Trouble meets Trouble

A soft spot

I wake covered with the blanket from the foot of my bed. I don't recall falling asleep but I do recall Flynn being there before I did. We'd sat watching movie after movie, commenting and laughing at parts but neither felt the need to start a conversation and there was certainly no awkwardness. He just sat accompanying me until I fell asleep

The books that we'd placed on my bed to make it look like we were working, in case my parents came in, are now piled up on my bedside locker with the few bags of sweets, we hadn't eaten.

I jump in a quick shower, dry my hair and put my uniform on before descending to the kitchen, where my parents are sat at the table, eating breakfast.

    "Good morning" My mother chirps. She's always been a morning person, unlike me, who even after a shower, still doesn't feel fully awake.

    "Was the film good?" My father question and I freeze.

    "What? How do you.." I look at my parents in surprise.

    "After an hour of not hearing you two bickering, we had a fair idea you weren't working on your project" My father says slightly amused.

    "I had..."

    "It's okay" My mother interrupts. "He's a good guy Leah"

A good guy? Flynn?

I was just going to say that I had nothing to do with it and blame it all on him but if they believe Flynn's a 'good guy' and want to let me away with it, I'm okay with that.

   "A good guy? We are talking about the same Flynn right?" I can't help but blurt out.

   "So you two aren't..." My mother asks suggestively.

   "NO!" I gasp in horror.

   "I knew it" My father chimes. "You owe me a tenner"

   "You two made a bet on me" I huff. Unbelievable! "You thought I was with him just because yous think he's a good guy?"

   "But he is" They chime in unison.

    "And we should know, we have a daughter just like him" My father chuckles and I frown at him.

No way was I like Flynn Murray!

    "Only he has better taste in clothes than she does nowadays" My mother interjects.

    "I thought you liked the new image the new me has"

    "We didn't want a new you Leah. We just wanted you to stay out of trouble" My mother looks at my benevolently. "And how you dress doesn't define who you are. If you like what you wear now and it makes you feel confident then wear it; But regardless of your clothes, you're a good person.."

    "You just fell off the track for a while" My father concludes.

I look at my parents and smile.

Flynn's right, my parents are cool. Just don't tell him I said that.

    "I better get to school" I grab a breakfast bar and head for the door, kissing my parents on the way.

I step outside, pulling my coat tighter around me. It's turned into a proper winter over the past few days.

    "Hey" Summer says a faint smile pulling on her lips.

I run out of my garden and around to her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry for being such a shitty friend" I say, slowly releasing her from my grip. "I'm really not used to this but you're so damn nice, it's contagious. If this was the old me I wouldn't even be hugging you or apologizing. I never told people I was sorry" I say in one long breath then struggle to catch it again.