I woke up cuddled with Stevie, our bare legs intertwined. She slept beautifully still, her warm breath heating my skin. I lay frozen, trying not to wake her up, but she soon raised her head, smiling tiredly.
"'Morning" I whispered.
She glared down at our connected legs, with concerned expression.
"Nothing... Like... Happened... Right?" She asked nervously.
"No." I replied sadly, "Why...",
"Anyhow, I've gotta go make sure my parents don't know I left." She interrupted.
She soon leaped up, waved awkwardly, and skipped out.
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For the next couple of weeks at school, Stevie totally ignored me. I would repeatedly see her in the halls, but she always looked away. The kind of avoidance that most just call regret.
Christmas break began, and she didn't call or text to say 'Merry Christmas' or 'Sorry we haven't talked but I've been super busy'; absolute silence. It killed.
The next time I saw her must've been New Year's Eve, but not the sort of meeting I expected. I had been invited to Hannah's to celebrate with some close friends, most likely the ones from the first party Stevie came to. I turned up at Hannah's with a bottle of champagne, which of course she immediately grabbed from my clutch and placed with the tens of other bottles.
Immediately, I recognised Stevie, sat cross-legged opposite me on the sofa. I tried to avoid eye-contact, but she stared at me with sad, dark eyes. Until in the middle of a discussion-between-friends, she got up, whispered into Hannah's ear, and left the house.
No one really noticed her disappearance, except myself, sat puzzled on the previously periwinkle booze-stained sofa, sipping champagne from a plastic cup.
"I think she wants you to go after her." Hannah suddenly whispered into my ear, disrupting my trance.
"What?" I said awkwardly loudly
"Didn't you see it? The way she looked at you before leaving, the curved lips, the subtle wink?"
"Uhh... Not really..."
She stood up and carried me my shoes,
"Go find her. Tell her how you feel."
"Wait, what?"
"Just do it.", she said, smiling at my confusion towards Stevie's games.
I threw my shoes on, leaping outside and sprinting up the street towards Stevie's house. I thought about knocking on the front door, but quickly decided to climb the drain pipe, the way that Stevie had always done. It was a surprisingly difficult manoeuvre, but luckily her bedroom window was left open.
To my surprise, when I entered, she was gone. I stumbled around, searching for clues to indicate that I had done something right, but there was nothing. I sat down on her bed, deep in thought, until laying down and staring up at the ceiling. And there it was, my clue. Across her perfectly white ceiling, marked by a crayon in her cursive handwriting 'New year, new me, New Years kiss=my clarity. It's you or him, Ally my dear, please harness my hope and settle my fear.'. I read it a couple of times, trying to understand what it meant. All until I understood. It was either me, or Simon, depending on who got her New Years kiss. She was at Simon's party, I knew it.
From there I ran at least five blocks to Simon's house. The music was uncomfortably loud, and the people staggering around, barely noticing my presence. I pushed my way through the crowd, without a sign of Stevie. I began to doubt myself, and went back outside, until I was stopped by the butt of a cigarette, landing straight in my face. I glared up, and there was Stevie, sat on the rooftop, smiling cheekily. She gently swayed to the music playing inside, beer in one hand and newly light cigarette in the other.
"Come up here." She said teasingly, patting beside her as if she hadn't ignored me for the past month.
"Stevie, what are we doing?"
She sat silently, face slowly drowning back into our mutual concern. I stared down at my watch, 11:58. I stared up at Stevie, who smiled convincingly. I looked around. Simon wasn't coming. I climbed up forgivingly. She smiled thankfully.
I squeezed closer to her, shivering from the slight breeze. She leaned her head on my shoulder, as the music inside stopped, and the people from the party began to yell, counting down from ten. 'TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN', she glared up at me, I backed away slightly, remembering how hurt I had been. 'SIX, FIVE, FOUR', she grabbed my hand and squeezed it, mouthing "Sorry." Over the shouts. 'THREE, TWO, ONE.', and they began to applaud, and before I could even think, I cupped my hand behind her neck and kissed her, then leant out, with an angry expression. She pulled me back and kissed me again, until we both leant out again, sharing a smile and a slight giggle. I turned back out towards the lawn, admiring the distant fireworks over the bright city.
On the lawn stood Simon, eyebrows low and eyes furiously dark.
"Get the fuck off my property before I murder you!" He yelled up
I grabbed Stevie's hand, and together we leaped off, running back up the street, Simon shouting from the distance, as our giggles echoed with the sound of fireworks.
Author's note: I know, I know, it's been months, and I feel terrible. However I do have reasons, for I've been working hard at school while working on some music projects, so writing wasn't really a main priority. I hope this chapter's okay, and I'll try to update this more often. Let me know what you thought or would like to see, xxx
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Next door
RandomThe house across the street from Ally Hills had always been empty, until one mystical girl moves in.
