Beside You

3//girly chats

A tapping at my window roused me from my sleep. At first I doubted whether it was there, if it was just rain or I'd made it up, but it grew louder and more insistent. Maria was still asleep - it takes a hurricane to wake that girl - so I swung my legs out of bed and went to see what it was. 

Stood on my driveway with a handful of stones and a bunch of flowers was Luke. I glanced at my alarm clock - half past three in the morning. I shook my head at him, irked that he had woken me up at such a ridiculous time, and pushed the window open enough to stick my head out.

"What?" I hissed, glancing up and down the street to check there was no one else up and about. 

"I wanted to apologise," he said, looking up at me with puppy dog eyes. 

"Come in," I told him, closing the window and pulling on a pair of sweatpants over my pyjama shorts. I made my way downstairs, got myself a glass of water, and turned to face Luke. He'd used his spare key to get in, and for once I actually considered the practicalities of him having a key. What if he just came in in the middle of the night? What if I, or God forbid, my parents, found him sleeping on the couch or something? "What do you want, Luke? It's half three."

"I know, I'm sorry but I couldn't wait. I wanted to say I'm sorry, I know how you feel about doing stuff with boys and I shouldn't have assumed that I was the exception. Please can we give us another shot? I really like you, Bonnie, and even if we can't be together you'll always be my best friend." I sighed and glanced at the flowers he was clutching to his chest. The bouquet was filled with purple pansies, morning glories and a few white roses. "Erm, I got you these. Purple's your favourite colour, right?" I nodded, taking the flowers out of his hands and pressing a brief, gentle kiss on his jaw. I went to collect a vase, and filled it with water and flower food before arranging the bouquet in it and placing it on the mantelpiece. 

"Thank you, Luke. It means a lot," I whispered, sipping my glass of water. He moved in to hug my and in doing so, knocked the glass out of my hands, spilling water all over both of us in the process. I gasped as my clothes soaked through to my body, the cold water sending chills down my spine. "Luke!"

"Sorry! Fuck, sorry," he said, racing to get kitchen roll to mop up some of the mess, but the damage had already been done. 

"Go home, it's late. Or early? Either way, I'll see you in the morning." He nodded, handing me the paper towels and leaving me stood on my own in the living room. Still chilly from the water, I decided to go and shower, letting the warm stream trickle over my body as I processed the morning's events. I rubbed shampoo into my hair and watched the suds fall down the drain before stepping out and towelling myself dry. I moved quietly into my room, but Maria was already awake. 

"What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," I lied, trying to make it seem genuine. 

"Yeah, absolutely. Not like your snoring kept me up until past one," she said, cocking her eyebrow. 

"I do not snore, shut up," I exclaimed. 

"You so do. Tell me the truth."

"Luke was being cliché, he was throwing stones at the window and he gave me flowers and apologised." Maria looked at me with disdain, clearly not impressed by my decision to forgive him. "He's my best friend." She looked offended. "Male best friend."

"Better!" she said, beaming and pulling me back onto the bed. "We need to dye your hair."

"No, we don't. I'm trying to go into the army, not Australia's Next Top Model."

"Please," she begged. "A wash out green maybe? It would blend in with your camouflage."

"No," I said firmly. "I am quite happy being the ginger that I am."