limerence | COMPLETED

23

LAYLA'S PHONE IS ALIVE WITH MESSAGES THE NEXT MORNING. She blinks hazily up at her phone while she holds it above her face, her body comfortably curled up into a ball beneath her cosy duvet. The group chat she has with her friends is dancing with one message after the other wishing each other a great Christmas, first from the girls and soon followed by all of the guys except Kai, who is probably with his family.

James: yooo, guys, guess what Cole made us eat for our midnight snack last night

Mercy: do we really need to know?

Layla raises a brow and quickly types a reply. correction: do we care?

Callum: well excuse you

Mercy: you're excused

Layla: You're excused

Mercy: jinx bitch

Layla chuckles. However, when the group chat is suddenly filled with a picture of beans, spaghetti hoops and eggs mixed together in one bowl with toast on the side, courtesy of James, she gags.

That's disgusting

Savannah: Ew! Who eats beans and spaghetti hoops together?!

Mercy: what is wrong with you guys

James: okay, but here me out, it was actually yummy

Savannah: *hear

Kyle: smart-ass

And it was actually really tasty, thank you

Layla scrunches her face in disgust. No, beans on toast is yummy. Not beans and spaghetti...

James: try it before you judge

Kyle: y'all are missing out

Savannah: SURE

Shaking her head in disbelief, Layla finally pushes herself out of bed, leaving her phone on the new bedside table that she had finally finished building a few days ago. Maybe she can paint it after her shower. She should have some leftover paint from Warren out in the shed.

Stepping under the shower, Layla turns the water on and yelps when it falls ice-cold onto her bare skin. She clings onto the shower glass while she waits for the water to heat up. The storm hasn't died down like it was supposed to during the night, which must be why the heating isn't working properly. Not that Layla won't be going out later. She's been trapped indoors for way longer than she can handle and she needs fresh air.

She leaves the bathroom after she's finished and and she pads downstairs in just her towel, leaving a trail of water droplets in her wake. Once she's made herself a hot cup of tea, she heads back to her room to dry her hair and change into proper clothes for the first time in three days.

In her room, she grabs a pleated mini skirt, tights and a turtleneck with cutouts in the front and the shoulders to wear. When she spots Kai's hoodie neatly folded up alongside her own just as she goes to close her wardrobe door, she halts. Carefully, she picks the soft material up and looks down at it for a moment.

Keep it, he'd said. It looks good on you.

After another brief moment, she pulls it on over her top, instantly breathing in his familiar calming scent.

By the time she's dressed and done her makeup, it's nearly nine am and she finally heads downstairs with her bedside table to paint. After a few minutes of deliberation, she decides to paint the main part of the table white and leave the sandy brown wooden legs and handle as they are.