*Beauty*
I watched from the first floor windows as Will's car pulled out of the cinema parking lot.
Oh, Will.
I still couldn't believe it. I'd had an actual conversation with my seven-year crush. Sure, I'd stuttered repeatedly and blushed furiously but I'd spoken to him.
And...he'd touched my face. Electricity still sparked where his fingers had brushed my skin as he pushed back my hair. I reached up to touch my cheek, remembering the pleasant burning sensation I'd felt at his feather light touch.
I would never forget the way his dark green eyes had watched me.
In the middle of the movie, I'd fled the theatre. A romantic scene had led to half of the couples, including Tyler and Gemma, in the room making out. Justin had stretched over, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. He'd leaned closer to me, repeating his sentiment about how gorgeous I looked.
I got out of there.
Seeing Will standing outside, in front of the food stand, had filled me with such vast amounts of relief that it wasn't even funny. I was still angry that Gemma had interrupted what was our first decent conversation. Especially when she'd questioned me because we were talking about school. Will probably thought I was shallow now.
Once Gemma had dragged me back to the cinema, I'd managed to wedge myself in the seat between Tyler Benton and another couple. By the time Justin returned, the couple was too busy exchanging tongues to pay attention to his request for them to switch seats. And so I spent the rest of the movie imagining Will and I were the actors in the movie.
I sighed dreamily as I mentally repeated our conversation.
"Your hair was in your face," he'd murmured as his hands hovered over my ear.
I'd put my hair over my face any day for you to touch me again.
"Ellie? Ellie?"
Justin hovered over me, his brows furrowed. He gestured to where Tyler and Gemma were descending the escalator. "Come on, we have to head to the party."
"Oh." I blinked out of my daze as I stood, following after them.
Gemma Henderson was known for her legendary parties. They'd transformed from extravagant sleepovers when we were five to wild bashes when we were seventeen. Gemma's parents were either always busy or always willing to spoil their only daughter.
As Tyler's car pulled into Gemma's expansive driveway, the sound of loud music thumped through the air, making the windows of the car tremble.
Another thing, Gemma's house was huge. Her father worked in the same company as my dad did and so was willing to dish out money to buy the large red brick mansion up ahead.
Hooting, Tyler jumped out of the car he'd barely parked, followed by a giggling Gemma.
To avoid being stuck in the car with Justin, I hurriedly stumbled out, making my way uphill to the front door. Gemma leaned on Tyler as she pressed the doorbell.
After a few moments, the door swung open. Madison Jefferson strode out, her face sliding into a bright grin.
Madison Jefferson was deputy head cheerleader numero uno and one of my best friends. Her white grin was a stark contrast to her flawless brown skin. Black hair framed her face, pouring down onto the stylish red sweater dress she wore over her tall lean figure. Her long lashes framed her sparkling cocoa brown eyes. Her lips were glossed a sparkly pink.
She pulled Gemma into a quick hug before rolling her eyes. "Late to your own party Gem?"
Gemma giggled and curtsied. "Fashionably so."
Madison just laughed as Tyler and Gemma shuffled into the dim front room, lit only by pink and blue strobe lights.
Madison grinned when she saw me, tugging me in for a hug. "You look gorgeous bae." She pulled back, scanning her eyes over my face. "So...?" she wiggled her eyebrows. "How was the cinema?"
I laughed, shrugging. "It was more eh than anything else." Until I spoke to Will of course.
Madison gave me a sceptical look. "Fine, we'll talk about it later." She gave Justin a friendly smile before dragging me into the throng of the party.
People said hi to me as I walked by, patting my shoulder and back as Madison led me to the kitchen.
Madison pulled me into a secluded corner. "So Justin Markson is hot, huh?"
I frowned. "I guess." Not as hot as Will though.
Madison rolled her eyes impatiently. "Well? Was the date fun? Did you like him?"
Before I could speak, Layla Chang purposely shoulder bumped me. "Boo."
Layla Chang was the last of my best friend quartet. She was also my third deputy head cheerleader and held the same position as Gemma. Layla wore a black bodycon dress (her usual attire) that stuck to every one of the enviable curves on her voluptuous body. Her onyx eyes were framed by thick fake lashes and black smoky eye make-up. Her lips, painted a daring red, contrasted with her pale flawless skin. Long straight black hair swayed around her hips.
I gave her a quick hug. "Hey Layla."
"We were just talking about Ellie's date with Justin," Madison quipped, shooting Layla a look.
"Oh." Layla raised a brow. "How was pretty boy?" she asked in her husky voice.
Layla had one of those voices girls envied. Unlike Madison's (also nice) mature but girly voice, Layla's was deep in a feminine way and hardly betrayed any emotion. I wished I could talk without my emotions being totally obvious.
I frowned. "It wasn't a date."
Layla and Madison shared a look. "But you still think he's hot right?" Madison pressed.
I shrugged. "I guess."
Madison nodded. "That's good enough for me." She grabbed Layla and I's hands, shooting us another grin. "Now lets go find Gemma before she ends up with a viral video of her dancing halfâwell, you know Gem."
We both laughed as Madison pulled us through the crowd of sweaty teenagers. Gemma was dancing with Tyler Benton in the middle of the living room, her hair caught in the gaze of a blue strobe light. She held a red plastic cup in her hand.
We tugged her away from Tyler. She laughed as she fell into us, the remnants of her drink sloshing in her cup.
"You guys having fun?" she screamed.
"This is great!" Madison responded, yelling over the music.
"Some people are having too much fun," Layla scowled.
We all turned to see what Layla was glaring at.
A few feet from us, fellow cheerleader and Madison's cousin Chelsea Simmons stood atop a table, dancing in scanty clothing consisting of a mini-skirt and crop top. Her dark brown hair poured over her mahogany skin. She pouted and preened as boys around the table hooted and raised their cups to her.
Gemma scowled. "Who invited her?"
Madison tugged on Layla and Gemma's hands. "Forget her. Let's dance guys."
At that exact moment, a new song blasted through the speakers.
"Oooh, this is our song!" Gemma squealed.
Laughing, Gemma and I kicked off our heels. I grabbed Layla while Gemma grabbed Madison and we dragged them with us to the dance floor.
***
The screech of my alarm clock jarred me out of my sleep.
My hand reached out for the alarm clock, attempting to switch it off from where I lay, buried face first in tonnes of pillows. When the clock fell to the floor but still kept screeching, I shoved myself off my bed and switched it off before tossing it to the corner of my room.
"Ow," I muttered in response to my skull splitting headache. I couldn't handle waking up early.
If my mother found out I was awake at 6:00 am I would be dead. One of Mom's Beauty-Rules-To-Never-Be-Broken was that all her daughters (and her husband) had to sleep for at least nine hours because sleep ensured nice skin, good hair and no eye bags. Since I'd stumbled my way into the house from Gemma's party after 3:00am, I'd slept less that three hours.
Most of the guests had defied their parents by staying past 3:00am. Though, what was funny was they were unlikely to get into too much trouble because Mr Henderson was well respected in this town.
Gemma was probably asleep on her living room couch, tangled up with Tyler, whom she'd probably been making out with last night. Madison was probably cleaning up the huge mess left from the party while Layla slept in Gemma's room.
Me? I'd headed home early for one reason: I needed to be awake at exactly 6:00 am in my own house on Saturday.
Why you ask? For a very important reason you'll see in a moment.
Exhausted, I dragged my spinny chair to the window next to my bed and stared with blurred eyes out the window. The clock (not my alarm clock which was still in the corner of the room) on my desk declared it was 6:07. I drowsily stood, brushing my teeth and dragging a comb through my hair.
You could never be too careful.
At exactly 6:14, I sat on the chair and stared out the window, my breath held in anticipation.
6:14 and 54 seconds, 6:14 and 55 seconds, 56 seconds, 57 seconds, 58 seconds, 59 seconds...
The moment the clock hit 6:15, he was there.
Will emerged from the street bend, running along the pavement in front of my house.
My heartbeat escalated.
He wore black shorts that revealed parts of his muscled thigh and his lean muscled calves. They matched his taut black top, outlining his sinewy frame. Headphones hung from his ears and I yearned to run with him, sharing his music.
He didn't wear his glasses when he ran, giving me a full view of those amazing emerald irises and thick lustrous dark lashes. His face was calm, as always, while his dishevelled black hair fell over his forehead. Stubble graced his unshaven chin. He panted as he ran, releasing white breath into the cold grey morning air.
I couldn't breathe.
He was so beautiful.
Too quickly, he was gone, disappearing down the street. Like every Saturday morning for the last few years, he didn't just take away my breath.
He took my heart with him.
I slumped back into my seat.
Would I ever be lucky enough to have him as my own?
I sighed. Whether I would be or not, at least I would be with him today. In his house, with his gaze on me.
That was my last thought as I groaned, collapsing onto my bed.
***
Thank you for reading :)
This chapter is dedicated to Gotasecret14 because every time she comments, she makes me laugh XD
God bless xxx
Yemi Everest