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Holly's POV
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"Ugh, I don't know what to wear," I sigh, running a hand through my curled hair.
"Put on that dress again. It was cute"
It's Saturday morning and JJ, Ella, Simon, Talia, Callux, Ryan, Charlie, and I are due to go pick out some christmas trees in a couple of hours. Initially, the trip was only supposed to be JJ, Ella, me, Simon and Talia, but when Lux heard where we were going, he realized he didn't have a christmas tree either, and now they're joining us, hence why I'm on a facetime call with Niki and Arielle deciding on what to wear. I was just going to wear sweatpants and a hoodie, but now that Ryan's coming, I want to dress a bit better. Not for any reason obviously...
"But lose the tights," Niki says, looking at the outfit on me. "Dress and no tights is cute"
"I'll fucking freeze!" I protest, looking outside the window.
It's early December, but frost and ice have already said hello to the garden. Ella's windshield was covered in ice this morning when she wanted to go pick up coffee, and the grass in the garden looks like it was dusted with powdered sugar. Don't get me wrong, I love winter and snow when I'm on the inside, but the second I feel cold outside, it's game over. England is fucking around with the cold this year, and I swear this is the coldest I've ever felt.
"Why not just wear your sweats?" Arielle asks, her blue eyes tracing the sweats in the background of my camera.
"There's a boy," Niki says, rolling her eyes. "How many times do we have to say.."
"Jeeez, sorry," Arielle laughs. "I just could never trade cozy for a man, I'm sorry"
"Neither," I sigh with a frown. "When did I become this way?"
I'm deep in thought when a knock on my bedroom door makes me look over my shoulder.
"Sorry to interrupt," Ella smiles, setting a mug of hot chocolate down on the floor next to me. "Just thought you might like something warm"
"Thanks, El," I smile back at her.
"Hey, girls!" Ella grins, waving at Niki and Arielle on the phone. They wave back and say hello.
"I'll leave you girls to it"
Ella leaves the room and I sigh, gathering my hair in both hands and tugging. Dressing is so frustrating.
"You look like you're about to shit yourself," Niki says.
I give her a look and sigh again. Arielle just laughs.
"Guyssss," I whine. "I need help!"
"Ask Ella," Arielle suggests. "She always looks amazing"
"Yeah, but...," I start and then trail off. I would go to Ella, but I don't want her to think there's anything happening between Ryan and I when I could only be imagining the chemistry.
"Wait...so what happened with Speed?" Niki asks.
Ah, yes. The dreaded question.
"I honestly don't know," I sigh with a shrug. "His replies are awful and he's back in the US now. We haven't made progress"
"That sucks," Arielle says. "But maybe it's a good thing? Long distance is painful"
"Yeah," I nod. "It's okay, I guess. It wasn't serious or anything"
There's a slight pause in the air but luckily, JJ walks into the room at that moment and rests on the open door. He mouths 'can we talk' and I nod, turning to my phone.
