Friday Night Tutor

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"He said he loved you?" Audrey's head whips toward me and I scream when we nearly swerve off into one of my neighbours gates. "Shit," she exclaims as she straightens the car, "Sorry."
"You're going to kill us one day," I say breathlessly, holding my hand to my chest in an attempt to calm down my erratic heartbeat. Damn, I had not missed Audrey's early morning drives.
"Sorry! Now tell me, what the hell did you say back?" she asks. I turn my head toward the window, letting my hair fall in my face to hide my slight blush. "Lexi? What did you say?" she asks again, her tone sceptical.
"I told him I loved him back," I mumble.
"Alexa!" she shouts.
"Audrey! Watch where you're going!" I scream as the car swerves again. "Damn, why did you have to drive me?
"Because your stupid boyfriend bailed on you," she says, waving slyly to the security guard stationed at the gate.
"He's not my boyfriend," I huff, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Oh yeah?" One of Audrey's perfectly shaped brows rise in disbelief, "Then why did he tell you he loved you?"
"Because friends can say that to each other!"
"Do friends usually tell each other they love each other, than go completely MIA?" she asks.
"Argh! I don't know, okay?"
"What exactly happened after the fight?"
I take a deep breath to calm my damn hormones, "Nothing, we just said we loved each other. Then, he went off with his dad."
"When did you talk next?"
I shrug, "We didn't. I texted him after the fight, but he didn't reply. When I woke up this morning, I saw that I had gotten a text from him at around three in the morning."
"The text telling you to ask me to pick you up?" I nod in confirmation. "Did he say anything else?"
"Nope, just said he can't give me a ride. I asked him if he's going to come to school, but he didn't reply."
"Don't sound so deflated," Audrey says. "Maybe he just got in really late and decided to come in late?"
I shrug my shoulders and get out of the car as soon as Audrey puts the car into park. "Something isn't sitting right with me," I admit with a sigh, "But, I could just be over reacting."
"True," Audrey puts her arm around me, "Well, let's not let something that could be nothing ruin our day."
"Let what ruin our day?" Teddy asks as we approach our friends.
"New Meat stood Lexi up this morning," Audrey says to them bluntly.
I elbow her in the stomach, "Dude, I was not stood up."
"What happened then?" George asks.
"Nothing, he just told me to get a ride with Audrey," I say nonchalantly.
"Ooooh," Eli and Jax chorus.
"Oh shut up, you little school girls," I laugh as I shove passed them. "Where's Adam?"
"He had to go see coach," George says. "Nothing serious, don't worry."
"How long till the bell?" I ask no one in particular.
"Few minutes, let's head in. It'd quite cold today," Eli says, putting his arm around Teddy and brushing his hand up and down her arm.
Audrey manages to distract me in my first few classes, but when lunch rolls around and I sit at our table - an empty chair beside me - my thoughts immediately go back to Danny.
Jax sits in the vacant seat beside me. "Look at this," he says, sticking his phone in my face.
I see a blurry image of the ring from the fight yesterday, "What is this?"
"Press play," he says, grinning.
I shrug and press play and watch as the blurry image of the ring comes into focus. I blush slightly as a familiar scene plays out before me. "Ew, is that how I look from the back?" I say, cringing at my own image as I run up to the ring.
"It's not as bad as your running," Jax says, his face pressed close to mine so he can watch the video too.
I slap his cheek lightly, "I run like an Olympic," I say, not able to hold back my little smile as I watch Daniel pull me into the ring and into a hug, then spin me around. The memory of his arms around me making me miss him more. Ugh, I sound so pathetic. I mentally slap myself for my idiocy and turn my concentration back to the video.
The video gets shaky as Jax begins to walk up to the ring himself. I laugh when Eli is caught on the video slipping as he attempts to get into the ring. "Smooth," I say to Eli as everyone else laughs.
"Hey, I didn't know you caught that," he says, then shrugs, "Not everything about me can be perfect."
The recording cuts off abruptly. "Hey, what happened to the rest?"
My friends all look at Jax and burst into laughter again. "That," George says, "Is when Jax fell while laughing at his brother."
Jax snatches his phone from my hands when my laughter joins the others', "Not funny. I could have died!"
"Don't be such a wuss, you play football, you should be used to falling on your ass," I say, still laughing. My friends laughs only get louder - my joke wasn't that funny. I look at Jax and see that he's blushing and avoiding eye contact. "What?"
"He fell on his face this time, not his ass," George informs me and I look at Jax's reddened face and burst into laughter once again.
"Damn bullies," Jax mutters as he spears a fry with his fork.
Audrey quickly moves, halting Jax's arm. "Be careful, Jaxon. That fork is pointy," she says in a patronising tone.
The rest of lunch goes on with everyone making fun of Jax, and occasionally Eli about their oh-so-graceful falls. Right after school, I asked The twins to take me straight to the bakery. I thought I might as well get there early and help Miss Cecelia as I have nothing better to do.
Over the last few weeks Daniel had been my personal chauffeur. After school we would go back to my house, or to the bakery and from there he would go to the gym after dropping me off. So understandably, I was a little irked when I arrived at work over an hour early, still having not heard a word from Daniel. I don't want to sound like a clingy cow - if cows could be clingy, that is - but a small, one word text from Daniel so that I could at least know the idiot was alive would ease my anxiety a little.
I mean, the boy kisses me - given, I did kiss him back. Well, okay, technically I kissed him - whatever, screw the details right now. Then, he tells me he loves me - given I did tell him I loved him back, then has the decency to send me a shady text and disappear. For the love of all things holy, this didn't have to be so complicated. But you're complicating it, a little voice reminds me in the back of my head and I promptly tell it to fuck off.
"Excuse me, young lady!"
My head whips around when Miss Cecelia's voice booms from behind me. "Huh?"
"I don't want any of that foul language in my shop. I can practically smell the milk going sour from your running mouth!" Miss Cecelia mounts her fists on her wide hips and gives me a look that would make grown men shit their pants.
I realise then that I had been speaking my thoughts out loud. Shit, isn't that a sign of insanity? A dish towel comes down and smacks me hard on the thigh, "Did you not hear what i just said?"
Dammit, again? I made sure I kept that thought in my head.
I put my hands up in surrender, "Sorry! I'm sorry!"
Miss Cecelia purses her lips, twisting the dish towel in her hands, "Mmhmm, you better be."
"I am. Now, please, put the dish towel down," I say slowly, grinning at her when she moves to hit me with it again but misses.
The crazy old woman concedes and puts the towel down, finally. Her facial features soften as she walks toward me, "Now tell me, child. What's got your forehead all creased and your mouth running sour?"
I sigh, not wanting to dish out my petty problems to Miss Cecelia and tell her it's nothing. She replies with a 'don't bullshit me' look and I give in, telling her about last night, then this morning.
Miss Cecelia smiles and shakes her head wistfully at me, "Oh you silly, naive child," she begins, patting me on the shoulder. "When I was younger- about your age - I was in a similar predicament. When I went and told my Momma, she told me 'make seventy excuses for someone before accusing them of anything', or in your case, thinking badly of them. Do that, and you'll go a long way in life with a whole herd of people by your side."
"I guess you're right."
After patting me on the shoulder a last time, Miss Cecelia leaves me to my work. My mood doesn't get any better after our little talk, but I don't quite feel like killing Daniel any more. As the evening goes on and day turns to night, the flow of customers slows and I begin to think up seventy excuses for Daniel.
Maybe he lost his phone? Or it died? Or broke? Or he was really tired after the fight?
I keep doing this, eventually losing count - and losing my sanity as my excuses get weirder in my mind. I'm laughing at my own thoughts, all the while writing my name over and over on a notebook on the counter - it's the only thing I can write remotely legibly, anything else comes out as a scrawl; and I won't even delve into my serious lack of ability when it comes to drawing, doodling included.
I'm too engrossed in my own world to register the jingle of the bell as the bakery door opens, letting in a gust of cold, frigid wind. I don't register the tall, dark haired boy wearing all black walk slowly up to the counter, a gym bag in his hands, bending down to rest his elbows on the hard wood surface, mounting his head on his hands.
"You know, it's been psychologically proven that people who write their names over and over are more self centred than people who don't."
I jump at the sound of Daniel's voice, nearly falling off of my high stool.
In an instant, Daniel reaches over the wide table, grabbing my shoulders and steadying me. "Thank you," I say, still catching my bearings. Then, I slap Daniel on the arm, "Where have you been?"
Daniel grabs onto his arm dramatically, pouting, "Ouch."
"Shut up, that didn't hurt."
This time he clutches onto his chest, "'Ouch' isn't enough to describe the pain you're causing me."
"Shall I hit you again?" I ask, raising my hand.
"Okay! Stop!" He pleads, walking around the counter. I watch as he stomps toward me jokingly, holding his arms arms out. I refuse to smile, staring at him blankly. "Missing me made you grumpy," he says, his arms coming around my shoulders tightly, his lips on my temple. Daniel pulls away, his arms still on me, "I texted you half asleep - which is why I probably sounded like an ass," he explains, smiling guiltily. "I just woke up a few hours ago, and couldn't charge my phone because my charger broke. I spent half the night having drinks with an old friend of dads who also happens to be the recruiter for the college I want to go to."
Daniel stared intently at my face, waiting for a reply. His blue, blue eyes sparkle under the harsh bakery lights when I roll my eyes and sigh, "Fine."
He hugs me again and we both laugh lightly. "You could have used your laptop, or iPad to iMessage me, you know," I inform him.
Daniel's head tilts to the side, "Shit, I didn't think of that."
I laugh when Daniel jumps, rapidly turning around and grabbing onto his thigh. "What was that for?!" He shouts at Miss Cecelia who's smugly holding that damned dish towel in her hands again.
"For using words I'm sure your momma didn't teach you!"
Daniel smiles guiltily, like a child caught eating candy from the forbidden shelf of the pantry. "Sorry?"
"You better me," Miss Cecelia says, lowering her towel clad hand, then turns to me, "go dry that boy's hair before he catches a cold and infests my store," she orders before walking off.
I pull off Daniel's beanie and shake my head as he turns around, his face once again housing that guilty child expression. I flick his wet hair before he takes me by the hand, leading me to the back room we're both now too familiar with.
Danny sits in his usual stool, wedged between two metal shelving units, reading the same baking recipe book as always as I slowly dry his hair. We talk about the fight, school, and what he missed. I also tell him about the video, and Eli and Jax both falling. Daniel laughs, and I can't help but smile when his baritone voice washes over me, warming me from head to toe.
Before long, Miss Cecelia is poking her head through the door to the stock room, informing us that she's locked up and going to bed.
I glance at my wristwatch, surprised that time had flown so fast. "I'm sorry, I wasn't keeping track of the time," I admit, feeling guilty for leaving Miss Cecelia alone out front.
Miss Cecelia smiles at the two of us, waving off my apologies, "No worries. It's late, though. You kids better head home."
We say our goodbyes and leave the bakery, walking briskly to Daniel's car. Correction - motorbike. I smile widely when I see the sleek, black bike parked a few stores away. Danny throws me a helmet and I stroke the soft leather seat, "I've missed you, buddy."
Daniel scoffs beside me, "You'll admit to missing the damn bike, but not me."
I quickly cover the two side mirrors, pretending they're ears, "Shh! She'll hear you."
Daniel takes the helmet I left on the seat and plops it onto my head, fastening the buckle for me. He puts his own helmet on and knock both of our heads together lightly before swinging himself over the bike. I do the same and relish in the feel of the monster purring beneath me as we pull onto the main road and ride smoothly home. I scoot close to Daniel, moving my hands under his jacket to protect them from the onslaught of the wind, blushing slightly when I realise my hands accidentally went underneath his shirt too. The feel of the skin of his taut abdomen beneath my palms and fingers are heavenly. Danny doesn't seem to notice, or mind as we ride at a steady pace across town. We glide along the long, winding roads of our town, absorbing the crisp November air before arriving home.
Danny winds the bike quietly around the fountain in front of my house before we both dismount. He undoes my helmet, then his own.
"Tomorrow?" He asks.
I point my finger at him in warning, "You better be here. I nearly puked all over Audrey's car from her erratic driving this morning."
Daniel laughs, "Like it would make a difference, that thing is nasty. It needs a serious cleaning."
"Yes!" I whoop. I do a little dance and quickly get out my phone, texting Audrey Daniel's words, all the while, Daniel staring at me, his expression a little bewildered and a lot worried.
After I've sent the text, I look at Daniel and laugh at his expression, explaining Audrey's car cleaning rule. Daniel listens intently, shaking his head fondly when I finish. "Only you two would come up with something like that."
I step forward, putting my arms around Daniel's torso, hugging him tightly toward me when his arms automatically rise to encircle my own body, "Going to head in now. It's too cold for fountains chats."
"Okay, we'll schedule our next fountain chat on a warmer night." Daniel kisses my temple and pulls away. I walk toward my house and stop just as I reach the top step leading to the front door, "Night Danny, Love you," I say without thought, the words coming to me naturally.
A beautifully bright grin springs onto Danny's face, "Night, Lex. Love you, too."

-

Author's Note:
(Feel free to skip my long ass, late night ramblings. Go on, I forgive you...)

Sorry this took so long, I've been out of the country for the passed two weeks and have had zero wifi (First world problems *rolls eyes*). I finally got some down time and decided to finish up C18 (instead of the 4 assignments I have due next week) - which I started back in London, fully having planned to upload before I left on Boxing Day - I'm not good at sticking to plans, what can I say?

Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy his short chapter. Hopefully, there'll be a longer one next time. I have something planned (laughs evilly after leaving you guys in the dark).

Finally, on a slightly more positive note, I've started actually writing three new stories. I know what you must be thinking - three! Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you, Em? But, I don't know, it kind of just happened. One is ready to go up, but I'm waiting till I reach a certain amount of reads on this story. (For more Info, random updates and general random crap, check out my twitter Emily_Eaton_ I don't really tweet much, just random FNT updates, and other things. Feel free to DM, message etc me - and ooh! HAPPY NEW YEAR!)

Unedited for now, sorry!

If you managed to read this whole AN, you're a bloody unicorn, with rainbow snot and glittery crap, and all!

EE x