Little touch of heaven

005

A/N: vote on the chapter 😇😇

I wonder who's messaging me at 8 pm? I wondered to myself as I picked up my phone. The pinging only got louder and louder. It was the group chat I had with all of my friends. Rafael was spamming in it, but the notifications were coming down so quickly, that I had no time to read them.

Rafael: OMG GUYS

Angel: WHAT?

Elle: Rafael there's no need to type the same message 10 times

Rafael: ARIELLA CAME TO THE STORE TODAY??

Angel: Really?

Jay: She seems nice according to what Angel told me about her

Kelly: She sounds familiar...

Rafael: Yep!! Im upset though because I didn't get to speak to her 🤬 Angel you're so lucky you're one of her friends

Kelly: Guys!! What if we all try to become friends with her so we can hang out together?

Angel: We should! But I'm already her friend

Jay: Can you ask her then?

I then realised that I hadn't spoken to Ariella since a few days ago, I've just been so busy. There's that feeling in my stomach again, a soft mixture of nausea and electric tingles. My head has begun to buzz and my heart rate increases as if I'm running away like I want to. I've been getting this feeling a lot lately. Was I nervous? No, I don't get nervous.

Another ping

Jay: Hello?

Angel: I'll message her tomorrow

Elle: ALR!

Jay: I know what that means Angel. You aren't gonna message her, are you?

Angel: I will? And if I don't it doesn't matter

Jay: I'm just saying if you were her friend like you said you are you would have messaged her by now 🫢

Tossing my phone across my bed, I stared at my wall. Jay always knows how to make me annoyed, but I wouldn't say I was angry at him, I don't get angry at my friends. Something that does make me mad though is the fact that he's always right about me, and I can't accept that.

Angel: Jay I can't ask somebody to hang out if I've only spoken to them 3 times

Kelly: Let's calm down guys, but Angels right it probably would be a bit awkward

Jay: I'll just ask her myself. She works in a cafe near Rafaels shop. Alr

Rafael: Isn't that a bit weird?..

I knew he was only joking. For starters, he lives in Forsford and Ariella lives in Veritas, so there's no chance he was about to go out of his way to speak to her just because I wouldn't.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"Ariella, are you okay? "You've been daydreaming a lot lately," Abby asked me, her tone full of concern.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me, Abby. It's just been a long day." I giggled, trying to lighten the mood. She didn't seem to buy it, though. She takes one last look at me and returns to the Back at the counter to take the next customer's order. The truth is, I was thinking about yesterday, about Alex. I still don't know why she didn't go into the store or why her whole demeanour changed when she saw the entrance. Maybe she just didn't like the store? Millions of thoughts ran through my mind, all negative. I felt like there was something wrong with her, but it was just a feeling, and after yesterday, and our conversations with each other continued as usual.

After I washed the last plate, I felt my arms start to hurt. They fell next to me and couldn't move because of how long they had been in the same position. I had never noticed how much time resembles water; that it can fade away slowly, drop by drop, even freeze or rush by in the blink of an eye. The clock in the kitchen indicates that it is measured and constant, tick-tock, part of an orderly world; The clock lies.

The past week had passed as if thousands of camera images were being shown one after the other every second. My thoughts were about to spiral downward but my phone interrupted them, suddenly buzzing. Sceptical, I pulled out my phone and to my surprise it was Angel. He was asking me to go to another con in Forsford. There was an explosion in my brain. The good kind. I started several messages to Angel but deleted them before they hit send - none sounded right. I didn't want to keep him waiting for my answer, so I said yes to him right away. Now I have something to look forward to in a few days.

I was very excited that I had been invited to go out with somebody other than Alex. I was also surprised too, I never would have thought he'd want to go to a con with me. Maybe he had nobody to go with like me? I proposed that me and Angel meet up beforehand at my mum and dad's cafe, and he agreed to the idea. There was no way that I was going to go to the con alone and spend half my time trying to find him, if it's anything like the last one then that's a possibility. But subconsciously, another part of me wanted to spend more time with Angel, my new friend.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When the guilt comes again to torment me, I take a deep breath in. After all this time it still cuts just as deep, but its visits are less frequent and softer in duration. But,

There was no way that I was going to apologise to Angel. The whole friend group has been begging me to say sorry to him. Naturally, I had no intention of asking the girl—her name?  Ariana?—if she wanted to hang out with the rest of us.

I was on the train to Veritas to visit my older sister. The train was so peaceful and smooth, I felt like sleeping on it just then and there. The day was postcard-perfect, even the buses were running on time. Downtown the skyscrapers shone silver in the morning sun and the sky was an unbroken backdrop of blue. The train rocked to a motherly rhythm, anchored to centuries-old rails, and I found solace as the bag embraced my gentle form. Closing my eyes, I felt myself slowly drifting to sleep...

It was my ringtone that abruptly woke me up. My heart leapt into my throat, pounding even faster than it had done earlier in the morning when I had gone for a run. I dug around in my pocket before coming to a halt and covering the screen with one hand. A short while later, I felt my mouth's corners move against my cheek. The smile expanded into a wide one.

Angel: Done!  🎉

A/N: 300 READS? TYSM GUYS. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and a little introduction to some more of Angel's friends. Do you guys like Jay? Do you like Rafael? PLS COMMENT ON WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS CHAPTER AND DO NOT FORGET TO VOTE