Glassheart |bruno mars.

18.

"So, you going to this Mode Christmas thing?" Duncan asked me casually while we were sitting in the coffee shop near my work place.

He had called me as soon as I finished work asking to meet up, I said sure. Not like I had any plans.

He was flicking through this month's issue of Mode...with my article in it. Though we had read through it weeks ago together. We made it this big kind of deal, me and the girls went out to dinner with Duncan and some of his co-workers. It was a real fun time. It helped cheer Raye up a little while Brian was off touring for Locked Out Of Heaven.

"Yeah well...I kinda work there, ya know?" I reply with a smile as I take a sip of my coffee. Life had been going smoothly, I hadn't actually been asked to write any articles since, Analiese said this was because they had already planned and sorted out everything for the Christmas issue months in advanced, but for her to tell me that gave me a little hope that maybe she's want me to write some more. I had gotten like a third of the magazine staff coming up to me saying they loved my article and that they didn't know I could write that well.

I love ego boosts.

"Why do you ask?" I look at Duncan, he purposefully skipped the article on him and MSG, he cringed every time he saw it, it was cute.

"Well since this popped in my letterbox in the morning" Duncan brought out a invitation from his messenger bag, a invite I knew all too well, from the Holly & Ivy Christmas party Mode was planning.

"I learn to appreciate every familiar friendly face I see at these parties" I smile.

"Me too, I wasn't actually going to go to this thing but if you're going to be there, then it's an event worth going to..." Duncan smiled as he leaned closer to me on our table, he placed his hand over mine. He's been doing that a lot these past few weeks, his hand felt warm and welcoming, our pinky fingers slightly intertwined. "What does a guy have to do to get you to agree to be my date to this thing?"

"Hmm...never leave my side except for crucial toilet breaks...and you can only have three" I said looking up in thought "Especially if I have to make conversation with a boring drone"

"Funny, I was going to say the same to you" Duncan smiled fully.

–

"...and done" Fara said in a concentrated voice as she finished curling my hair. She took a step back and sighed happily "Ahh, Tina, I feel like crying from what I've done with your hair..."

"Happy tears right? I don't want my hair dropping out on the ride to this thing" I say grinning at my reflection in the mirror. I loved what Fara did with my hair, I haven't felt this pretty in so damn long. I should be in a princess gown to match this hair, but I can settle for my knee length green dress, all in the Christmas spirit right?

"Of course, as if I've ever let you down" Fara scoffed and nudged me "I hope you and Duncan have a great time...it's nice you guys are going together, you're a nice fit" Fara nodded a slight smile.

Aside from using the word nice twice in one sentence I had noticed that she wasn't as eager as she's previously been when it came to me and a guy, especially if you compared her now to the way she was about me and Bruno back in San Diego last summer but I had learnt years ago with Fara to pick my fights, even if she wasn't totally enthusiastic she was still trying.

"Thanks, Patzer" I call Fara by her last name, something we had never grown out of doing from college.In freshman year we had this RA who called us all by our last names like we were in the military.