Winter break /c.h\

Chapter 10

(Hey guys. Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I was using my break as motivation for other friends to update theirs haha, it didn't work, and finally I decided I needed to. So, I hope you guys like this update) 

Of course, the next day, I woke up late, so I rushed to shower and get ready.
"Babe what are you doing?" Calum asked, as I pulled a scarf over my head.
"I have to go to school" I struggled to pull my boots on, without sitting down "If they want to go home, call Michael or something, but I doubt they'll leave" I slung my book-bag over my shoulders "Okay, I'll be back soon, I only have two classes today" I leaned over and kissed hi, "Bye, baby" I rushed out of the room and into the living room "Kai, you can borrow some clothes if you want, I'll be back soon" I said fast, taking my coat off the hook "Bye" I rushed out the door, and immediately regretted not drying my hair, the cold air caused me to shudder and get into my car faster. Thankfully, the roads had been plowed and no snow was falling, so the roads and the traffic, weren't so bad. 

I was a part time student at UIC, so I drove into the city every other day for class. I only took two classes, on Mondays and Wednesdays, which was nice because I could spend the rest of my day the way I wanted to. 

I pulled my car into the parking garage, and sped walked into the building, trying to escape the cold. I had enough time to grab a quick hot chocolate, from the Starbucks in the lobby and went to class. I sat down in my normal spot, next to a girl I had met, named Charlotte. She was a tallish girl, with piercing green eyes, and straight dark brown hair. 
"Hey" she smiled at me "how was your break?" 
"It was really nice.  Thanks for asking. How was yours?" 
"Boring. But that's normal" she laughed "All I did was play video games" 
"Oh god, you sound like my friend Mikey. That's all he does" Our conversation was cut short when our professor walked in and started teaching. We both furiously wrote as she talked and by the end of the lecture, we all needed a good nap. 
As I packed up my stuff Charlotte chuckled a little 
"Did you understand any of what she just said? " she questioned, looking frazzled. 
"Yeah. I think I actually understood some of it, for once" Trigonometry was not an easy class and usually, I had to go home and look up how to do the problems again. 
"Would you maybe want to explain it to me some time? Like have a study session?" 
"Sure, is tomorrow okay?" 
"Yeah, totally.." she tore a piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled something on it, before  handing it to me "Here's my number. Just text me the details"
"Okay, see you later." I waved and starting walking to my next class. As I entered her number into my phone, a text from Calum popped up.
Hey. The festival of lights ends tonight. Do you want to go with everyone? -Cal
Of course. That sounds fun. -Grace
Cool. See you when you get home <3 -Cal 
<3 -Grace 

I pushed my phone back into my pocket and walked into my next class. English was easier, but I didn't really talk to anyone, so I sat in the back, and took notes, quietly. Finally the class ended and I drove home. Not surprisingly, Ashton and Michael's car was there. I walked in and everyone was sitting around the TV, but none of them turned to look at me. 
"Wow, what a nice welcome, into my own home" I laughed and shrugged off my coat.
"Hey babe" Calum greeted me, getting up to come over to me. He took my book-bag and pecked my lips "Mmh" he pulled away smiling "you taste like chocolate" 
"Yeah.." I kicked off my boots "I just finished a hot chocolate from school"

I joined them all around the TV and everything seemed back to normal, except Mikey looked lonely among all the couples, though his eyes seemed to be glued to his phone. "Who are you talking to Mikey?"
"This girl I met a couple weeks ago"
"Ohh.." there went my theory about him being lonely "does this girlfriend of yours have a name?" 
"She's not my girlfriend. But yes, her name's Lottie" 
"Where'd you guys meet?" 
"Remember that Our Last Night concert I went to a couple weeks ago? We met there"
"Oh cool"
"I was thinking about inviting her to go with us to the zoo tonight. Would that be cool with you guys? " We all looked around and shared some half-ass shrugs
"Yeah that sounds fun. I'd love to meet her" 
"Cool. I'll invite her now"

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We bundled up in layers of clothing, trying to prevent the bitter cold from chilling us to the bone. Packed in a hoodie, a scarf, a coat, two pairs of leggings, fuzzy socks, boots, and a beanie to top it off, I was ready to go. 

We got to the zoo and waited by the entrance for Mikey's mystery girl. I was talking to Calum when she walked up, so when I turned around, she was hugging Mikey. 
"Charlotte?" I asked, looking just as surprised as her
"Grace" she smiled and hugged me
"So, you're Mikey's mystery girl" I laughed, readjusting my beanie 
"Yeah, I guess and you're the awesome best friend he's always talking about" I giggled a little, hearing that Mike talked highly of me. 
"Yeah" 
"Wait," Ashton but in, "you guys know each other?" 
"Yeah. We go to school tomorrow. We're in the same trigonometry class. She makes it suck a little less" I explained as we walked through the entrance. Honestly, I was still in awe that it was her, but there were no clues other than the name to really put the pieces together. 

We walked through looking at all the lights. Lincoln Park zoo, in the city, always did the Festival of Lights around the holidays. They decorated all the cages and everything else with pretty lights and wreaths and just a lot of Christmas stuff.  Once we got through everything, all of the animals, we decided it was time to find some warmth, so we headed downtown to our favorite pizza place. We sat down at the large table and stripped off all of our excess clothing, melting into the heat of the building. We ordered 5 pizza's and talked while we waited. 

It was weird to see Charlotte outside of school, but by the looks of how her and Mikey were getting along, I was going to be seeing a lot more of her. The pizza's came and we downed them, no problem, probably intimidating Lottie a little. There was no way you could take us anywhere, without feeding us. We bundled back up and walked to our cars, thankful for more warmth when we got there, and all went our separate ways. It was the first time, since we got back, that it was just going to be Calum and I at my house. 
"Grace" his hand fell on my upper thigh, as I drove
"Calum" I mimicked his tone
"Can we, uh, yano, tonight?" his thumb started rubbing circles, and I had to do my best to focus on the city traffic ahead of us. 
"You couldn't have asked this, when I wasn't driving?" 
"No. I just, I wanted to know" I could hear smirk forming on his face
"Can't I just go to sleep tonight?" 
"Yeah, I guess" the disappointment was evident in his voice as he pulled his hand away, but I was just teasing him. 

We got to the house and he skulked to the bedroom, ready to go to bed. I pulled off my coat, scarf, and beanie and hung them up on the hooks by the door. I got to my room and he was pulling his multiple shirts over his head, and had already pulled on some sweatpants. I hissed through my teeth and walked towards him, tracing the feather tattoo on his collar bone, with my fingertip. 
"I think, I changed mt mind" I smiled and started kissing his neck
"I knew you couldn't resist me"