Light Blue

Part xiv- Only Like the Movies

14

“Oscar!” I hiss at him as the voice comes nearer. “What do I do?” I scrabble to my feet and he stands up as well. Any tension between us now had now doubled but both of our faces are mirror images of blind panic. Oscar tugs at his T-Shirt collar.

“You could just stay here and we can try and explain it to Emily? I mean, it’s not as though she would mind…” he trails off.

But the look on his face says it all, as probably did mine- Even though it was really Amelia who hated Emily and vice versa, to find me alone with her boyfriend would probably not put me in her good books, especially after her disappearing act and his failed attempt at being the hero. Also, considering the photo I had just seen, it would be difficult for me not to slap her. Oscar looks around the room quickly.

“Can’t hide you in the bathroom, too obvious and she would discover you in no time- that girl spends so much time doing her make-up and her hair,” he runs a hand through his hair and a part of me wants to say ‘calm down’ it’s only Emily, and we can resolve it normally, but the situation is suddenly becoming bigger in my mind and the drama takes over as adrenaline rushes through my veins.

Maybe underneath the bed,” he stops as he looks at my panicky expression, “maybe not.” His eyes fall onto the sheets on the bed and suddenly his eyes light up mischievously and I am forcibly reminded of his antics on the hill.

“You need to escape. Go onto the balcony,” he whispers to me and he pushes me lightly towards the large window. I step out into the balmy air and look down over the railing at the busy Parisian streets below. Seconds later, Oscar joins me on the balcony, however now in his hands was one of the bed sheets. He looks straight into my eyes and my stomach starts to turn.

“Delilah. How do you feel about a little climbing?”

 “What do you mean?” I ask in confusion, laughing nervously. He must be joking. He gestures to the balcony below us.

“You can climb down there,” he says seriously.

“You expect me to climb onto a stranger’s balcony and everything will be alright?” I say sceptically, but a small giggle left my lips as I cross my arms. He turns pink and he fiddles with the bed sheet in his hands.

“Delilah, that’s your balcony.”

I look down at back up at him. I gesture to it.

“How the hell do you know that’s my balcony?”

Oscar turns a deeper shade of pink.

“I saw you last night on it,” he says hurriedly. I turn pink as well as I recall what had happened last night. He had witnessed my whole speech and now I want to bury my head in the bed sheet and cry.

“Oh, yes, right,” I manage to choke out.

He carries on and his face is now entirely flushed. Things between us keep getting solved but then suddenly tossed up into a whole new shade of awkwardness. Even that moment in the room, it was not quite yet resolved- as I could tell from the way his eyes are so clear and bright and the forceful quality in his smile. He moves towards the wrought iron railing, not looking at me

“So if I just tie this onto the railing, you can just climb down it and….”

I let the words process through my mind and I look at him in horror, my heart beating a hundred miles an hour.

“What?!” I shout at him, but he puts up a hand and I clap a hand to my mouth. We struggle to listen for the voice outside over the distant din of the motorists below. It’s still there, but from here, she wasn’t getting any closer. She had stopped somewhere along the corridor. “Sorry,” I say in quieter tones but I glare at him, “I thought you were joking! Are you crazy Oscar?! If this goes wrong I’m a pancake on a pavement in Paris with a crowd of French people to witness. I don’t know about you, but I had nicer visions of dying!”