Broken Feathers

Cherry Wine

Chapter Nine: Cherry Wine (Hozier) 

  

Fuck counting for anything. I had never felt more like a female teenager before in my life. I was standing in front of the mirror, in my boxers, clothes strewn across the floor and considering cancelling on Star because I had no idea what to wear. What did she expect me to wear? I wanted her to at least...I dunno...be surprised that I could scrub up well. 

"Kal!" I whined. "I don't know what to wear!"  Kalem stared at me from his desk. 

"Kalem!" 

"I'm here! Jesus, Jay, just man up and put some clothes on." He rolled his eyes, getting up from his seat with the air of someone who literally couldn't care less that I was in utter turmoil. "Why does it matter what you're wearing?" 

"Because I need to make a good impression?" I was best friends with an idiot. 

"I don't think this is your first impression?"  

"No!" I exclaimed exasperatedly. "But I need to make a good impression." This was why I needed a female best friend. One that I couldn't bang and one that could tell me what would make Star happy. That way I wouldn't have to worry about this eejit. 

"Since when do you care about that?" Kalem asked, wrinkling his nose. 

I clicked my tongue irritably, glancing at my reflection once more. 

"Because I like her." It was really that simple. Kalem made a face, moving towards my wardrobe and letting his eyes dart over the clothes that were still hanging. 

"What about the waistcoat Darcie got you?" he asked, plucking it from its hanger. "Girls seem to like those?" 

I stared at him in disbelief. Maybe there was a reason I had never asked him for fashion advice before.  

"She bought it for a funeral, Kalem," I emphasised, my eyes bulging. Raking a hand through my hair, I picked up a pair of good trousers and tugged them on, matching it with a shirt that my mother had bought me for a family dinner. "That'll do." It wasn't great, and I probably wasn't dressed up enough but...it was just going to have to do. 

"Star wouldn't know that!" Kalem protested, still on about the bloody waistcoat. To humour in, I shrugged it on over my shirt. 

"I'll...be home. At some point," I muttered, tugging my jacket on and heading towards the door.  

"Have a good time!" Kalem called after me, and I was thankful that he hadn't thrown in any quip about not sleeping with Star on the first day, as he had been goading me about since I'd asked her out. 

It was mild outside, the sun just starting to disappear over the top of the Prep. The line of eateries were on the far side of the campus, and for a fleeting moment, I panicked. Should I have got her flowers or something? What if she'd expected flowers? Dammit. Rookie mistake. 

And wow. 

She was waiting outside, her arms crossed, hair piled up on the top of her head like a halo and anyone who saw the pair of us would have thought that she was the Angel here, not me. 

"Hey," I breathed, walking over to her and trying to appear more confident than I felt. 

"Hello," Star murmured, looking up at me in the dulling sunlight. 

"You...okay?" I asked. 

Fuck. This was going badly. Abort, abort! 

"Kinda nervous about this date..." she admitted, smiling faintly at me as I held the door open for her. The confession eased me slightly, and I felt myself smiling back at her.