Remember Me

Ten

"Do we have to drive together?" I whine, stabbing my fork into my bowl of strawberries. "I don't want to spend any more time with you than I have to."

Noah smirks. "I'm touched, Auden, really."

"Anytime." I grumble. My mind was too frazzled, my stomach filled with butterflies. I can't eat; not a chance.

Noah was dressed a lot fancier than usual. He was sporting a plain with t-shirt, a checked button shirt which he had only done a few of the buttons of, a pair of denim jeans and his plain old black Converse.

The Converse were going nowhere.

For my outfit, I had a black stretchy t-shirt, a mint green skater skirt, and a pair of high-top black Converse.

I left my blonde hair down in flowing waves, and I stuck a white rose flower crown in my hair. I clicked my iPhone into a flower case, just for a little bit of matching credit. My earrings were the same colour of mint, and they were little roses.

As for my makeup, I put on some concealer, the tiniest amount of foundation, and a very light sprinkle of powder just to set the makeup.

I curled my eyelashes, slapped on some eyeliner and mascara, and I covered my lips in a coat of hot pink lipstick.

"Are you satisfied with my look?" I ask Noah as I reluctantly climb into his car.

"I guess. You're very flowery."

I roll my eyes. "Noah; first you say 'Go girly clothes!' and now you're all 'Ugh, flowers'. Make your damned mind up please." I stoutly put it, clicking my seatbelt into its little box.

Noah rolls his right back at me, pulling off.

"I don't understand why we have to go in the same car." I tell him.

"Because, chick, we're a couple. Couples don't act like they're allergic to each other."

"This is so wrong." I mumble, checking myself in the mirror.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but this is something I need desperately, okay?" Noah sighs. "Look, Auden, I just really have to impress these people. You have to be graceful and mannerly."

My hot pink lips form themselves into an 'o'.

"I am mannerly!" I shout. Just then, an extremely 'mannerly' burp escaped my mouth.

Noah flashes me a glare. "Yeah. Of course you are."

I shake my head, pointing at Noah. "That was a one off, okay mister?"

Noah chuckles, not removing his eye-sight from the road.

"These so called 'girlfriend' duties. What do I have to do?"

***

Noah was there for about a century and a bit, telling me the dos and don'ts of my fake-girlfriend duties.

"I am not kissing you." I warn Noah.

He smiles. "You know you want to!" he playfully sings. I hit him as hard as I can in the arm, but Noah doesn't flinch at all.

"So, I'll talk you through the main people to impress," Noah starts. "you don't have to worry about the kids. As long as you can lift them you'll be fine."

"There's Aunt Jeanine. She has crazy curls and she always wears this giant pearl necklace. You'll know what I mean soon. She likes plants, and she has a crush on Harry Styles."

"And Uncle Simon. He is bald, but he has really bushy eyebrows so you can't miss him. Simon really hates anything to do with technology, so don't go near that subject. Stay with books."

After Noah files me in on about a million different family members, I take a deep breath.

"How do you remember all of this?" I question. "Why do I even need to know all of this?"

"Because, you have to tell them that I'm always talking about the people." Noah explains with a huff.

"Seriously?" I blurt. "You can't be serious, Noah."

He grins. "I'm extremely serious. And if you're good, we can escape and I'll let you see Handy."

I grin. "Ooh, lucky me."

"We need to have to hold hands. We need to share our dessert, too. If my foster parents are going to believe this, we need to make them believe. Every family reunion, all the couples get a dessert to share. We have to do that."

I slowly nod. Sharing food with Noah? Gross.

"I'm allergic to marzipan. If you get me marzipan I will happily kill you when I recover from my swollen-ness has calmed."

Noah grins. "I'll order something with extra marzipan, just for you."

"Aww, thanks, babe." I mimic, nervously laughing at the sound of my own words.

I start to think about Noah, and the way he is in foster care. He hasn't mentioned anything at all about his childhood really, which is quite protecting and cynical of him.

I've practically taken out a journal of my life and handed it over to him. It was only missing a few secret chapters.

I meant not to say anything, but the words slipped right out of my stupid mouth before I could usher myself shut.

"That's why you're so cynical, isn't it? Because you're in foster care."

Noah closes his mouth, making his plump, red-pink lips disappear into the pits of his mouth.

I sigh, looking down at the goose bumps that have rose on my thighs. "I'm sorry." I mutter. "Once I start; I can't hold back the words."

Noah doesn't say anything. He just continues driving.

I turn on the radio to quench the unbearable silence. On comes a Birdy song. Oh great.

How depressing.

I was expecting the clouds to start spilling rain, just to add to the sad scene I was going through - but luckily, the burning sun still shone.

Well, if we're still doing this whole fake girlfriend thing, I've really just put a massive dent in our relationship.

*******************************************************************************

Hello Dreamers :) I hope you liked this chapter. I think car journeys are so much fun to write; especially when the passengers aren't exactly happy packers.

What do you think all of these secret chapters are, that Auden hasn't yet spilled? The closest guess gets the next dedication because what it is isn't actually that typical at all for a very typical book!

Thanks so much for reading <3