The Mystery Fighter III

The Mystery Fighter III (14)

A/N

Sorry for the hefty delay of this chapter. I'll do better x

______________________________

~Julian~

I put Celine's number into the contacts of my phone after parking the car outside her friend, Simone's, house. Celine's seatbelt was already off as she looked up at me expectantly from the passenger seat.

I gave her a tight-lipped smile as I finished writing the information on my phone, trying not to make the situation more rigid than it already was.

During the car ride, I had expected Cassie's younger sister to go on and on about her life as she always did when Cassie brought her over, but strangely enough, she had barely muttered a single word since we left the house.

Looking at her now, it seemed she couldn't get out of the car fast enough.

I cleared my throat.

«Right. You got my number in yours as well?» I asked her, gesturing to the flip phone on her lap.

She nodded, already reaching for the door handle.

My mind scrambled, thinking back to what else Cassie wanted me to remind Celine before she left.

«Uhm, remember to keep me updated if you guys head out somewhere. Or at least update Cassie,» I yelled the last part after her as she climbed out of the car.

«Yeah, I got it. Thank you, Julian. I'm sorry you have to babysit me like this,» Celine replied shortly. The small smile she offered didn't do well in hiding the gloomy expression on her face.

I fell speechless for a moment, not knowing if her expression stemmed from being under my care, or something else. Her words just now made it seem like she felt like she was a bother.

Letting out an easy chuckle, I leaned forward to look at her standing by the car door.

«No problem at all, Celine! You know how lonely it can get in our house when mom's at work,» I reassured her. Hopefully, I wasn't the reason for this. Had I offended her? Maybe I was nagging too much. If so, Cassie would flip.

We planned a time for her pickup before she turned and left for her friend. I sighed as I pulled out of the driveway and steered the car back to the main road. Those two sisters sure were talented at making me work for their approval.

As I sped down the highway, my phone lit up with a message appearing on the screen.

I've picked a movie for us tomorrow if you're down for it. Might be a bit cliche for you though...

-Lara.

My thoughts went back to yesterday's date. Having met Lara over the counter at the coffee shop only a few days prior, I hadn't been able to ignore the nerves in my body once I met up with her at the restaurant down the road. Embarrassingly enough, I hadn't been on a date since high school. Worried that the person would reject me once they got to know me better, I had always figured that it was better to just stick with flings. Better to not become too committed.