A Betting Game

9. Ariel's Beauty

Studying myself in the mirror, I grinned, brushing a stray cat hair from my trousers.

My reflection smiled back at me, revealing a set of perfectly aligned, white teeth. Unlike most days, I had actually bothered to run a comb through my jet hair, so that it lay flat across my forehead.

The black linen blazer that I had pulled over my white t-shirt and black jeans was also something unusual in my case.

I hardly ever made an effort.

"If you look too long in that mirror, it'll crack,"

With a smile, I glanced across to my bedroom door to the small girl who sat cross legged on the floor. She smiled back, large dimples forming on both of her pale cheeks.

"Says you, pleb," I replied, looking back at myself and using a hand to push a stray strand of hair which tickled at my nose.

"That's rude," My sister pouted as she spoke, her voice lisping slightly. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"To a party," Walking over to the shelf above my bed, I grabbed a bottle of Lynx, spraying it across my torso.

"With Ariel?"

Turning to look at Annabella, I frowned, narrowing my eyes slightly. "Ariel?"

"You know," She stood on her bare feet, swaying awkwardly in her pink Spongebob pyjamas. "The princess with red hair!"

"Yes, I know who Ariel is, Bells," Sighing, I picked my little sister up, resting her on my side. "But what are you on about?"

"Mummy said that you and the pretty girl at church are dating," With a toothy - or rather toothless - smile, her eyes light up mischievously. "I saw her, and I thought she looked like a princess... why would she go with someone as smelly as you?"

"Woah, come again," I chuckled quietly, walking her over to her room. The clock on the landing had just hit half eight, ten minutes till I had to pick up Olivia. "Me and... Ariel aren't dating. She's just a friend: kind of."

"That makes more sense then," Bella yawned slightly as I dropped her gently into her small bed, pulling the quilt up to her chin. I smiled as I closed the door, leaving it slightly open after her tired protests.

"Mum, me and Olivia are not dating," I stated as I entered the kitchen, before walking straight over to the door.

"So who are you going out to see now?"

After a moments hesitation, I replied. "Olivia,"

"Thought so,"

"Bye, mum,"

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

Walking up to the house, I dried my sweaty palms on my thighs.

The sun had just settled below one of the larger mountains to my right, causing that section of the sky was illuminated a fire orange. Keeping in mind the comment that Olivia had made during the brief phone conversation earlier in the day, I walked around the back of the house, keeping quiet as I passed a small open window.

Second window on the right.

Taking a shaky breath, I launched the balled up sock at the window, watching as it hit the glass with a low thud.

After a minute there was no reply.

As I went to throw a second sock, I watched it arch upwards, before going straight through the window.

"You complete fucking idiot," Olivia hissed, leaning over the window frame and beaconing me upwards. "Use the pipe, I'm not ready yet,"

Looking over at the old rusted pipe, I wiped my hands one more time before beginning to pull myself upwards. I was somewhat surprised by my apparent upper body strength.

With one final yank, I dragged myself over the window ledge, landing on the black carpet with a thud. Spending another moment with my face on the floor, I groaned.

The black room décor didn't surprise me really.

Sitting up, I leaned back against the wall under the window, which was significantly shorter a drop than I had imagined. A window seat. Huh, very Emily Bronte.

"You're so good at being subtle," Olivia muttered, causing me to look up.

The first thing I noticed, was that almost all the material in the room used for the curtains, and the bedsheets, was a dark leafy green. There was a double bed pushed to the corner of one side of the room, made of twirling black metal beams. On the other side of the room, stood a black painted wardrobe and drawers, which were decorated in soft white fairy lights.

Glancing over to Olivia, I held my breath.

She was turned away from me, smoothing down the material on her stomach gently. Her torso and upper thigh was covered in shimmering green velvet, contrasting against her white skin. The dress only just covered her butt both ways, as the top neckline dipped low to the bottom of her back just where dimples formed.

Her small feet wore a pair of tall, black high heeled boots, making her legs look ridiculously slender.

"You look..." I tumbled over my words, one leg stretched out in front of me as I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "Wow,"

Olivia turned slightly, looking over her shoulder. The slightest of blushes crept across her nose, and she smiled.

"Why thank you, Nat," As she spoke, I stood up, brushing fluff from my jeans. Clocking my outfit, she chuckled. "Nice to see you made an effort,"

"Babe, I always make an effort," I grinned, nodding slightly.

There was a moment of awkward silence, as I realised quite how beautiful the girl before me was.

She truly was a princess.

Eventually, she walked over to the window, stuffing her phone down her dress front. As she passed me, I moved my hand to rest against her back, coming into contact with the bare skin.

She paused, turning to me with a pained expression.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, letting my hand drop and looking down. As I moved away, she leaned upwards and kissed my cheek.

"Shut up," She murmured, before dropping out the window, climbing down the pole. "Oh, and Nat?" I smiled at her. "I know about the bet,"

Oh fuck.

Author's note:

Hey guys!

Just over a hundred reads, hell yea!

I love you for reading this by the way

<3