Infinity and Beyond

19 - Happier

Ashton

Emily spent hours talking about the road trip. Literally hours. It was lunch time before she'd even made it past the surfing, which we'd done on the second day, and it didn't look like she was willing to stop anytime soon. None of them did, really: Danielle and Charlotte were talking almost as frequently as Emily, asking questions and making comments on the pictures and what we'd done. As much as I loved watching her chat with so much excitement, I was pretty hungry, and considering the house had gone from having just one or two people to five, it was somewhat lacking in food. I told the others I was going to head out to the shop to get some stuff and Michael offered to come and keep me company so we both headed out, leaving the girls to it (not that they seemed to notice or be that bothered).

It was a short drive to the supermarket, which I was relieved for as it meant I didn't have to spend so long in the car. Although I hadn't minded at the time, all the driving in the last three weeks had made me considerably tired of the sight of a steering wheel in front of me. It was a welcome relief when we reached the shop and I knew I then only had to drive home.

Even though it wasn't long in the car, I was desperate to talk to Michael about him and Danielle. Charlotte had barely had time to tell me anything and I knew there was more to it than them just going on one date, especially when we'd been away nearly three whole weeks. Plus, he was sat right next to her when we'd gotten home last night, with his arm almost around her, yet they acted like it wasn't even a thing. If that had happened before we left, they would have both gone bright red and silent when they realised then shot away from each other like they each had some infectious disease.

"So..." I started to say about five minutes into the journey.

"I know you're about to ask me what's going on with Danielle, and I don't even know, man," he sighed. I glanced across at him and he had his elbow up on the car door with his head lying on it, his hand tugging at his hair. "I like her. A lot. And we went on a date and it was great - it was amazing, actually - but I don't know where to go next. I have literally no clue and it's killing me."

"Why? You just said you like her and that the date went great, so what's the problem?" I asked with a puzzled frown.

"Jessica!" he said without hesitation. "And Lucy. They're the problem. I'm sure I still love Lucy...I didn't realise it until we were about to kiss the other day and-"

"You almost kissed?!" I exclaimed. "Charlotte missed that out."

"Well yeah, because she wasn't there," he pointed out with an 'obviously' tone. "It was a couple of days after our date and I hadn't seen her since, because she'd been busy at work and we'd been practising for tour-"

"Without me?" I asked in disappointment.

"Can you stop interrupting me!?" he snapped with a laugh and I quickly shut my mouth and fell silent. "We were just going over some of our older songs, like She Looks So Perfect and She's Kinda Hot, don't worry. But then I was worried that because we'd all been busy, she wouldn't have really had any company for a while, so I offered to go round with some takeaway and spend the evening there with her. So we watched a film, and we were kinda cuddling I guess, then after it finished we were just talking. And I apologised that I hadn't seen her since the date, but I'd had a really good time, and then she said she did too, then it was quiet and next thing I knew was we were both leaning into each other and-"

"Mikey, take a breath," I reminded him as he said the whole sentence without pausing. He nodded and took a deep breath in.

"I don't know what happened, because it was all great really. But when I looked in her eyes and down at her lips, and I realised we were literally just centimetres away from her, it hit me that she was Danielle. Not Lucy. I was about to kiss a girl that wasn't Lucy, and the last time I kissed a girl that wasn't Lucy, she stabbed me in the back. And so I panicked and pulled away and made up that I was tired, so I headed to bed and then I realised...I still love Lucy...and I still hate Jessica."