Roommates

PART 17 : unexpected proposal

Sienna's P.O.V

Friday night rolled around and I sat in front of the mirror, putting my hair into loose curls to go out with all the MOD Magazine interns, although I was not entirely looking forward to it. They all seemed to just question me about my life and about Jessie every time I spoke to them, except Justin, who tried to steer the subject to anything else when it came up.

I was just putting on lipstick when I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in." I said, still concentration on not messing it up.

"Hi." A voice said, I looked up. It was Ryan, standing in sweats at my door.

"Oh, hi." I said, expecting it to be Jessie, as she told me she wanted to see me before I went out.

He stood awkwardly for a second before speaking again.

"You're going to the gala at the end of the month, aren't you?" He asked meekly.

"Uh, yeah I am." I replied, turning to look at him, I was confused as to why he was asking me about it.

"Well, uh, have you got a date for it?" He said, gaining a bit more confidence out of nowhere and sticking his neck up a bit. I could tell he was still spooked by me from the night at the restaurant, and I didn't blame him, I still couldn't put me finger on what exactly came over me that night.

"Um, yeah. I do." I lied, not wanting to seem like a big loner with no friends in front of him, I don't know why the sudden urge came over me, once again I felt like I had something to prove to him, like he was some big shot and I was a little girl.

"Oh..." he trailed off. "If you didn't have a date already, I was going to ask if you wanted to be mine."

My heart sank. I didn't think he would've asked me out of all people to come with him to the gala. I thought he would've had ten girls on standby available to ask. I was totally confused and sat in contemplation, completely forgetting he was right there.

"It's cool though, I'll ask someone else." He shrugged it off and left the room, leaving the door open. I felt a sharp pain in the pit of my stomach, telling me I had definitely just done the complete wrong thing. I didn't know what it was, I thought I had overcome my little crush that I had on him when I first moved in, after hearing about the way he treated Chelsie, and countless other girls all over the city.

Something still niggled at me though, thinking that I should have at least told the truth. He was probably asking me to go as a friend anyway, not because he liked me, he surely would've made some indication by now if he did. He probably just thought of me as his freaky roommate with issues and head full of dreams.

My phone buzzed, distracting me from my previous thoughts. Eliza was calling me, oh boy.

"Hey Sienna! It's Eliza! Just wondering if you wanted to meet at my place before we head out?" She asked, and I could hear other voices, with I could faintly recognise as Heather and Daria.

"Yeah, sure. Sounds great." I replied, trying not to seem uninterested on the phone. With each growing second I wanted to go less and less, but I knew if I pulled out now I would regret it on Monday morning.

I said goodbye and hung up the phone. My head spun and I hadn't even had anything to drink yet. Too many thoughts intruded my brain and tugged at me, causing me to feel stressed and uneasy.

There was a gentle knock at my door a few seconds later, and I was thankful for a distraction from the feeling.

"Hey, Sienna." Jessie sat down on the edge of my bed, her eyes looked serious and dark.

"Hey, Jessie." I replied, knowing what was coming.

"Did Ryan...?" She began, but trailed off, not really knowing how to put what had just happened into words.

"Um, yeah. And I really messed up. I shouldn't just told him the truth, I'm not sure why I didn't, I just...." I began, and trailed off, in a similar fashion. I didn't have the words to describe why I had done what I had just done.

"Look, I'm sorry. I should have told you he was thinking of asking you, so he didn't just pounce on you unexpectedly. He told me yesterday and I thought I would just let him handle it. I did mention there was no guarantee you'd say yes, but he didn't listen, because, well, you know him! Anyway, this is all a mess now." She giggled.

"Yeah, a heads up would've been nice." I giggled back.

"It's pretty funny seeing him try to act like his ego hasn't just taken a big knock to be fair. He never gets rejected!" She continued, amusement evident in her voice.

"Well its about to get a huge boost, when he finds out I actually don't have a date to the gala." I sighed, knowing that my mistake would cost me eventually.

"Are you really sure there's no one?" She asked, coming closer and looking into my eyes, begging me to think g someone so she could enjoy her brothers suffering for a little longer.

"Well...." I trailed off. A person did spring to mind, although I didn't know if he would want to go.

"Please! Whoever it is, just ask them! They'll hardly turn you down you gorgeous specimen!" She cheered, her voice filled with light and laughter.

"You're really getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" I laughed back.

"It's been a long time coming! My brother thinks he's God's gift! It's about time someone showed him up." She said, years of envy and annoyance towards him glistening in her eyes.

"Well lets just hope he's game." I replied, wondering how I couldn't possibly made things worse for myself.

"I have complete faith! Now go and enjoy your night!" She yelled, pulling me up from my desk, and pushing me towards the door.

She called a cab from the living room and went to go meet her mystery man in a nearby restaurant.

To : Eliza Guberman
About to call a cab. What's your address?

*bing*

From : Eliza Guberman
My apartment block is called Creston Estate, it's on Neptune Avenue, ring buzzer 8 when you get there x