The Timekeeper

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Candice! Claire's here." My mother called from the bottom of the staircase. I quickly pinned some of my hair back, letting the rest fall down my back. It wasn't something I was used to, but all I could think of was what Jase had said last night. You should wear your hair down more often. The thought sent shivers down my spine, just making me want to see him even more. Although, I knew the moment the wind hit my hair and sent it every which way, I'd instantly regret leaving it down.

"Come on, we've got to go!" Claire said, suddenly appearing in the doorway. Her hair was still straight from the dance last night, though her curls had started to appear around her ears.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming," I smiled, following her out the door and down the stairs. Alex was lingering around the front door, looking almost too afraid to move just in case he touched something he wasn't supposed to.

"Hey Alex," I grinned as we approached him, receiving a small wave in return. He was always shy around me, though Claire said he would never shut up when it was just the two of them together. It was funny how you acted so differently around certain people.

I quickly said goodbye to my mother, before we headed out the door and piled into Claire's car. She was recounting the dance to me, telling me how amazing it was and that I really missed out on a great night. I didn't mind that I'd missed the dance, my night still turned out to be pretty good.

"I can't believe you couldn't convince Jase to come! I was so sure that dress would steal his heart," she sighed. I hadn't yet had the chance to tell her that things with Jase were back the way they should be, but she could tell something was up by the smile that had been plastered on my face all morning.

"I think he really liked the dress, Claire," I smiled, thinking of the way his eyes kept flicking down my body. 

"Well obviously not enough if he hasn't even-" She looked at me then, her eyes flicking from the road in front of us back to me. All I could do was grin and nod repeatedly. "He forgave you? Well then, this calls for a celebration!"

The car jerked suddenly, almost cutting off the oncoming traffic as Claire turned down a narrow side street. I had no idea where she was planning on taking us now. At first I had thought she would just be going back to her house, or down to the shops for some retail therapy, but we were too far away for either of those options right now.

"Where on earth are we going?" I asked finally, afraid we might’ve been lost.

"To Jase's house, of course," Claire grinned, taking another sharp turn, throwing Alex and I around the car like ragdolls.

"Wait, what? Claire-" I warned, knowing already that this couldn’t possibly be a good idea. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Jase, because of course I did, I mean I could barely stop thinking about him, but Claire’s plans were always a bit crazy.

"What? We can’t double date if you don’t have your date, now can we?" she smiled, unable to wipe the grin off her face.

“I never agreed to this,” I said, looking out the window towards row upon row or residential houses.

“Either did I,” Alex called from the back seat. He wasn’t particularly happy that he drew the short straw and missed out on the passenger seat.

“Oh shut up, the both of you! It’s going to be fun!” She rolled her eyes, turning down a small court that suddenly seemed extremely familiar to me. I wasn’t sure how she knew where Jase lived, though I wasn’t about to ask. She probably followed me here last night, making sure I had actually gone to his house and not to sulk at the café.

Before I knew it she was ushering me out of the car, towards Jase’s house. My foot caught on the road, making me stumble as neared the home, hoping nobody saw it. Though when I turned around back towards the car, I could see Claire laughing, proving me wrong. I made a face, before turning back around just as I entered the small path that lead to the front door. I thought back to last night, when I stood here pathetically hoping for forgiveness, and for the door to open. This time, the door opened on the first knock.