for a moment.
Before she had entered my room, I had been planning on throwing on a Christmas show to watch on Netflix, and simply relaxing for a moment.
"It's been alright, Vi," I replied.
"And you're getting on okay with everyone, yeah? You can rely on me to sort them out for you if need be," she stated.
I couldn't help but smirk a little at that.
"I'm sure that I'm getting on okay with everyone," I stated.
Violet gave a nod of her head in response to that, but she was always able to tell when there was something else on my mind, too.
"What, or who, may I ask, are you thinking about?" she asked me.
I exhaled, then, and ran a hand through my curled brown hair quickly, before I planned how I was going to respond to this.
"There's a girl," I said.
Violet raised an eyebrow at me, then.
"I don't know. She gives off a lot of mixed signals, and I don't actually know whether she likes me or not, in all honesty, most of the time. However, she can be really lovely at times," I said then, hoping that I didn't blush too hardcore.
"You like her, don't you?" she asked me, then.
"Nothing gets by you," I replied, then.
She simply smiled in her subtle amusement and appeared satisfied that she had figured it out, at least.
"Well, you two are clearly going to get together and adapt a lot of cats," she stated then.
I didn't think she was being at all ironic, though, and that was what slightly worried me.
My sister could be incredibly idealistic when it came to the future of reality.
I had always known that you could never truly rely too much upon it.
The future of reality could always be entirely unpredictable.
Lily Everett could be even more so.
In saying that, though, she did have this ability to make university life all the more interesting.
"I don't know if that's actually going to happen any time soon, Vi," I stated.
She smirked.
"Well, in the distant future, I see it," she stated.
I couldn't believe she was so invested in this.
I had barely mentioned her name.
"What's her name?" Violet asked me, then.
"If I tell you that, will you maybe calm down on the questions?" I asked her, and as my room was becoming a little darker, due to the cloudiness outside, I turned my fairy lights on.
The room was then encompassed by a soft golden glow.
"Okay, maybe," Violet said, with amusement evident in her voice.
"Her name is Lily," I stated.
"I'm going to need you to be just a tad more specific," Violet replied.
I just gave a well-timed roll of my eyes at her statement.
"Violet- you are not to look her up on social media, okay?" I asked her.
Violet just sighed in response to that.
"Boohoo," she stated.
"Lily Marie Everett, if you must know," I stated.
She grinned at that.
"She has a pretty name," she said.
"Right?" I replied, "That's what I thought."
A thoughtful expression came over Violet's face, then.
"You want to check her social medias out, don't you?" I asked her.
"Just a tad," she admitted.
"Vi," I said, with a slight warning tone.
She just held her hands up to show that she wasn't about to make any fast moves.
"Okay, okay," she began to say, "Is she pretty?" she asked me.
"I think so," I replied, with a gentle smile.
Lily was more than pretty, and the girl knew it, too.
I felt tempted to smirk, in subtle irritation, just thinking about her, in all honesty.
However, I managed to restrain myself from doing so.
That would just give Violet even more of an excuse to ask more questions about her, then, anyway.
"Cool," Violet replied, then.
She soon headed towards the doorway of my room.
"Are you leaving me now?" I asked her.
"I am. I'm sorry," she said, with a gentle smile of amusement.
"I suppose I'll allow it this time around," I replied.
She smirked.
"I'm going to go and help dad cook up breakfast. Do you want anything?" she asked me.
"I'm all good, Vi. Thank you for asking, though," I told her.
"Yay! More for me," Violet said, as she headed off down the hall.
I just chuckled, and soon heard my phone buzz.
Once I looked at the new messages, I saw that I had one from Ulric, who was ultimately inviting me to go and spend some time with him, Lance and Yasmin.
Of course, I accepted.
All of us lived quite close to each other, so theoretically Lily could have come along, too, but I supposed I would ask where she was later.
I really needed to get myself a hobby, other than thinking about her and listening to Girl in Red on repeat.
I supposed I could do that soon, though.
I got myself up off my bed, and went toward my wardrobe so that I could pick out an outfit.
I decided upon a black long-sleeved top, a white cardigan and some jeans, and then accessorized the fit with a necklace, a few fashion statement rings and the gold watch that I had received last Christmas.
I then proceeded to head down the hall, so that I could inform my family of where I was going, and headed outside into the cold.
That last part happened after I had grabbed my coat, of course. I wasn't about to accidentally catch hypothermia, of all things.
I wandered towards the taxi that I had called.
Thankfully, it had arrived early.
Once I sat down inside of it, I informed the driver of where I was going, and moments later, I soon arrived outside the local pub.
I wandered inside and found Lance, Ulric and Yasmin all sitting at one of the booths.
Yasmin stood up from her seat in order to wave to me.
"Selina!" she said, as she beckoned me over to them.
I found warmth in Lance's eyes as he smiled towards me, and Ulric's familiar grin flickered across his face for a moment, too.
I noticed instantly that Yasmin and Lance had seemed to become a lot closer over the Christmas holidays, and I meant this literally, too.
Lance was holding Yasmin's hand in his.
The two of them looked positively adorable.
I was thankful that the pub was warm, but it also meant that I was overheating slightly in my jacket, so I hastily took it off.
"How are you all doing?" I asked them.
"I'm well, thank you, Sel. How are you?" Lance asked me.
"Also good. Ulric? Yasmin?" I asked the both of them.
"We're good," Ulric said.
"It's been good to be home," Yasmin said, "I missed my sisters."
I had found out in a class a while ago that Yasmin had three sisters, and they were all younger than her, which was certainly a handful.
However, I knew that they couldn't have a much better role model for a sister than Yasmin.
She really was a kindhearted girl.
"I'm going to go and get another round," Ulric stated, then, "What do you want, Selina?"
"I don't really mind," I replied.
"I'll go with you," Lance stated, as he wandered over to the bar with Lance.
Once the both of them were gone, Yasmin moved so that she could sit down next to me.
"You have that look of curiosity in your eye, Selina. What's going on?" she asked me.
"I could say the same for you," I replied, "Not much, really," I stated nonchalantly.
She just gave me a look, and took one of the nachos off of the plate that they must have ordered before I had gotten there.
"What's going on with Lance and you?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Well, we went ice skating three days ago. He asked me to be his girlfriend then," she told me.
I smiled at that.
The two of them really were made for each other.
"I'm so happy for you, Yas!" I told her, as I wrapped my arms around her, for a moment.
"Thank you, Sel. That means a lot," she replied.
"Of course," I said.
"So, now it's your time to spill," she said.
I just smirked in amusement, but thankfully my racing heart could soon settle a little.
Lance and Ulric returned to the table with our drinks, which meant that I would simply have to fill Yasmin in on all the details at a later date.
I wasn't sure of them so much myself, yet, but I did managed to find out from Ulric that Lily was doing well.
Lily was just looking out for Lina, as their dad had gone out on a business trip.
I would have to message her soon, to find out what her plans were for Christmas day.