Counting Stars

Moving In

 "This apartment is so cute!" Maison squealed as we all entered our brand new apartment for the first time. The entrance showed the small living room area, which lead directly to the kitchen and dining room.

"That kitchen is perfect!" Winnie yelled as she walked into it. We all laughed at the chef's enthusiasm about something so simple as a kitchen.

"We should probably go and start setting our rooms up," Rosemary said, setting a box of dishes onto the counter. I couldn't help but chuckle at Rosemary's usual responsible attitude. She always had a plan and knew exactly how to execute it. "Otherwise, I won't show you guys the surprise."

Winnie's head shot up at that. "Surprise?"

"Not until your rooms are done!" Rosemary called back, heading into the room the two of us would share with her suitcase and a small box of her other belongings. Winnie and Maison both grabbed their boxes and ran into the room across from mine. I laughed at my friends, picking my box up and heading into my room. Rosemary was already tacking posters to the wall. I set the brown cardboard box onto the desk beside the bed. The movers had been here earlier and brought our bed frames and other pieces of furniture in. This box contained my stacks of books, along with a few pictures and trinkets for the desk. I organized the books by series, putting my favourite on the top shelves. My silver MacBook sat in the centre of the desk, right in front of the chair.

I was putting my Dallas Stars poster up next to my Ottawa Senators and Winnipeg Jets when I saw the last picture still in the box. It was a photo of the last family reunion. We were a rather large group, with there being seven kids, five of whom are married with kids. Charles, my older brother, lived in New York City with his wife, Violet, and daughter, Heidi. Devon, George, Jordan and I were quadruplets, of which I was the oldest. Devon lived in Dallas with her husband, Treyvin, and daughters, Roselyn and Alexis. George lived in Montreal with his wife, Gina, and daughter, Jessica. Jordan lived in Los Angeles with his wife, Luna, and daughter, Kyla. Celeste lived in Tampa Bay with her husband, Cole, and daughter, Jasmine. My younger sister, Morgan, and I were the only two not married, which was completely understandable for Morgan since she was only eighteen.

"You ready?" I asked Rosemary, placing the picture frame onto my nightstand. She nodded and we headed to the living room to wait until Winnie and Maison were finished with their rooms. "Do I get to know the surprise?" I pleaded. Truth was, I was very excited to know what Rosemary's surprise was. Her family came from money, so she could afford the best of everything. I remember meeting her in junior year at high school and expecting her to be stuck up and immediately join the popular group. However, she was put into a group with Winnie, Maison and I in her first English class and she was our best friend from that day on.

Rosemary rolled her eyes and laughed. "No, you don't get a sneak peek." I sighed in defeat and turned my attention to my phone, scrolling through Instagram. It was another twenty minutes until Winnie and Maison came running out of their rooms, leaping onto the couch.

"Do we get to know the surprise now?" Winnie asked excitedly.

Rosemary sighs, putting her phone in her pocket. "Ok," We all lean in closer to her and she starts laughing. "You all look like a bunch of five years olds."

"Just tell us the surprise!" Maison pressed.

"Alright, alright. The surprise is that I have four tickets to the Senators and Stars game!" She finally said, producing four tickets from her tickets. "Right behind the Stars' bench."

We all freaked out, Winnie jumping off the couch and dancing around the living room.

"You're not worried that he's going to be there?" Rosemary asked as she began unpacking her clothes. I knew who she was referring to. Tyler Atkinson, my ex-boyfriend. Tyler, Ty as most people called him, was her old next door neighbour and the two of us had gone on a few dates and eventually started dating. He seemed like my dream guy, but it all came crashing down after a few months. Something happened, and he became verbally abusive with me, blaming me for things. It was Rosemary who sat with me as I broke up with him. He was now blocked and I hadn't spoken to him for eight months.

"It's a big city, I don't think we'll run into him. He doesn't even like hockey." I reassured her. "Besides, I'd like to see him try and fight Winnie. That'd be interesting." Winnie had a black belt in taekwondo.

As if on cue, Winnie's brown locks appeared in the door. "Are you guys up for going out to lunch?"

I took off my grey sweatpants and sweater, instead choosing a pair of black leggings and a grey sweater, along with my black combat boots. I brushed my long black hair out of it's messy bun and into a high ponytail. Rosemary wore black leggings, a white tank top, a denim jacket and brown heeled boots. Her platinum blond hair fell down her shoulders, framing her light face and hazel eyes. We walked into the living room where Winnie and Maison were both waiting, heading out for dinner. Winnie had black leggings, black boots, a dark purple tank top and a cream sweater on, her dark brown hair in a French braid over her shoulder. Maison wore light skinny jeans, a black tank top, a plaid shirt and white Adidas, her chocolate brown hair in a messy bun.

Rosemary was talking to us as she walked backwards, not looking where she was going. I was about to warn her when she ran into a tall, dark haired man turning the corner. "Sorry!" They both apologized.

"No, it's my fault, I should have been looking where I was going." Rosemary insisted. The man's friends came around the corner then. One had bright red hair and the other blond.

"It's fine, really." The mystery man reassured her, laughing a bit. "I'm Bradley, and this is Ernest and Ashton." He introduced, pointing to himself, the redhead and then the blond.

"I'm Rosemary. This is Maison, Bjork and Winnie." She introduced, pointing to each of us.

"Are you guys new here? I think I'd remember if I'd seen you guys before," Ashton asked, running a hand through his blond quiff.

"Yeah, we just moved in today."

"That explains it, we'd definitely remember if Bradley had hot neighbours before today," Ernest laughed, winking at Maison, whose blush matched Ernest's hair.

"Well, we'll see you guys around, we have to get to lunch." I spoke up, interrupting Bradley and Rosemary having an intense staring competition with each other.

"Definitely," They agreed, continuing to their apartment.

We continued walking until we reached the stairs where I spoke up once again. "Why is it that every time we meet cute guys, they always like you guys?" I asked, laughing.