Friday arrived quicker than the speed of light; much to Cerise's dismay. Minutes spent with Harry were the only ones that mattered and the ones without him were minutes wasted. He was even with her when they weren't together; not in body, but in mind. Cerise kept it all to herself, and surprisingly didn't mind it at all.
"They said they'll be here at five," Cerise told him as they made sandwiches in the kitchen.
"How many are coming again?" Harry inquired, already missing her presence as he glanced at the clock. Four-thirty.
"Three: Rebecca, Georgina and Amber," she replied, meticulously slicing the cucumber. "Amber is the one I have to keep an eye out for."
"Why's that?" Harry questioned huskily, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her.
Cerise's blood inexplicably boiled. "She's too nosy for her own good." she snapped, throwing down the cucumber slices irritably onto the bread. She realized her childishness and blushed. "But she's very beautiful," she added truthfully, in order to atone for her pettiness.
Harry stood next to her, lacquering various condiments onto the wheat bread. His smirk softened and his voice dropped into feathery softness. "She can't be as beautiful as you."
"Stop it," she hissed, her eyes widened under a furrowed brow. "I hate it when you're flirtatious. It's wholly unappealing,"
The sting was expressed in his countenance, which he quickly hid under his thick tresses as he continued to make the sandwiches.
Her heart dropped again--a sensation she had been feeling more often lately. She opened her mouth to apologize, to tell him that she didn't mean it, but the second she did the bell to signal arrivals rang.
"Cerise!" Manuela cried from the foyer. "Your guests have arrived!"
Harry and Cerise exchanged startled glances.
Harry gave her a weak smile. "Bye, then," he muttered, wasting no time in his exit.
A tremor of remorse and self-hatred consumed her, but now was not the time for negativity. She plastered on her best host face and greeted the girls down the stairs with forced excitement.
Rebecca was wide-eyed in amazement of Cerise's estate. Her chubby arms flailed around Cerise's waist as she laughed shrilly with glee. Her wild strawberry blonde locks bounced as she ran up the stairs.
Georgina was more timid in her greeting; as was her nature to be. Her mousy brown hair stuck like two gaunt fingers of a branch to her shoulders, and her smile resembled more of a grimace than anything else. She apathetically followed Rebecca up the stairs, forcing her body to not shake in front of the girls.
The best was saved for last. Like the adroit debutante she was, Amber stepped out of the car with graceful refinement. Her willowy figure and fine cheekbones gave her the appearance of an older model, and her sleek blonde hair only emphasized her godliness. Her sky blue eyes were shaded by the upper lid of her eye as she blinked demurely and gave a faint smile to Cerise.
Cerise found it hard to not be constantly impressed with Amber's overwhelmingly beautiful aesthetics, but her poker face was globally unmatched.
"I'm so glad you could come," Cerise told her, smiling genuinely at her the way only Cerise could.
"I'm pleased I could as well," Amber replied in the seductive cadence that was her birth-right. She effortlessly looped her arm into Cerise's and walked in sync with her up the stairs. The two girls had a mutual understanding of a shared pleasure in silence: they were the only two in the entire group that could be quiet around each other purposely and take peace in it.
