Guns and Roses

Nine ~ Quinn

"Stop it Grandpa" I say batting at his hands. He huffs at me but stops trying to flatten my hair against my head. I mess it up again with my hands and grab my phone from the counter "I'll be back after dinner so just make yourself something"

He nods and then pulls a rose out from the stand nearby. "Give this to her" he tells me "Girls love flowers"

I roll my eyes "We're going bowling and getting pizza, what's she going to do with a rose?"

He shrugs "I don't know. Give it to her when you get back then. What's her name again?"

"Ellie" I tell him. Giving Rya my phone last night was either the biggest mistake of my life or the best thing I'd ever done. Within an hour, the date had been arranged.

I haven't spoken to Rya all day, she seemed put off so I stayed out of her way. Everyone else seemed to notice the change as well and kept their distance.

The girl from my first day, I now know her name is Kira, told me that Rya is completely unpredictable. On her very first day, she tried to pick a fight with one of the girls in her class. She took weeks to get used to teachers telling her what to do and then one day, she became now reserved - still chatty and friendly, but less likely to start a conversation.

The bowling place isn't far from the shop so I wave goodbye and head out. I tuck my clammy hands into my pockets and try to calm my racing heart. I've never done anything like this before. I've never dreamed of this happening with a girl as beautiful as Ellie.

She's already sitting there with her bowling shoes on the table when I get there.

The building is extremely run down, the paint peeling and half of the lights don't work. I watch an employee struggle with the slushee machine and then the light in the fridge goes out.

Ellie spots me and jumps to her feet. "Hey!" She calls out waving to me. I walk over and she sits back down "I almost thought that you weren't going to call"

I laugh "I nearly wasn't. I didn't know what to say but I had some help"

She looks around "How is this place still standing?" She asks with a small laugh "Is the actual bowling part any better?"

I shrug "I've never actually been before, Rya said it was good though"

She stands again and holds her hand out to me "Let's go see, shall we?"

I take it and let her lead me around the back towards the lanes. Surprisingly, this room is in a lot better condition than the front of the building.

Plush, red booths line one wall and facing that is clean, well-maintained bowling lanes. There's about ten in total, each with its own little screen displaying points on it.

There's a family at one end of the row and a couple a little closer to us. Other than that, we pretty much have the place to ourselves.

Rya was right. This place is good.

We have a seat at one of the booths first and order a pepperoni pizza that I'm not holding out for as the menu looks and feels like it's been stored in the deep fat fryer. I wipe my fingers on a napkin after putting it down and watch as Ellie does the same but in her jeans.

She looks good. Her long hair is tied in a low pony at the nape of her neck, she wears a red lipstick and fake eyelashes that make her blue eyes look big and bright. She wears a simple red vest and light wash skinny jeans. Silver hoop earrings glint in the light.

She obviously puts a lot into how she looks and that is clear but you can see that she's also a natural beauty beneath that.

I pull down my sleeves to cover my hands and smile at her "Do you go to Torstone?" I ask her as our drinks come. She ordered a vodka and coke which tells me she's at least 18 but they don't ID her so maybe she was just chancing it.

She shakes her head as she takes a drink and then puts the glass down. "I was homeschooled until last year. My dad used to be a teacher you see, but then he married into money and dropped that. He still taught me and my siblings though"

I nod "My mum was training to be a teacher" I say with a smile. Mum had just got a job as a teaching assistant before Dad died. It didn't last long after that. "Dad was in the army"

She frowns at me and I see the all too familiar pitiful look on her face. "My mum's okay" I tell her "She's back in Belfast"

She doesn't question further and our pizza arrives as a distraction.

The pizza is as greasy as the menu we picked it from but it tasted good enough. We finish up eating, talking about everything and nothing. I learn that she has a brother and a sister, that she's allergic to bees and wasps and that she rides horses.

We move onto the lanes and she completely destroys me without even trying but I'm having fun and she seems to be having fun too.

We have a seat to get another drink after round one and she smiles at me. "Your friend has good taste. This has been awesome" she tells me laughing.

I smile "Ill have to thank her next time I see her"

"So, are you guys close?"

I shake my head "I barely know her but she's been nice to me and I think she could do with a friend"

Ellie sighs contentedly and turns back to the lanes "You're a good guy Quinn" she says "After this, do you want to go for a walk? We can head back to mine for a bit if you want, watch a movie?"

I nod "That sounds great"