Angel Eyes - Tao Xu

4; The end of summer

The last few days Ingrid tried to divide her time equally between her family, Nick, and her friends. Imogen had been on holiday and they FaceTimed the past few days. Ingrid complained about how much she missed her friend's cuddles and told her about her new friends as well. They called every night at 9 pm and every night Ben would come in for a while too to chat with the girls. It was a moment she cherished as she and her brother had never really gotten along well but this was a time when they would be comfortable in the presence of each other and they could tell one another almost everything even when Imogen hung up. It was like they had their own little world, the chatter making them forget the cold outside the door, where all you could hear were their screaming parents.

It was times like these when Ingrid felt like maybe her brother wasn't too bad, but maybe just seemed so in contrast to her parents. 

Tonight would be a night of celebration at Harry's place. His huge house, garden, and pool are open for his friends, who have a BBQ to celebrate their last night of freedom before going back to school. Ingrid had looked for an excuse to skip out but Imogen would be there, returning from holiday and Nick had said he would go as well and he wouldn't be able to stay mentally sane without her. So, after a big sigh and a good contemplation of what her life had come to, Ingrid got ready for the party. Her blue bathing suit was her first layer but throwing a light blouse and a pair of shorts under it. She stuffed a cardigan in her back and grabbed a scrunchie to put her hair up. Her sunglasses balanced on her nose, and she scrolled through TikTok for a while before taking a picture and sending it to Elle, who replied almost instantly.

– you look beautiful. Try to enjoy yourself x

God, She was really the best. She sighed and bit her lip, walking downstairs she met with Ben. Stepping into their dad's car to get on to Harry's, the silence in there almost suffocated her.

The second she got to Harry's she heard a shriek, A brunette with white money pieces in a pink bathing suit almost ran into the car. Ingrid jumped out, without telling her dad goodbye, running towards the shrieking girl and throwing her arms around her. "GINNY!!" She didn't know what she was happier about, being away from her dad or being reunited with her best friend. The two girls looked as if they never wanted to let go of one another and their hands and fingers quickly intertwined. Resting her head in the crook of Imogen's neck Ingrid felt at home."You have to tell me everything about Europe. As soon as you can." Ingrid laid her head on Imogen's shoulder and the brunette chuckled. "Obviously but let's enjoy the party first. I heard he got us wine..." The latter whispered playfully.

Imogen and Ingrid had been inseparable since kindergarten and Harry Green loved that about them. Not because he cared about their friendship, he just loved to see the two girls close for his own amusement. Sometimes he could just imagine them kissing. How cool would that be to see, but only for his enjoyment of course. Throwing his arms around both their shoulders he spoke up. "Welcome pretty ladies. Glad the most gorgeous girls at Higgs showed up to my party." Imogen giggled and he threw her a smirk, turning his face to Ingrid he was met with a look of confusion as he winked at her. "Let me show you the BBQ 'Grid." He pulled the blonde along, walking toward the BBQ and getting more private. "I'm really glad you showed. I thought you were going to skip out and hang with the Nerds." Ingrid looked up at him raising an eyebrow. "Correction, Their my nerds." Harry laughed but it sounded like it did most of the time, fake. "You're so funny." He squeezed her arm, pulling her closer. "I'm really glad you are here for real, I mean look at you." His gaze went up and down his best friend's sister and before she could retort with a witty comment he, with an almost scooping motion, removed his hand for her arm to smack her ass before squeezing it. "You look really fucking hot. You should stay over tonight." He whispered in her ear. Ingrid glared up at him. "Let. Me. Go." She said, rather loudly but no one seemed to look up except Imogen, who seemed unsure what to do. Harry laughed. "Come on doll we're having fun." Ingrid gave him a look and then smiled. "You know whats fun? With her free hand, she grabbed someone's cup and within a few seconds, Harry's head was covered by the soda she dumped on him. Throwing the cup against his head she stormed off. 

"Oh my god!" Imogen showed up at her side as quickly as she could, pulling the girl away from the scene. "Are you o-" "I'm fine." Ingrid snapped at her friend before grabbing her bag. "Tell Ben I felt sick. I'm heading home."

Ben hadn't noticed she had gone until Nick asked him where she'd been.

Walking home Ingrid shivered like crazy, even with her cardigan on. The bathing suit not protecting her from the wind. Halfway to her house, she bumped into someone,  kudos to the tears in her eyes blocking the view she apologized under her breath. "Ingrid?" She looked up at the tall Asian boy. Tao. She felt ashamed but was too busy shivering to speak. "Ingrid you're practically turning blue. Are you- Are you crying?" The girl started to sob and all Tao could do was wrap his arms around her. She ended up in a pair of joggers and a sweatshirt of his. Drinking tea at their kitchen table as his mother spoke soft words to her, stroking her hair. A single promise was made to his mother, that even if he didn't know how this situation occurred or even why he would not speak of it to anyone and not pressure her to tell. 

And to him it didn't matter. As long as she felt safe with him.