Fade Into You

Waterstones

Tonight was Friday night and supposedly Lizzie had booked something. I had been sitting on my bed, ready to go, for about an hour now. Scarlet sat on my floor after helping me get ready and picking out an outfit. She really hadn't said much about the whole situation, but she didn't need to, I knew what she was thinking. She was thinking that I was letting Lizzie walk all over me and that I was simply forgiving her for what she had done which was not true in the slightest. I actually had really strong mixed feelings about this entire situation. There was half of me that wanted to forget the entire thing and move on but the other side of me, the more rational side, was telling me to be sensible and protect myself from getting hurt again. She knew that lying to me again was going to end whatever we were trying to rebuild so I had a slight reassurance that I was safer this time than I was last. That's why I decided I was going to go out with her tonight. Scarlet had lent me one of her long dresses with an open back, so my tattoo was visible as my hair was pulled up into a messy claw-clipped style, a few curls hanging out and down the side of my face. After a small meltdown last night, I had gotten Emily to pierce my septum with a sewing needle, so I had a new piece of silver in the middle of my face that matched my go-to hoop earrings. As if I wasn't sitting waiting, the doorbell went off and Scarlet and I exchanged a small look before she shot up and ran toward the front door with me sprinting behind her to stop her from hurting Elizabeth. When the door swung open, I gawked at how absolutely heavenly the girl in front of me looked. Dressed in an oversized grey plaid blazer and a pair of matching baggy trousers, her hair was laid perfectly straight and shiny, the new bangs falling just under her eyebrows. Her eyes were painted a powdery dark brown, a smile on her pink lips and a pair of tiny chunky silver hoops in her ears. In her hand was a singular white rose with a pink ribbon tied around the stem and a slight pink haze around each petal.

"I know you said no more flowers, but this guy looks a little bit like you, so I had to," she smiled sweetly.

"What is she going to do with one flower?" Scarlet asked her.

Lizzie shrugged her shoulders, "well it's not for you so it doesn't really matter what she does with it."

"Thank you, Lizzie," I smiled at her, taking it and handing it to Scarlet, "I'll be back later, don't take it out on the flower."

Scar hummed and closed the front door behind us, cutting off the tension between the two girls.

"Hey," I whispered, looking down at her, "you look gorgeous."

"So do you," she smiled up at me, "ready to go?"

I hummed a yes and subconsciously drifted my hand to hers. Although they naturally linked together, she tensed up at the contact as her hand began shaking and she nodded to herself.

"Relax," I told her as we stepped out onto the high street.

"Sorry," she whispered, holding my hand firmly and standing slightly closer to me as we walked.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Mhm?" she asked back.

"Where are we going?" I laughed out my nose.

"Oh um, the bookshop in town," she smiled up at me.

"Not the cocktail night??" I beamed brightly.

"Yeah," she nodded quickly.

I bit my bottom lip with a smile as she leaned her head on my shoulder gently. Out of instinct, I placed a soft kiss on the crown of her head and slightly sniffed her hair.

"Did you just smell me?" she smirked.

I shook my head and tried to think of a lie that seemed feasible, "your hair was in my nose," is what I came up with.