𝙸𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙴𝙽𝙳 || Original Story

twelve | tea

I thought about wearing something nicer than usual to have tea with Edgar.

And then I realised that I was just having tea with Edgar. Surely he wouldn't mind what I wore.

It wasn't like getting fitted out with with the most elegant dress. It was just a casual thing.

He'd be more concerned if I didn't turn up compared to what bloody dress I wore.

God. Why was I fretting so much?

Naturally, I wanted to impress him. To make sure he liked Maplebrook and its community.

To make sure he liked me.

After a long period of decision making, I picked out a sky-blue, knee-length dress and pulled my hair back into a ponytail. I then grabbed the tin of ginger nuts from my kitchen table and slipped on my most comfortable pair of flat shoes that were white in colour before heading out towards Old Farm.

The trees looked especially magnificent today. They were green like the finest emeralds and the leaves danced jovially in the light breeze. The sun beamed down, playing hide-and-seek with the thick, fluffy clouds and in turn casting moving shadows down on the ground.

Whilst I used to run up the hill past Old Farm as a child to go and play in the fields, I had never gotten used to have steep the initial ascent was. By the time I reached the driveway of the house, I was quite out of breath so took a steady pace for the journey to the front door.

Once there, I exhaled anxiously, straightening the skirt of my dress to make sure I looked presentable even though I kept telling myself it didn't really matter.

I then knocked loudly on the door and seconds later, it swung open.

Edgar was dressed in a pale-blue shirt, the top button undone and matched with a darker blue jumper and a pair of jeans. His hair was swept back, a few rogue strands hanging loose.

"Good afternoon, Edgar," I greeted chirpily, handing him the tin. "I hope those are as good as the last batch."

He smiled. "Th-Thank you, Katelyn."

"Call me Kate. Everyone else does."

He nodded, hesitating before saying, "you l-look... lovely."

"Oh, thank you," I grinned nervously, gesturing to my dress and then his shirt. "We match, it seems."

"S-So we d-do," he chuckled, then moving aside. "P-Please. Come in."

I stepped inside the house, far enough in so Edgar could close the door behind me.

It felt warm and cosy- a stark contrast to the last time I properly saw the house, which was about five years ago when it was cold and derelict.

The oaken floorboards beneath my feet were polished as if brand new, the faint smell of paint lingered in the air, and the decoration was what I would call minimalist: it was homely with a personal touch, but there wasn't much. Just a couple of paintings hung on the walls, the occasional vase, and a stuffed coat rack that took up most of the wall behind the door.