Vanilla Chaos

Chapter 7: Love

"Are you sure you don't want to sit with Nicki? I'm okay on my own, Nelly." I calmly said, still hovering around the two seats.

"She's my big sister! What sort of loser do you take me for?" He laughed in return, "She'll go sit next to some man-whore-heart-throb or poorly dressed chick so she can show off her shoes. And because I'm a gentleman, you can even have the window seat, aren't you a lucky little tea bitch?"

I giggled, "What an honour, thank-you so very much, love."

Apparently we would arrive at Nelly's family's house (house, apartment, mansion, I didn't even know, yet) in Paris at two in the morning. I wasn't looking forward to this journey one bit. But it was the destination that counted. Wait, that's not how the saying went. Oh screw it, I made up my own phrases. I got to know Dominique some more at the first service station. I discovered that she did in fact get a breast enhancement procedure, but we were a lot more similar that I had first thought.

I left the stall and approached the sink next to the firey (natural) red head, who was adjusting ridiculously long false eyelashes and applying yellow lipstick (yes, yellow). I still didn't know her that well, especially because she decided to sit right at the back of the coach, next to a male model from Sicily ("It's not my fault, he just looked lonely!").

"Hello, cheriè!" She smiled brightfully, like we were childhood friends.

"Hello, Nicki." I awkwardly tucked a strand of hair behind my ear with damp hands. I dried them off on my Barcelona football shirt (Grandma previously had a thing for a rich ex-player). As we were leaving the the stall, I piped up, "Hey, do you know where Nelly is?"

Her reply was what started off our friendship, "Well, he's either drinking too much coffee, or pissing it all out. Either way, he's going to meet us in five minutes in front of the main entrance. Care for quick drink? I'll pay for it."

"That's an offer I can't refuse."

We just headed to a W H Smith's and bought soft drinks. She picked up a lemon ice tea, but I wasn't as exotic and flamboyant as her, and opted for a cherry coke. That was extravagant enough for me.

I slowly twisted the cap open, "Thanks, Nicki."

"You're welcome, lovie." She sipped her ice tea like a Hollywood glamour queen, "You know, we're very similar, now that I think about it."

"Pardon?"

"We both have green eyes, red hair (forget the shades) and you act like I used to when I was your age."

"I do?"

"I liked a boy, just like you like my brother." I almost spat out my drink and blood rushed to my face, I was about to object when she smirked and slouched against a wall, "Don't lie to me, I can see it in your eyes, Heidi. I know exactly how you feel. There was a boy in my Mathematics class, with the most beautiful brown eyes. His name was Jesse Lavesque. But it seemed he only chased after girls with blonde hair and big boobs, and I was a tall, lanky ginger with the figure of scrawny boy, but I was wrong. Attraction isn't love. My dearest Jesse would listen to me when nobody else would. He made me feel so... So... Loved."

"What a beautiful story." I glanced at her, her once knowing smile turned to a thoughtful but glum expression, "What happened?" I felt like a little girl, again, in the big farm house, being told a princess bedtime story by my weak but strong mother. Years before I was sent to a boarding school for a 'better education', years before the only person left was the grey-haired, money-grabbing Silvia Grace.

"When heaven needs a new angel, the most wonderful people are taken, at the worst of times. It turned out my love had a brain tumour, and it was too late to save him." A single tear rolled down her highly contoured cheek, but she wiped it away and smiled softly, "But he's in the clouds, now. He promised to protect me. Even if I'm an atheist, I still know he's not gone. It's just going to be a while before we see each other again, but that's alright. For he's waiting for me. My first love, Jesse Lavesque. But he told me he shouldn't be my last, and that he wanted me to be a singer. So he could watch every single concert from heaven, and I'm not going to let him down."

I was at a lost for words. But I knew how it felt to lose a loved one, "I'm so sorry, Dominique. I lost my mother, last year."

She looked down at me, "You're a very sweet girl, Heidi. I see myself and Jesse in you and Nelly. If he was here today, we would still be together. I can see what you have with my brother is what we shared."

"You're right in saying I love Nelly, but we're not together."

"Wait and see, trust me."