New Girl - The Creatures

Chapter 40

We all went to the food court and broke off into various small groups for food. I went to Panera with Dan and Jordan, who was also in the mood for paying an arm and a leg for mediocre Mac and cheese and rolls of bread. I couldn't stop thinking about the way James' lips felt on mine. I knew that he had kissed me at the hospital, but I wasn't exactly in the best shape then and I found it difficult to remember my time pre-not being able to talk but post-me falling. It was a blurry little gray area that I found to be infuriating.

James and I made brief eye contact and I felt my heart rocket to my throat, and I had an overwhelming urge to tackle him and hold his hand and just be with him. I then looked over at Seamus, who had been off staring at some girl in line at Panda Express. I knew that it wouldn't matter to him in the end, even if he was momentarily grumpy about it. But the thought of having to confront him about it sounded icky, and I pushed it out of my mind as I was handed my tray of overpriced carbs.

Our group took up several tables, and as I sat back and enjoyed my food and watched the others interact, I couldn't help but feel an immense amount of love for this little family I was a part of. Sly tossing pieces of rice at Aleks, Seamus and Max laughing together, James and Jordan doing a bit as Dan recorded them; it was so nice for things to be back to as normal as they were in this house.

James looked at me and grinned as I gorged myself on mac and cheese. I felt my heart implode again and smiled back before taking a huge mouthful of pasta. We'd get to talk later, but for now, it was mac time.

As everyone finished their meals and we headed back to the cars, Dan filming the group shenanigans along the way, I got a text from Sly, who was up ahead with Aleks.

"GIRL. I saw you and James. Seamus almost turned the corner and saw, but I distracted him and he didn't see anything. But y'all better be careful til you tell him," it read. Fuck. I felt myself start to panic, though I knew that Sly wouldn't tell Seamus about what happened.

"Ah shit. Thank you for stopping him. We haven't even talked at all about being together, the kiss just sort of happened. I'll let James know to not be dumb and so public about it. Love ya <3"

I wrote back to Sly after screenshotting his message and texting it to James, who was talking with Max in the middle of the pack. Dan and Seamus were right behind them discussing Skyrim mods they had found. Jordan was right in front of me, texting away. He stopped and stuffed his hands in his pockets, and then realized I was behind him.

"Hey, Samarino. How's it going?" he asked as I laughed at the new nickname he conjured up for me. "Pretty good. What about you, Jor-Jor?" I asked back in retaliation with my own strange nickname. "I'm alright. How have you been doing since the hospital?" he inquired, and I could hear that he genuinely was curious.

"I've been doing okay. I'm nervous that every time I start to talk I'm going to stutter again, and I know it'll happen eventually, but it still makes me anxious. Otherwise though, I'm feeling okay," I told him, fidgeting with the collar of my shirt.

"I'm really glad. I was worried about you, y'know. We all were. But I'm just glad you're okay and home again, even though it's only been a few months that you've been with us it felt so weird without you in the house. You're like another sister to me and I'm glad everything is getting back to normal," he said. I was taken aback by his sincerity, since Jordan and I weren't extremely close. "Thanks Jordan, it means a lot. I missed you guys," I said, smiling at him. He grinned back and almost immediately after, we arrived to the parking lot. We split up into the same groups we had arrived in, and before long, we were back at the house.

Dan would be uploading this brief escapade today but would upload the pool part tomorrow, though we were still going to be filming it today. I hadn't checked my phone to see James' reply and part of me didn't want to anyways just to keep the stress of that particular situation tucked away for the time being.

After we all walked into the house, Dan asked for whoever was available to go ahead and get in the backyard so he could film the pool tidbit. It was starting to sprinkle lightly, which I assume was his reasoning for wanting to hastily film the 'Creature Pool' being open.

Jordan began filming as he, James, and myself stood back and let Dan take center stage on the edge of the pool, still dressed in his Joker shirt and some khakis from when we went to the mall. The others were inside putting their bags away, and in Sly's case, probably going to the bathroom.

"Alright, so as you can see, it's a very beautiful day, you guys have been asking what are we gonna do with the pool, when are we going to open it, and I think it's nice enough today- it's starting to rain, it feels great, its a good summer day!" He clapped his hands, looked in the camera and said, "Let's go for a swim!" before diving into the pool suddenly. James and Jordan started laughing as he submerged.

"Is it my turn now?" James laughed, his hands stuffed into his jean pockets. Jordan mumbled out an incoherent reply before saying, "Go for it!" and I started to cackle as James ran forward and cannonballed into the pool.

He rose to the surface, and I felt my heart pound at how gleeful he seemed. "It's actually pretty cold," he said as he treaded water. "We have officially opened the pool!" Dan called out as Jordan panned up to him, flashing the camera a thumbs up. They kept up a bit for a few moments before eventually getting out of the pool as the rain grew heavier. The forecast was clear for tomorrow so we would actually get in and enjoy ourselves then.

Jordan was finishing up filming when he turned suddenly and caught Seamus staring out into the backyard like a dog wanting to be let outside. James suddenly looked annoyed, but his reaction was unnoticed as Jordan yelled at Seamus for being a creep whilst laughing. We all went inside before the rain really picked up. I grabbed my bag off the counter of the kitchen and went up to my room, excited to get to sit down, record an update and some content, and then binge Grey's Anatomy for a few hours.

Just as I was sitting down in my chair, excited to finally relax, a sharp knock came to my door. I walked over, slightly deflated from my TLC being interrupted, to reveal James standing there. He looked around for a sign of Seamus before I stood to the side and let him into my room, clicking the door shut behind him.