By Chance

11 - Genevieve

I woke up the next day sprawled out on Grace's bed. Sitting up, I asserted my surroundings. The memories of last night flooded my head as if I was suffering from a bad hangover. I rubbed my throbbing head as the moments I had nearly forgotten came rushing back. The laughing. The screaming. Harry. My eyes expanded as I remembered clearly what had happened, I had thought it was a dream, but I was fortunately wrong.

I started to kick off the covers wildly and realized there weren't any, triggering a flash of memories from last night. We had fallen asleep giggling after a whole day of sightseeing, so we were worn out with everything that went on. Plus, Harry suddenly calling me at nine o'clock at night while I was watching a movie with Grace didn't help us fall asleep any faster.

We stayed up until two in the morning talking and planning Harry and I's future (which was mainly Grace's doing, but I wasn't completely silent about the topic either) while giggling like banshees the whole time. No wonder it felt like I had chugged an entire keg of beer. I sprang out of bed and woke Grace up without remembering that she had fallen asleep next to me.

"What the heck was that for?" she asked tiredly, looking at how the inside of my head felt.

"No, no, no, no..," I repeated, searching for my phone.

"What is wrong with you-" I looked over at her to see the same expression of panic written on my face now on hers as well.

"YOUR DATE!" she exclaimed, squirming out of bed and dysfunctionally flopping on the floor.

"YEAH, AND IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS-" I stopped short. Apparently, I had knocked the digital clock on the nightstand onto the floor when I jumped out of bed 30 seconds ago. I picked it up to get a better look at the time. 9:22.

"CRAP!!!" I yelled, dropped the clock on the floor, and sprinted to my suitcase. I zipped it open and threw back the cover furiously, throwing my clothes out of it by the handfuls, trying to find something suitable to wear in such little time.

"What can I do?!" Grace asked panickedly.

"GET MY PHONE. TEXT HARRY. TELL HIM. THAT I MIGHT BE. A FEW MINUTES. LATE," I yelled in between tossing out clothes only to stumble upon the best candidate.

"PERFECT!" I shouted triumphantly. I grabbed a pair of gray boots that matched and sprinted into the bathroom. I had Googled the cafe the night before and saw that it was only five minutes from the hotel, but I still needed time to get ready.

When I finished rapidly putting on my clothes, I looked at myself in the mirror and decided I needed some major sprucing up. My hair was unbrushed and frizzy, and I had giant, Costco- sized bags under my eyes. I immediately plugged in my straightener and brushed my hair while it heated up.

"He says it's okay with a smiley-face emoji!" Grace bellowed to me from outside the door.

I did a happy dance while I slammed my brush down on the counter harder than I thought, causing me to cringe at myself. I picked up the straightener and started flat-ironing my hair immediately after I put down my brush. It took me around ten minutes to go through my hair rapidly and straighten everything while still doing a decent job. I unplugged the cord from the wall, definitely too quickly to be safe, but that didn't break my sonic stride.

I whipped out the lipstick, mascara, eyeshadow, and blush out of my makeup bag, ready to let the real games begin. I grabbed the eyelash curler on the counter, not paying attention to if it was mine or Grace's, and started curling. I then put on enough mascara to look like I hadn't been clubbing all night at first glance and stuffed the tube back in the bag once both eyes were done.

"It's 9:50!" Grace yelled worriedly in a sing-song voice.

"Thanks!" I shouted back, nearly finished painting my face.

"Annnnnnnddddd DONE!" I cheered triumphantly, bursting the bathroom door open.

"BRO, YOU LOOK AMAZING. HOW?!" Grace asked in pure shock at my speedy yet fashionable wardrobe choice.

"Oh, this old thing?" I playfully asked, pulling at my skirt.

In the bottom of my suitcase, I forgot that I had packed a 'just-in-case' outfit, which was just an adorable outfit in case a sudden situation involving a certain boy arose, which came in handy for my date. I wore a high-necked, dusty-rose colored sweater tucked into my mini plaid skirt with stripes of dark and light pink, white, black, and gray crisscrossed stripes all around it. I paired the sweater and skirt with a pair of knee-high, gray and velvet boots that had a high, chunky heel that made me about two inches taller (which I didn't need because I was already 5' 7, but a little more height never hurt anyone).

"You gotta go. It's 9:55," Grace said while ushering me out the door.

"Okay, so I got my purse and my phone. I think that's all I need, right?" I asked, biting my lip in contemplation.

"You're fine! Now go! Enjoy your FIRST DATE EVER!" she cheered while pushing me out the door, shutting it behind me.

I guess it is my first date, which has never really sunk in. Yeah, Grace and I plotted girlish schemes last night for four hours, but the 'first date ever' thing didn't really occur to me until now. But I didn't have time to stand and think. I had to go! I quickly jogged to the elevator and got in, pressing the 'lower level' button with my knuckle, my hands shaking wildly because of nerves.

The longest 20 seconds of life finally passed, and I zoomed off the elevator and into the complimentary breakfast area, swooping an orange off the fruit stand.

"Genevieve, slow down!" I heard a familiar voice announce as I sped past the tables. I slowly walked back to see Elijah and John sitting in a booth, shocked by the speed of sound I was traveling at.

"Sorry guys, can't! Got my date with Harry, bye!" I replied and swiftly walked off, forgetting that I hadn't told them about my plans.