My Hero

Chapter 3

Ember

"Ember what are you studying?" Jess had been asking the most questions out of the group, that I was now the centre of attention of.

"I'm doing Business Management, what about you?" I ask hoping that I won't be the only one interrogated anymore.

"I'm doing Drama and English, where did you move from?" Jess quickly answers my first question, and then asks her sixth or seventh.

"Leave her alone Jess, I didn't invite her to hang with us only to play twenty-one questions" Vicky is quickly at my defensive, which I didn't really need her to do, as Jess now looked embarrassed.

"Sorry" Jess quickly mumbles looking straight at me with sympathetic eyes.

"Oh no no it's fine, don't wo-" before I could finish comforting Jess' shame, Drew obviously thought my reply wasn't needed as much as his question.

"Have you got a boyfriend?" He looks at his male friends raising his eyebrows and smirking.

"Why's that any of your business?" By his face suddenly dropping, I don't think he was expecting that answer.

His eyebrows tug together before slowly going back to their full placement gently above his brown eyes, "Well I'd obviously like to get to know you better sweet cheeks."

His smugness and cringe worthy nickname was enough to make me dislike this boy.

"And I obviously have standards you can't even imagine on reaching, sweet cheeks" I say the awful nickname he had put on me, with as much sarcasm my mouth could push out.

I can see Jess and Vicky holding back a smile, whilst Zoey is still firmed faced, even more blank than before.

"Playing hard to get, I see" Drew gives me a wink, which I return with an equally enthusiastic roll of my eyes.

-

Vicky's friends left a couple minutes before midnight, they seemed like a nice group from first impressions.

Even if Zoey was staring me out the whole night.

"I'm sorry about them, they're not usually so.." Vicky looked lost for words so I decided to give her a hand.

"Inquisitive, maybe even too forward?" I look straight at her hoping I haven't caused any offence, but the small laugh that escaped her mouth told me otherwise.

"Yeah that" she looked down to the ground tumbling with her fingers, "Well I'm going to get a shower."

"Alright if I'm not out here when you're finished I've gone bed, so night."

"Night Ember."

I slump down on mine and Vicks shared sofa, that I hadn't actually sat on once since I'd arrived. It wasn't expensive and you knew that when you sat on it, but it was fine because it was half mine.

I'm just still dreading the ideas of what Vicky's going to do with her half.

A knock from the door takes me out of my trance, bringing me to the real world I'd much rather not think about.

I opened the door not knowing who to expect at this time of night, but I sure as hell wasn't expecting to see Hero standing there.

Hero hadn't spoke much of the night, he made a few comments, a lot of eye rolls and laughed at some stupid thing Drew or Tony had said. He seemed nice enough, and he also didn't look bad. Him and Drew were both equally good looking, very different but good looking.

Although Hero did have an advantage, as his eyes were enough to make you loose your chain of thought. They were an equal mix of blue and grey, one colour being more prominent in different lightings. But I did recall myself staring straight at them earlier tonight, which I really wished I hadn't as he'd caught me a few times.

"I think I left my phone here," his sheepish smile was enough to make me automatically smile back at him.

"Go straight ahead," I move aside, my back slightly pressing against the narrow door way.

Hero passes me slowly, his arm slightly grazing my stomach, which he didn't seem to notice. He walks towards the coffee table, leaning down to where his phone was.

"Got it," he lifts the phone in front of us both, "thanks for letting us in."

"Well it's not like I was going to sell it for some extra cash," a grin is what I get in return as he walks back towards the door he had just so quickly entered.

"It was nice meeting you Ember, I guess I'll see you around more often now," he pushes his phone into the front of his pocket, then lifts his glacier eyes back up to my face for conformation.

"I guess you will" I smile up at him, putting my hands on the door to let him go, "night Hero"

"Goodnight" he nods lightly and then starts to walk away, as I shut the door Hero decides to come to a stop and turn around.

"Ember wait," he shouts from a couple feet away, I open the door again letting my head come around the corner, Hero is jogging slowly towards me with both hands tucked away in his jacket. "If you ever need someone to show you around London so you know, you're not hmm lost or... confused, just give me a shout," he gives me a smile, not a smile that he'd given me before, but a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness. An unexpected warmth rushes through me, and I can't help but like how he wasn't overly confident too.

"Thanks Hero, I appreciate it"

"No worries"

This time Hero didn't stop or take another look, just carried on walking away with his head held high and hands still in his pockets.