mesmerised | blake richardson

fourteen

Cassie woke up in a foreign place, grasping at the sheets beside her in an attempt to find George or Reece on either side of her. She opened her eyes fully and took in her surroundings, remembering that she was at Serenity's flat. She let out a small sigh, thinking of how it felt when she was with the two boys she called her best friends.

Cassie reached over to the small side table beside the bed she was laid in and picked up her phone, opening it to her and George's messages. She glanced at the time and wanted to slap herself for waking up so damn late—it was nearly 12 p.m,.

Cassie; I miss you

As soon as she pressed send, she went through her camera roll on her phone, looking at the pictures of her, George and Reece. She noticed how George always held her close in pictures, almost protectively. She noticed the smaller things, like how he held her hand when they were walking in public and how his eyes glittered when he was near her.

She came across the pictures of Blake and Serenity and a smile formed on her face. Cassie was happy for her best friend; she was happy that she had found someone that would cherish her til death do them part. Her heart ached slightly as her mind travelled to George.

Shaking off her thoughts, she slid her long legs out of bed and took the robe that she had hung beside the bed off of the hook, sliding it on and wrapping it around her cold body. She walked out of the lovely guest bedroom and found her way through Serenity's flat, over to Serenity's bedroom.

Cassie picked up a pillow off of the floor beside Serenity's bed, analysing it. Serenity had so many pillows on her bed, and most of them ended up on the floor while she slept. Cassie flung the pillow over her head, hitting Serenity's body in an attempt to wake her up. She groaned at the hit, her hands immediately going to her eyes to keep out the sun.

"It's too early," Serenity whined, pulling the covers over her head and forming herself into a ball.

"I'm lonely," Cassie said, "I miss the boys."

Serenity sighed and pulled the covers off from over her head, looking over at her best friend. She missed the boys as well, even though she'd barely been away from them for 14 hours and she felt bad considering she hadn't spent much time with Reece nor George.

Thoughts of Blake swam throughout Serenity's mind. She thought of the intimacy the two had shared, and she felt herself grow a bit confused. She was unsure of how things were moving—she didn't want to scare Blake away with how inexperienced she was, with everything.

"I do, too," Serenity said, running her hands through her hair.

"I'm hungry," Cassie told her, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Go get food!"

"You're so lame," she laughed halfheartedly, sliding her body out of bed.

As Serenity was getting clothes out of her closet, Cassie felt a small vibration coming from the pocket of her robe. She slid her phone out of her pocket and opened it, smiling when she saw George's name.

George; I miss you too. How's London?

Cassie; Boring without you three, but it's okay. I just woke up, so nothing much has happened.

Cassie stepped out of the room once Serenity had her clothes out, letting her get dressed in privacy. She went out to the living area and sat on the couch, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping the small, velvety blanket around her frame.

Serenity slipped off her pyjamas and put on a simple pair of leggings and a navy blue cable knit jumper. As she pulled on her black boots, she glanced at her phone, shaking her head at the time.

"How long will you be?" Cassie asked her as she walked into the room that Cassie was sat in.

"Probably not too long. Message me if something comes up, yeah?"

"Okay," she said, waving as Serenity stepped out of the door.

George's name appeared on Cassie's phone, scaring her. She calmed her heartbeat and realised that he was FaceTiming her, which didn't help her heartbeat any.

"Hello," Cassie said, accepting the call. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry," George laughed. His eyes scrunched in the most perfect way as he laughed, which made Cassie smile.

"What's up?" she asked, her smile still playing on her lips.

"I missed you," George said nonchalantly, shrugging. His hair was messy in the most beautiful way, and his eyes sparkled.

"I missed you too, you absolute banana," Cassie laughed, looking down at her lap and scrunching up her nose. "It's only two more days, yeah?"

"I can't wait to see you again," George smiled.

"Me, neither."

-

Serenity ran through the city, trying to stay warm in the colder weather. It wasn't as cold as it would be back home, but she had become accustomed to the winters in London. Her shins burned with an achy feeling as she pushed herself further.

As she reached the nearest KFC, she held her hand against the wall, taking in as much air as her lungs could hold. She stretched her legs out, mentally cursing herself for barely stretching for the last two weeks.

Once she had ordered the food, she decided on simply walking home, considering running with bags full of food on her arms wasn't the best of ideas.

While she was walking back to the flat, she mentally prayed that the food wouldn't get too cold. She passed a few places that made her wish she had her camera, like a small tree that had frost on it, still having a few red leaves hanging lightly off the branches. The wind blew through her hair, causing her to shiver slightly.

She was walking through the park when she heard her name being called. She turned around, half hoping Blake to be behind her. A taller boy walked over to her, his face barely visible due to the hat over his head—it was as if he was trying to stay hidden.

As he walked closer to her, he pulled off his hat, revealing his dark brown curls. He smiled down at her, running a hand through his hair. He let out a breath as if he was holding it, causing a small puff of white air to come out of his mouth because of the temperature.

In front of her was her best childhood friend—the one she had spent her every moment with from the time she moved out of the Okanagan over to Toronto. The boy that she had shared every single secret with; who was also the boy that she hadn't talked to since she moved to London. It wasn't her fault that they didn't talk—he was always so busy that he couldn't answer, and after a while, Serenity got sick of trying when he didn't put in the same amount of effort. She missed her best friend more than anything.

"Shawn?"

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