Charms or Banjos?

Chapter 9

At the end of the party, Jessica, Paige and Alex were all waiting for a taxi with the others. Paige's parents and siblings were going in one taxi, Alex's parents and sister were in another, and Alex offered to go with Paige and Jessica because Paige's house was only down the street from his own. "So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Alex asked Jessica whilst they waited. "Um, I don't know, Paige has a driving lesson tomorrow, so I was going to go home when she left. Why?" She replied. "I was wondering if you finally wanted to meet Bella, Max and Cozmo?" Alex answered. "That would be great."Jessica said, smiling like an idiot. Alex smiled too and wrapped his jacket around her shoulders before pulling her close to his side. "Great, now I have to third wheel with my best friend and my brother. God, this is like a book I swear." Paige exclaimed with disgust as their taxi pulled up. Alex and Jessica laughed at Paige and got into the taxi, cuddling up with each other in the back.

A few days after the party, Jessica and Paige were back at college. Jessica was still giddy every time she saw Alex at college, butterflies going crazy in her stomach at even just a glimpse of him. Before Paige's lesson, the two girls went to the back smoking area so Paige could have a vape before the 90 minute lesson. "There's my girl." Jessica heard Alex say from behind where she and Paige were stood. "Hey Alex." Jessica replied, the butterflies in her stomach cloaking the nerves she had around Alex's friends. He wrapped his arm around her waist and stood talking to her and Paige for a few minutes, before his friends called him over to go back to their lesson. "I've got to go, but I'll talk to you later okay?" Alex told Jessica. "Okay, bye." Jessica replied. Alex kissed her temple and squeezed her hand before going back to his friends. "You owe me £10 Jess. I told you he would give the whole princess treatment." Paige said, laughing slightly. "No fair, you've known him so much longer than me." Jessica groaned with mock annoyance, whilst inside, the butterflies in her stomach erupted further. "Let's go, I want a coffee." Paige said, putting her vape away before walking back to the turnstiles.

"Hey, you coming back with me and Alex?" Paige asked once the two finished English Lit. "Uh, I wish I could, but my mum is picking me up, my brother has karate." Jessica replied, frowning a bit. "Okay, message me when you're home." Paige said, hugging her friend goodbye. "Say hi to your mum for me."

"Where's Jess?" Alex asked once Paige arrived at the gate where Alex was waiting for her. "Her brother has karate so her mum picked her up." Paige replied. The way Alex's face dropped when he heard that Jessica would not be joining the pair of them on the car ride home, made Paige smile. Even if he didn't know it yet, he loved Jessica, and that made Paige all the more happy. After Jessica's only other relationships, she deserved a guy like Alex, a guy who worships the ground she walks on.

Two days before Christmas Eve, Paige and Alex's families packed up their cars to spend their first ever Christmas by the sea. With all the holidays the two families have gone on over the years together, neither of them have spent Christmas away from home together. "Just about to leave, message you when we get there." Paige said to Jessica on a voice note. Jessica replied with a 'Me too x'. Paige knew Jessica typically spent Christmas away from home, so Paige was used to not seeing her friend over the Christmas holidays but this year it would be harder as the WI-FI in Norfolk was awful. Meanwhile, in Jessica's family's car, their SAT NAV had its destination set as Norfolk too.