Faces (Lannan Eacott) *Under Editing*

Thirty-Three

The next day came and went and I had heard nothing from Lannan. The rational thoughts in my brain told me that he just got busy. He liked me. If not, he wouldn't have given me his number. The irrational thoughts along with my anxiety told me that it all meant nothing. He wanted a fun time and I couldn't give that to him.

I wanted to call or text him but I wanted him to miss me. Nikki encouraged me to make the first move but the rational part of my brain told me to sit this one out. It was better to end it now before it went anywhere and I did something I would regret in the future.

The constant bitching from Nikki only made matters worse. You could be missing out on the chance of a lifetime. She was partially right. I could be missing out on everything Lannan and I could be but to be fair, it had only been 12 hours since I last spoke to him. My dream left me in a vulnerable position. I dreamt of a version of Lannan that didn't exist. The man that I spent hours with the night before was real. He was there.

      Lannan promised he would text me, and I knew the life of a YouTuber could be hectic. I also knew that he, on some level, liked me. The day came and went and my hopes were gone.

"Nikks, if we watch this one more time I'm gonna throw up. Please." She sighed and turned the movie off.

"Okay, Sam. What is your problem? You love 'After'. Is it about Lannan?" I nodded and watched her eyes soften. "Sam, some guys just suck. Some guys see women as flowers. All unique. All beautiful. And they can't just be happy with one. I'm sorry he didn't turn out to be the one. But Samantha, you gotta realize not every guy is gonna be Jacob, but not every guy is gonna be good either. Just give it a day or so. Maybe it'll change." She patted the spot next to her on her bed and I quickly scurried over.

"Can we turn the movie back on?" She giggled and within seconds we were both lost in the movie.

I could feel my phone vibrating against my side and my eyes fluttered open to see the sun shining through the curtains. My hands flew towards my phone and my heart immediately stopped.

Good morning beautiful xx would you like to explore more of Australia today with a wild Aussie himself ;)

For once, Nikki was right. I quickly threw on my outfit for the day and left a short note telling Nikki where I would be. It didn't take long for me to find the house that Lannan had sent the address for. It was huge. Lovely, but huge. I could feel my hands begin to shake as I went to knock on the front door.

    Honestly, I didn't know how to act. I couldn't even think of anything to say to him. He was this massively attractive, already successful, man while I was just a random American girl touring with her class. My thoughts didn't get the chance to wander further because the second I looked up, my eyes caught his. I could be cliche and say they were two pools of honey each beautiful in their own way, but they weren't. It was the loveliest shade of brown I'd have ever known to exist. Blue eyes had always been my favorite, but right now, gazing into his, I knew that these were the eyes I wouldn't mind getting lost in forever.

     "Come in. I'm just finishing up some editing. You can wait in the kitchen with Tannar if you'd like." A small smile and nod later I was headed towards the kitchen.

     "You must be Tannar. I'm Sam." Tannar immediately stood straight from her prior stance. As if she were preparing to defend herself if absolutely necessary.

     "You're not an Ilsa, but at least you're pretty." I felt a slight sting at the name that rolled off her lips but I let it go. This was unfamiliar territory to me and it was best to not make anything worse by overreacting. "Where you from?" Just give a small smile and be yourself.

      "America. Elsah. Little town in Illinois." Don't word vomit. Don't over share. Just answer her question in the least amount of words you can.

      "America, aye?" I nodded. "That's the one place Lannan would live if he were to ever move. Ironic he catches the eye of an American girl."

       "Actually, he hit me with a ball." She giggles and rolled her eyes.

       "Don't be so," she paused, for what I'm assuming was to find the perfect word without hurting my feelings more. "awkward." I took a seat at the island, directly across from her. "He hasn't stopped talking about you. Kind of annoying if you ask me." I could feel the burning in my cheeks and immediately knew I was turning red. "Look, I'm sure you have good intentions, but he's my brother. Ilsa really destroyed him. Just, please, take care of his heart." I nodded, unsure of what to say next.

      As if he could sense my overwhelming need to remove myself from the situation, Lannan entered the room.

      "Ready?"