Love At First Text ✔️

Him

Eli:
We're gone. Everything you need under kitchen sink.

Succinct. To the point. Sebastian headed over to Charlotte and Elijah's about twenty minutes after that message.

Much to his surprise, the place was actually tidy. He imagined a mess, considering every time Charlotte got ready, she usually left the place discarded with odd pieces of jewellery she decided against, or a mountain of shoes she had tried on to see if they matched her outfit. Either Elijah had tidied up after her or... no, that was it. There was no other option it could possibly be.

Sebastian kicked off his shoes at the doorway and headed to the fridge. He grinned. Stocked with alcohol, so Eli won't much notice if one goes missing. He popped the cap off with a hiss, taking a deep swig while lowering himself to the cupboard. He could have one drink – he only had to run back in an hour to pick Ben and Sofia up, because there wasn't enough room in Hallie's car to bring Charlotte's entire family over. After that, he could drink what he pleased.

Besides, it probably wasn't the best idea to get drunk before he did the decorating. Elijah would skin him alive if it wasn't done properly. He looked in the cupboard and groaned.

This wasn't just a few trimmings. Three packets of balloons, a helium canister, banners and tinsel. "Kiss arse." Sebastian mumbled to himself. He had less than two hours to get this done – time in which he himself had to go home and change, then offer taxi rides too. He slouched himself on the floor, beer beside him. One hand fumbled with his phone, the other began opening the packets.

"Yes?" Nat's voice met him from the speaker, as impatient as ever. She hated phone calls – she was a texter, but Sebastian didn't have the time to waste with drawn out correspondence.

"Nat, how'd you like to do me a solid?" He asked her. Then frowned. 'Congratulations' banners? The first packet was birthday themed, but these? Did Eli pick them up by accident?

"What do you want from me now?" She retorted snappily.

"Eli's asked me to decorate the flat, but there's so much shit here, I'm never going to get it done in time." He heard her sigh, but she would never deny him.

"See you in five." The three beeps that followed told him she didn't see the need for goodbyes.

Sebastian put his phone in his pocket, took a second comforting drink, and pulled everything out of the cupboard, including the scribbled note of paper tacked to the helium canister.

'Be artistic. Use everything. Will you put the 'Congrats' ones over the tele? Oli and Ben will just end up watching footie otherwise. Cheers.'

Huh. So, no accident. What then – 'congrats, you got older'? Sebastian didn't question it. Instead, he got to work. If he knew anything about Natalie, it was that she was never just five minutes.

❀

By the time Nat arrived, Seb had already stuck all the banners around the flat and had allowed himself the company of music while he worked. He'd also finished his beer, which left him wishing he hadn't agreed to be a lift for anyone at all.

Nat jutted her bottom lip when she entered, nodding with shallow compliment. "Looking good." She told Sebastian. She already seemed in a much better mood than she had over the phone, and Sebastian didn't feel too guilty for disturbing her, for she was dressed in slouches, as though she wasn't busy at all. Sometimes he forgot that Nat was capable of relaxing – every time he saw her, she was nearly always glammed up.

She nudged a roller in her hair, pushing it back to where it should be sitting, and pulled her jacket tighter. "Put the heating on – it's freezing." She grumbled but did not let Sebastian answer before she was fiddling with the thermostat herself. "What do you need me to do?"