Unexpected [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter Ten

The Sleepover

   I pulled the sleeves of my jumper down, giving myself what Lauren called "sweater paws". Every single person going on the "ingeniously named" (Brian's words) Apocalyptour II was having a sleepover at our house, as we had the largest living room. The plan was to eat pizza and ice cream, and watch movies all night, before heading off at midday to our first stop.

   Lauren had explained that their second ever tour was in 2012 and was named the Apocalyptour, since the apocalypse was meant to occur. The apocalypse was also supposedly meant to happen somewhere in 2014-2015, according to the 'Blood Moon Prophecies'.

   So here we were, a bunch of twenty-somethings, having a slumber party. Lauren and Jaime had spent the day moving spare mattresses, cushions and blankets into the lounge room. I had been filling bowls with lollies ("It's candy, Maia," Lauren had constantly reminded me. "Candy."), chocolate, popcorn, chips and fruit. The fridge had been stocked with soft drinks and alcohol. I thought it looked pretty good.

   The doorbell rang, indicating the arrival of the first guest. "Oi, stink face," Lauren called out. "Get the door, please! Jaime and I are stringing up the fairy lights."

   "Got it!" I sighed before going to the front door. Through the frosted glass I could see the shape of someone tall, which didn't rule out many of the Starkids (also, being short meant that most people were tall for me). I opened the door to see someone I didn't know. "Hi."

   "Hey there. I'm Darren. You are?"

   "Oh, you're the famous guy. And I'm Maia." We shook hands as I led him inside. His hair was cut short but it did nothing to hide the curls that seemed to spring out at me.

   "I wouldn't say famous," he began before Lauren interrupted.

   "Darren!" She ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his waist tight. "Of course you're famous; you're the most famous out of all of us. You're on Glee, for f*cks sake, and you were in the movie as well."

   As everyone began to trickle in I couldn't help but notice that one person hadn't arrived yet: Joey. I didn't know why I was so bothered by his absence. We had hung out a few times and I did enjoy his company, but it was purely platonic. Wasn't it?

   Forty-seven minutes after Darren arrived (not that I was counting, or anything), the doorbell rang for the final time. I brushed my hair out of my eyes, created sweater paws again, and opened the door to Joey's smiling face.

   "Hey, sorry I'm late. Traffic was a b*tch."

   "Oh, uh, not a problem. Honestly, don't worry about it."

   The lounge room was filled with people, with only two spots available. I had already dibsed one of them, as I wanted the most amount of room for my leg. Yes, it was selfish, but I didn't care. And for once in my life I was lucky: the only other free spot was next to mine. Which meant Joey would have to sit next to me.

   Joey held onto my hand, stabilising me, as we threaded through everyone, being careful not to tread on anyone. As the two of us collapsed onto the cushiony softness, I smiled at Joey.

   "Thanks."

...

   We had been watching movies for five hours, the sun setting hours ago. I had insisted that we watch Aladdin, Lauren and Jaime wanted Mean Girls, and most of the guys had wanted Fast & Furious. Those of us that were awake were watching Grease, and I'm pretty sure the only people who were awake were Joey and I.

   He had asked me about my tattoos and I was giving him the low down on them all. Each and every one was a traditional Maori tattoo, and each one had some sort of significance.

   "So, the single twist is what the Ngati Ruanui get when we turn eighteen, as it's a symbol of the path of life we must all take. The manaia is the spiritual guardian. This band here, on my arm, is hikuaua and it's representative of Taranaki, my region. And the ahu ahu mataroa is because I excelled in sport and athleticism." The majority of my tattoos were on my left arm. In my iwi, we tended to give tattoos on the dominant side, and for me that was my left. The only tattoo on the right was the single twist, which everyone got on the right shoulder blade.

   "That's actually so cool. Can I see them?"

   I nodded and pulled the sleeve of my shirt up, revealing the dark patterning underneath. Joey's fingers hesitantly touched my arm, his eyes asking for permission. I smiled and he went back to tracing the intricate details. It was strange; such a simple moment was so ... tantalising. The pads of his finger tips trailed over my skin, leaving a path of goosebumps following.

   "You know, I suck at soccer." Joey's voice was low and husky, his face dangerously close to mine.

   "Well, I can't sing or dance, so I guess we're even."

   "I'll teach you."

   I turned to face him, bewildered. There goes that moment; bye, it was nice knowing you.

   "To dance. I'm not bad at dancing and I've had people tell me I'm a pretty good teacher. Come on, it'll be fun. I promise."

   I sighed. "I don't know if you've noticed, Joey, but I have a broken leg. There is a massive boot on it. It makes dancing kind of difficult."

   Yet it seemed like Joey didn't care. He pushed himself off the couch and held out a hand. "Come on, Maia. Please."

   I rolled my eyes before grabbing onto his hand. Our fingers interlocked as the two of us navigated the mess of people in the lounge. He led us to the deck ("Oh, Maia," Joey had laughed. "You say the weirdest stuff. This is a patio.") where he grabbed both my hands.

   "Just follow my lead and let me do all the work," Joey whispered.

   The dancing was more like swaying, with the occasional step. My right and his left hand were entwined, with my other hand on his chest, next to my head, and his other hand holding onto my waist.

   Joey's mouth was right next to my ear so whenever he spoke, tingles were sent down my spine. "I'm going to spin you out," he whispered before doing just that. Our arms extended so that the only thing touching were our fingertips. As I twirled back, Joey brought me closer before placing his lips on mine.

   It was a soft kiss, nothing big or massive. But it was intense. My legs felt weaker than they already were and I had to hold tight onto Joey so I wouldn't fall. I couldn't believe it. I didn't expect Joey to kiss me, but I was glad he had.

[omg they kissed this is so exciting woo! i'm pretty sure i wrote this kissing scene even before i wrote the first chapter]

[another chapter done. i know that my uploading schedule is completely wack but i'm hoping to get in the routine of posting once a week. fingers crossed i can keep this up for more than one week at a time]

[all information about the Maori tattoos I got from this website: http://www.zealandtattoo.co.nz/tattoo-styles/maori-tattoos/]

[if any readers are interested in the 100, either the show or the books, i've just published the first chapter of a bellamy blake fanfiction so if you're interested, please check it out. and yes, i did just shamelessly self promote]