It Started With Hello

Chapter 16- Restless

Lincoln-

Arabella walks back in smiling, but her eyes show signs of distress. A boy about our age walks her to the door and smiles at her before going back out the door.

"Ready to record?" She asks.

"We still need some cords and the chorus." Nolan tells her.

"So basically nothing got done in the five minutes I was gone?" She asks. She sighs before heading to the booth and going over our recording. She begins editing it and lets us work.

"Something's wrong." Luke announces when Jake joins her at the sound booth. Matthew still snapping photos.

"What do you think it is?" Henrick asks.

"Whatever happened while she was talking to her uncle."

"Arabella?" A boys voice sounds from the door. She looks up from the booth and Jake.

"Justin," She smiles softly, "You can come in, we're not working right now."

"Karalina wants to speak to you." He tells her.

"Did you get security?" She asks him.

"She refuses to leave the property without speaking to you." He sighs, "The security guys are trying to get her off, but she'd have to get back on to get her car."

"I can call her?" She says pulling up the video call button. She types in the number.

"So you don't have contact, that's brilliant." He beams. "Delilah wants to know when we can hang out with you. You're always busy."

"Lilah!" She squeals excitedly, "I'm free tomorrow?"

"We could go to the mall." He suggest. "Meet for lunch and Christmas shopping."

"Cutting it pretty close don't you think." She teases.

"Hey, not me, I'm done. Lilah doesn't have a thing." He defends himself.

"Tell your girlfriend that would be great." She agrees. "I'll swing by your apartment building with a car around 1145."

"I'll tell Lilah." He says. "I'd record anything you and Karalina talk about."

"Karalina!" Arabella's happy voice sounds so forced. She plasters on a fake smile, "Get off my uncle's property." Her face goes back to annoyed and serious.

"What are you going to do about you little brat?" Karalina, whoever that is, asks. "You can't make me. I'd like to see you try."

"I don't know." Arabella says with a fake pout. The computer is facing away from us, so we can't see it. We all look over to the video call, Justin is scowling at the computer screen. Jake stands out of camera range and looks confused.

"Aww, Justin, why are you mad at me?" The girl on the other end coos. He rolls his eyes at her.

"Maybe because you were rude to the bosses niece. And you're constantly flirting with me no matter how many times I shut you down." He retorts.

"What do you want Karalina?" Arabella asks.

"What I want, you can't give me." She answers.

"Then why are you messing with me and wasting my time?" She fires back.

"You should go back to wherever it is you came from."

"Switzerland?" She asks in disbelief, "That's all you want?"

"And you can't come back."

"If it was up to me, I'd be there year round." Arabella answers, "My uncle brings me in when the school closes. I love my hometown. Sending me back isn't punishing me. I love it there. You're punishing everyone else. Everyone that's still here." Arabella crosses her arms with a triumphant smile. "Nice try."

"Break up with your boyfriend." She says. Arabella looks confused.

"I don't have a boyfriend. If you mean Jake, he's my childhood best friend. From Switzerland. I go back he goes back. We go to boarding school together." I can imagine her face dropping again. "And the other boys here aren't dating me either." Arabella locks her gaze on me apologetically. "Whatever you're trying to do it isn't working. Try again with someone you've got the facts straight on." She shoots a sarcastic smile and slams the laptop shut.

"I didn't know you had it in you Bella." Justin says. He gives her a hug. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get to a meeting with one of the artists."

"Bye Justin. I'll see you and Lilah tomorrow." Arabella smile as he walks out. Jake and Matthew both look over to her confused.

"Explanation. Please?" Jake asks.

"Karalina." Arabella starts, "Is the brat of a receptionist at the front desk. She was there when we walked in. Self-died hair. 3 layers of make up. I went to go talk to my uncle. She had the audacity to try to stop me. I told her my uncle would see me whenever I needed to talk to him. She stopped me told me I couldn't see him. She grabbed my arm and her fake nails dug in. Justin came out and must have somehow alerted my uncle because he then fired her and had her escorted out. Though they're not allowed to kick her off the property without her car. She refused to get in and leave until we talked. I think she was dumb enough to think I'd go out and talk to her. As if. So we video called and she should be leaving now. If not. My uncle now has in his full rights the right to have her forcibly removed and her car impounded for trespassing. She thought Jake and I were dating. And I told her that all of us were single, which isn't a lie, completely." She looks down at the end and turns back to the sound booth and remixes the recording.

Jake and Matthew leave Arabella at the booth and I make my way over to her. "Still want to go out sometime?"

"I'm busy tomorrow, but what about the night after?" She offers. I nod in agreement. "I'd give you a grand tour of London, but I'm pretty sure you know more about London than I do."

"Maybe." She shrugs, "Maybe not. I'm only around a few months out of the year."

"So would you mind a grand tour."

"That'd be fun."

"Pick you up at your room after dinner?"

"I'll see you then." She smiles, "Do you boys have anything or should we just call it a day and head home?"

Finally we all head home not having anything worth trying to record. Jake gets dropped off and Arabella parks the car in the garage before heading to the house and immediately stats cooking.

"Treat her right, and I won't have a reason to want to shred you to bits." Matthew says walking past me as he heads upstairs to his room.

"So I'm going out on a limb and saying she said yes?" Luke asks. I nod. The group congratulates me and we all head to our rooms to rest. "You two look good together."

I think I just got an idea for a new song.