Second Shot (Bastille)

4: By definition, stalking is the repetitive following of a person

*Dan's POV*

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Freddie and Sam. For a minute, we all stood in a surprised silence, just staring at each other. Freddie was far more dressed down the last night; she was wearing a beige, cable-knit jumper that hung loosely off her shoulders and a pair of leggings that were too long for her, rolled up at the ankles. Her hair was twisted into a messy bun and glasses (not dissimilar to mine) sat on her nose. She looked far more comfortable than she had in the club.

Kyle was as blank as a piece of paper. When I turned to him as the girls rushed off to the back room, his face was emotionless but it looked like he was searching desperately for the right expression

"You alright Kyle?" Woody asked, looking at Kyle concernedly. Kyle nodded slowly, opening his mouth to talk but no noise coming out.

"Kyle hooked up with one of those girls last night" I began to explain.

"But she wasn't just a hookup, she was really cool and nice" Kyle interrupted.

"Is love in the air then Kyle?" Will teased. Before Kyle could argue back, the girls returned and the shoot began. I couldn't take my eyes off Freddie as she photographed us, fully focused; working meticulously to get the right angles and lighting. I noticed how she gently bit her lip whenever she was about to take a picture, looking through the lens for a solid minute or two before making the shutter snap loudly.

Once we had finished, me, Will and Woody all pushed Kyle over to Sam to make him talk to her and as I scanned the room, I spotted Freddie swaying on her tiptoes trying to disassemble the light that was towering over her. I crossed the room hurriedly and took hold of the light head. There was very little space in the corner where the stand was so when I stretched up to grab the light, I had to make sure I wasn't stood on any cables or knock over any equipment and found myself pressed up right against Freddie.

"You know I was joking about you doing this photo shoot, right?" I asked jokingly as I helped lower the disassembled equipment onto the floor. Freddie smiled sweetly as she pulled her glasses off her nose and rubbed her eyes sleepily. We chatted for a while, watching Kyle and Sam talk flirtatiously; Kyle kept touching her shoulder and Sam cautiously edged closer to him until there was no room left for her to move. "You uh, busy, after?" I questioned hopefully and felt my stomach sink slightly when Freddie turned and the corners of her mouth were dropped guiltily.

"Actually I am yeah sorry, I said I'd help my mum, maybe another day?" Freddie suggested, brushing her hand against my arm apologetically. When everything was packed up, I headed out to the car park with Will and Woody. I said goodbye to them before climbing into my and driving home. 

Stepping through the door, everything was eerily empty; all my furniture was packed away in the boxes that cluttered the living room. Rolling my sleeves up I began moving the boxes from the house to the car. Lingering in the hallway for a final time and thought about all the good times I had had in this apartment; from hectic parties with music flowing through all the rooms to sitting around the dining table with the band trying to create new stuff. It was sad to be moving out, but it was a bittersweet sadness; melancholy mixed with excitement about moving to a new area and meet new people. Eventually, I dragged myself out of the apartment and headed down the stairs, dropping my keys off at the entrance and stepping out the door for the last time.

I quickly arrived at the new apartment and immediately made a start on getting all my stuff out of the car. After looping through the building an uncountable amount of times, I finally got all of my stuff into my new accommodation. Boxes littered all the rooms and decorating equipment was spread across the living room; protective sheets covered all the surfaces, pots of paint were stacked against the walls and the brushes were... Crap. I forgot to buy paint brushes. Running my hand through my hair, I looked around wishing that a set of brushes and rollers would appear out of nowhere. Nothing. Sighing to myself, I turned to the door and made my way across the hall. Hopefully, I knocked on the door; muffled music cut off and keys jangled quietly. Eventually the door swung open and I had to pinch myself to check I wasn't dreaming.

"By definition, Stalking is the repetitive following of a person you know?" Freddie's already familiar voice asked jokingly. She had headphones round her neck and an empty mug in her hand.

"Technically, you approached me first last night so in theory you initiated the stalking" I played along, folding my arms across my chest.

"Yet you're the one that's outside my apartment without me giving you my address" I opened my mouth to make another quick retort but nothing came to my head so I just nodded defeatedly while Freddie smirked at her triumph. "I still would like an explanation on why you're here though" She added after a moments silence.

"I uh, just moved in across the hall-"

"Really?"

"Yeah and I was gonna ask if you had any paint rollers or brushes I could borrow"

"I think we might, come on in" Freddie stepped to the side and welcomed me in. Her apartment was modest and minimalistic; the walls were painted a simple beige with very little displayed on them, except for the right wall which was covered in canvases which showed a variety of different photographs. There was nothing outlandish about the décor but it's simplicity only added to the appeal. "Do you want a drink?" Freddie offered, moving over to the kitchen space and reaching into the cupboard of mugs. I accepted in a silent nod.

"So what brings you to an apartment block in the south of London?" Just as Freddie finished her question, a voice erupted from one of the bedrooms, a voice that was singing loudly and off-key, making me and Freddie stop in our tracks. "Don't worry, that's Sam. Gimme a sec" Freddie darted off, following the direction of the sound and disappearing round the corner "Hey Sam! We have a guest so don't come out until you're decent!" She reappeared and poured the water into the three mugs. "Paintbrushes right?" Freddie crossed the room and began searching through the cupboards.

"Did you say something Fred- Shit! Hi Dan" I turned around to see Sam stood at the other side of the room; her hair damp and a towel wrapped around her body. My glance automatically dropped to the floor and I waved awkwardly.

"I said: we have a guest so don't come out until you're decent" Freddie repeated in a deadpan tone.

"Oh. Right. Later Dan." Sam vanished just as quickly as she emerged. Freddie sighed, shaking her head as she continued looking rooting through the cupboards and drawers. After a minute she cheered successfully. Getting to her feet, she handed me a collection of brushes and rollers, I thanked her and we soon began chatting. I asked her if any of the photographs on the wall were hers to which she replied with a very sarcastic 'yeah, obviously'.

"Hey um, I don't have any shoots to do over the next week so, if you need a hand with painting or somethin' don't be afraid to pop over and ask for some help" Freddie offered as I left later that afternoon "I mean, I'm no Monet but it'll help you get the job done a little quicker"

"Sure, I'll let you know. See you around neighbour" I quickly waved goodbye to her before turning to my own apartment.

A/N: Hey guys, sorry I didn't publish yesterday, I had a busy day, hope you liked this chapter 😆