The Boy Across The Lake ~ Bratayley Fanfiction

Chapter 15. Parsons Book Shop

Felicity's POV

The final bell rang at the end of fourth period, signaling the end of our first day of school. I slung my backpack over my shoulder before pushing in my chair and leaving my English class.

"Hey Felly," Caleb greeted me as he came out of his classroom, which was across from mine. He kissed my cheek and wrapped an arm around me.

"Hi Caleb," I nodded back. "How was your first day?"

He shrugged. "Not so bad, just a lot of boring talk from the teachers like usual. How was yours?"

"You mean besides finding out Lora goes to school here?" I asked, causing Caleb to cringe.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry, I kind of forgot about that," he replied, his voice getting quiet.

"It's okay. And my day wasn't so bad," I said as we walked to the car loop.

Jamie was sitting on a bench talking to a girl with curly red hair before she spotted Caleb and I. She grinned and waved us over.

"Hey you two, this is Annabelle Parsons, she's been in all my classes today," Jamie said as the girl next to her waved with a sweet smile.

"Oh yeah, hey Annabelle," Caleb said with a smile before greeting her with a friendly hug.

I looked over at them, my eyebrows raised in question. "You know her?"

"Yeah, we had a couple classes together last year and she's in some of mine this year," Caleb explained before sitting down on the bench with Annabelle and Jamie.

"Ah, so you two have already met," Jamie noticed. "Well, Annabelle, this is my best friend, Felicity Green."

"Hi Felicity, it's so great to finally meet you," Annabelle smiled and shook my hand. "Jamie has told me a lot about you today."

All I did was nod before awkwardly sitting next to Caleb, who gave me a smile. I faked a smile back.

After a couple of minutes I spotted Mum's car pull up in the car loop. I waved goodbye to Jamie and Caleb, but they were too busy chatting with Annabelle to even really notice.

I got in the car and greeted Mum as I fastened my seatbelt. I stared out the window at my friends as we began to pull away. Caleb must have said something funny, because Annabelle was laughing with her head of red curls tilted back and a pretty grin plastered across her face, a hand playfully shoving my boyfriend before leaning forward and hugging him. I felt a large stab of jealousy go through my heart as they got further away, probably still laughing their heads off as I sat miserably in the front seat of the car, trying my very best not to let it get to me.

•••

I was laying on my bed a few hours later typing away at my laptop when my phone buzzed. I looked down to see a FaceTime request from Caleb. I hesitated before allowing my finger to press the green button.

"Hey Felly," Caleb greeted as his face popped up on my phone screen.

"Hey," I said back as I continued to type.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked. "You're typing pretty fast over there."

"I'm actually filling out a job application," I explained. "Mum says I should try and apply for a job so I can get a taste of the 'real world'. Plus I can use the money I earn for whatever I want."

"Sounds fun," Caleb said with a nod. "So, what did you think of Annabelle? Isn't she nice?"

Hearing Annabelle's name made me roll my eyes. "Yeah," I mustered out, the tone of my voice not seeming very sincere.

Caleb's smile turned into a frown. "Felly, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied.

"Do you not like Annabelle?" he asked.

"No, she's fine, it's not that," I lied.

"Then what is it?"

I sighed as I ran a hand through my hair. "It's nothing. Anyway I've got to go, I'm kind of busy right now. Chat later?"

Caleb nodded. "Okay," he said almost disappointedly. "Bye, Felly."

"Bye Caleb," I hung up and continued to fill out my job application before saving it to my computer and printing it. I was applying to work at a local bookstore called Parsons Book Shop since they were hiring kids my age, and I loved books, so it was like the perfect job for me.

"Dad, can you take me to the book shop so I can turn in my job application?" I asked as I poked my head into his office.

"Sure," he nodded as he stood up. I handed him the car keys before we got in the car and drove off.

"I'll wait here," Dad said as he pulled into a parking space. It was pouring rain out, so I pulled a hoodie over my head and ran across the parking lot into the book store, the ends of my hair dripping.

I was about to approach the front desk to ask where I could turn in my form before noticing who was behind the desk.

It was Annabelle Parsons.

Annabelle stood up from behind the desk and turned around, her red curls following behind her. She saw me and smiled. "Felicity, hi! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to drop off a job application form," I explained as I slowly approached her.

"I can give it to the manager for you," she smiled as she held a hand out. "After all, she is my mother."

My eyes went wide. "Your mother is the store owner?"

"Yeah, this is Parsons Book Shop," Annabelle said with a slight laugh. I mentally face palmed, feeling stupid for not making the connection earlier.

"So, did you want me to hand it in for you..?" Annabelle asked once again.

I hesitated before nodding and handing her the manila folder I was holding. Annabelle flashed me her pretty smile before taking the folder from my hands.

"Thanks for stopping by, Felicity. Good luck, maybe we'll even be working together," Annabelle said with a grin before walking off to the back of the store.

"I hope not," I muttered under my breath as I left the store, hoping that if I do get this job, I won't be paired up to work with the bubbly red head.

•••

A/N: so this chapter was kinda like a "hey i haven't updated in a while and idk what to write so let's just write whatever!" so sorry if it sucked. i was never planning on having annabelle be a character, but she just popped in my mind and in order to keep the story interesting, we need a little drama so...fair warning, you may have to watch out for little miss annabelle 👀 but she's intended to be a nice and sweet character, so love her if you want or hate her, that's up to you 😂

also ik ik, calicity just got together and now there's a "threat", o o p s i e

^ sorry for all that rambling, i just kinda wanted to explain that :)

anyway i hope you enjoyed this chapter! if so please don't forget to vote comment and share because i love your feedback!

thanks, until next time ;)

- kathleen <3