Mentality

Chapter Fifty Eight: Howl

Today Ryan comes over for coffee and an official meeting. The first was a little awkward. And by awkward I mean, my sleeve getting stuck on my nose ring, me staying in the bathroom for an hour, and Dan suddenly coming.

"Okay. Stay in your respective rooms. Or stay with each other. I don't need to be embarrassed." I said, placing two mugs on the dining table. One was Dan's 'hello kitty' mug and the other was a red mug that had 'THE CAT WHISKERS COME FROM WITHIN' written on one side and actual whiskers on the other. I made a pot of tea and set it next to the mugs. I had got out earlier to get some cookies and other assorted goodies. I had also gotten a bouquet of random flowers.

"What time does he get here?" Phil asked, looking at me from his phone. I looked at the analog clock and groaned.

"An hour. I need to change real quick." I replied, looking at what I was wearing. A rather large sweater and old skinny jeans. My hair was in a messy bun.

I walked to my room and found some nice-ish clothes. A teal skirt, black tank top, black and white cardigan, and teal flats. I also grabbed my watch and glasses. I brushed out my hair and then threw it in a high pony tail. Moments after I got dressed, there was a knock on my bedroom door. I pulled it open and there stood Phil.

"You look..."

"Bad? Horrendous? Like you wouldn't want to hire me?" I asked, applying some light pink lip gloss.

"D. None of the above." He smiled, placing his hands on my shoulders. "You look amazing." He kissed me.

"Do I? Thank the lord. I'm really nervous about this." I replied, looking up at him. He chuckled.

"Don't be. Dan and I will be right down the hall. Come on." He nodded towards the door. I held his hand as we walked down the hall. As soon as we made it to the door of the lounge, I let go. We've been together for 2 weeks and Dan doesn't know. We don't want him finding out. I sat in the orange chair and impatiently waited for the door to chime.

"It'll be fine." Dan said closing his laptop and standing up. That's when the door bell rang.

"Go!" I yelled at my brother and boyfriend to leave the living room. I ran to the door and opened it. Ryan was standing there, holding a small gift bag. He was wearing what seemed to be an expensive suit. Why? Why a suit?

"Ryan, it's nice to see you again." I smiled, looking at him. "Come on in." I motioned for him to enter. He nodded and stepped into the tiny entrance.

"Nice place." He said, looking around.

"Thanks. Uh... It's a shared flat with Dan and Phil." I nodded, leading him up first flight of stairs. "There's a lot of stairs." I chuckled, turning to him.

"I can see that." Ryan laughed. I lead him to the lounge. I sat in the orange chair and Ryan sat in the blue chair across from me.

"I, uh, heard it was your birthday recently. So, I got you something." He smiled, placing the small gift bag on the table, sliding it over to me. I picked it up and placed it on my lap. I pulled out the tissue paper and at the bottom of the bag was a long rectangular box. I looked at Ryan and he had a small smile. I pulled the box out and opened it. Inside laid a necklace with a small charm on it. It was a ruby Charmander charm.

"I didn't know what to get you. So, I got you that." Ryan looked at me.

"Oh. It's nice. Thank you." I smiled, placing the box to the side.

"How are you feeling?" Ryan asked, pouring some tea into the Car Whisker mug.

"Much better. Thanks." I smiled, watching him stir his drink with a sugar cookie. We talked for a few minutes, then I got a text from Phil.

Phil>Me: tell him I said hi :3

I let out a small chuckle and shook my head. "Sorry. My boyfriend says hi." I smiled, placing my phone face down on the table.

"It's okay." Ryan smiled, sipping is tea. "I wanted to ask you a question..."

"Okay."

"My company, Polar Tycoon, had a new line of clothes coming out this fall. And, we need a few models. I was wondering if you wanted a job? I know you used to model. We'll pay you good." Ryan asked, looking at me. I looked at him and opened my mouth.

"You want to hire me?"

"I saw some pictures of your modeling days."

"That must've been a roller coaster. My mother wanted me to do that." I stood up. "I'll be right back." I smiled, walking towards my room. Once I entered my room, I grabbed a small binder that had most of my photoshoots and one picture that Phil had taken.

"These are pictures that were taken 8-9 years ago. This one was taken two weeks ago." I said, walking into the lounge. I placed the binder and frame on the table in front of Ryan.

"Oh wow." He replied, flipping through the binder. I smiled and looked at it.

"Yeah." I smiled. "I like this one." I pointed at the picture frame. Rya looked at the frame and smiled.

"Who took these?"

"The ones in the binder are professional photographs. This one was taken by a friend who has a history with cameras." I nodded.

"Excellent."

"I'd love to take job." I nodded, looking at Ryan.

"Oh good! I'll email you the dates." He nodded, looking at his watch. We talked for another 30 minutes before he had to go. It was nice. He was very sweet and it wasn't awkward at all.

"How'd tea go?" Phil asked, walking into the lounge.

"Swimmingly. He offered me a job." I smirked, sitting next to him.

"Cool!" Phil replied, holding my hand. "Dan went to Maia's." (a/n: he's just going over there. He won't find out.)

"Things seem to be getting pretty close between them..."

"Howl, they were close before they were dating."

"True." I nodded, looking at his laptop. He was looking at very detailed Phan art. I made a face.

"Sorry." He closed his laptop. "You excited for Bristol?" Phil looked at me with a smile.

"Yeah, actually." I nodded. "I've never been."

"It should be fun. I planned lunch with Felix and Marzia."

"Friends?"

"Yep. You'll like Marzia. She's cool."

"Can't wait to meet them."