𝐀 𝐕 𝐀 𝐋 𝐎 𝐍 ' 𝐒 𝐏 𝐎 𝐕
"You will not eat all that."
The five-stack of pancakes sits on a plate in front of me. Coated in maple syrup and surrounded by fresh strawberries, Liv's doe eyes widen at the height. While her plate is filled with a normal stack of three pancakes, Hannah eats her avocado toast she ordered and Sierra with an acai bowl. My breakfast height trumps theirs easily.
"Do you not know who you're talking to?" Hannah asks in disbelief. "Why do you think we have to go grocery shopping so much?"
"I feel bad for Noah. It takes a lot of food to make you happy," Sierra jokes and I stick my tongue out at her, as if I'm a child.
"He's used to it."
"Speaking of, how is he? And you know the whole long-distance thing?" Sierra questions.
"Hard," I state, shoving pancakes into my mouth. Noah left for Massachusetts four days ago now, and we've been getting the hang of the three-hour difference that means he's awake before I am and then asleep before I am. Which we learned from the very early phone call the first day he was gone. He spends the majority of the day training with the Patriots and then sometimes joins them at night at restaurants to have dinner or at a bar. Our contact has been limited to morning calls occasionally but mostly just texting here and there. Sometimes our calls and messages go unanswered because I have class and cannot answer or their practice ran later than usual so we don't speak until the next day. I will fly out in a few days to meet up with him and stay with him until he comes back. "We mostly text. By the time I wake up in the morning he's already at practice cause he's three hours ahead and he's been out with the team every night and gets back late so I'm usually asleep."
"Things aren't going well then," Liv sadly smiles, and I shake my head.
"It could be worse we could be arguing twenty-four-seven. But it's just really hard to be able to talk to each other over the phone and it's not like in person."
"Retail therapy is needed. Today seems like the perfect day to go shopping and find something to wear around that fancy hotel room, which will knock his socks off and make him see what he's missing," Hannah smirks.
I roll my eyes. "Correction, I will wear it for myself."
Sierra reaches over to high five me. "Preach."
"Isn't it crazy how we're almost done with sophomore year? I feel like since meeting the guys this academic year has gone really fast," Hannah says, and we all agree.
"Let's not tell them that, they'll get smug," I offer, and they agree as we laugh. Our conversation dies out as we carry on eating our breakfasts and drinking our morning coffee to prepare us for a whole day of shopping. After finishing off, we pay and head out of the café before making our way to the mall.
"Who's ready for shopping?" Hannah asks as we walk into the mall.
"Shopping is the best cure for anything," Sierra says and I chuckle. "Such as missing your boyfriend."
"That's what you say about being sad, being happy, being angry," Liv lists and we chuckle.
"Do you want to go shopping or not?" Sierra asks, and we all agree.
"So where to first?" Liv asks as we walk through the mall. Dodging the many people that walk through, carrying shopping bags on their arms. Couples spread about the place, and families are joined together as they shop. Young teenagers and children run around, as their parents scold them.
"I need something to wear after the showcase. My mother, and my father if he shows up, wants to take me to dinner afterwards," Hannah explains as we walk into a store.
"Do you think he will?" Liv questions, as we begin to search through the racks.
"Who knows with him," Hannah mutters, her eyes concentrated on the clothes as we all look at one another. With Hannah's big performance coming up soon, it is up in the air whether her dad will come and be supportive. Which I know is bothering her more than she lets on.
"Well, we'll be there and so will Dylan," I nudge her and she chuckles.
"Get this, mom wants him to come to dinner too. When I told him his eyes got so wide I was afraid he'd pass out," Hannah laughs and I shake my head at the classic Dylan actions.
Liv sighs. "God knows we'll be calming him down all the way through your performance."
Hannah nods her head. "Who's going to calm me down? One of us has to be calm."
"It will be great. Dylan's great, you can't not like him and I have seen him be serious at games before so he can be when he needs to be," I explain and she nods her head.
"Ooh, what about this?" Sierra pulls out a dress, which Hannah immediately goes to try on, loving the look of it.
Today will be a long day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe you fought that woman for the last top in that size," I laugh uncontrollably as we walk up the stairs to our apartment.
"That bitch was not letting up," Hannah defends herself. "This top is amazing and I would die for it," Hannah dramatically confesses, making me roll my eyes.
"Whatever," I laugh, getting my keys out of my bag. Heading into the apartment we part ways as I head towards my room and Hannah does hers to put our things away. As soon as my bags are placed down on my bed, my phone rings and Noah's name pops up. "Hey you."
"Hey, sorry we haven't spoken much," Noah's voice chimes from the other end of the phone. Yet the loud background noise washes him out a little.
"It's okay. I spent the day shopping with the girls. What's the noise?"
Sitting on the end of my bed, his voice floats through the phone again. "I'm at a bar with some of the guys. I stepped outside, but it's still loud."
My eyes flicker to my clock and when I realize he's three hours ahead, it makes sense. "Having fun?"
"Yeah. I can't wait for you to get here though," He admits, and I smile. My brows furrow when I hear shouting on the other end, and Noah replies to whoever it is. "Sorry, one of the guys. Still coming up in a few days?"
"Of course. I miss you," I admit, and I hear rustling on the other end and more shouting.
"I'm going to have to go. I'll see you in a few days," Noah says and before I can even reply he ends the call. Furrowing my eyebrows, I pull the phone away from my ear, looking at it.
"Feel like watching a movie?" Hannah appears in the doorway, and she raises her eyebrow at me. "Everything ok?"
My silence says everything.
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒
Seems Ava & Noah are struggling with long distance...
Tasha Jade <3