Shadow

Chapter 24

I woke up with a start, snapping my gaze towards the clock.

11:45 am.

Fuck.

I threw my covers aside and leapt out of bed. I grabbed my toothbrush and paste as I stripped out of my clothes, and hopping into the shower. No time for doing everything separately.

I brushed my teeth furiously as I lathered the soap, covering my body. If multitasking was an Olympic sport I would definitely be winning gold.

After hopping out of the shower with both myself and my teeth all good and sparkly, I changed into the outfit I laid out last night, in case I woke up late this morning. Look at me being all organised and shit.

I looked down at the white tee, black skinny jeans and Converse I was wearing. I made a mental note to myself to stop buying Vans and Converse and broaden my style as I rushed downstairs and out of the house, keys in hand.

I zoomed out of the driveway and into the road, glancing towards the clock nervously. It was 12:15 pm. I was going to be late. Hell, I was late.

I took the shortest route possible to the only Starbucks in our area. There was only a handful of Starbucks in Australia, which sucked because those damn milkshakes were heavenly.

I parked in the closest lot to the front door and rushed to the shop. My eyes scanned the surrounding to find a familiar mop of brown or black hair.

Bingo, I thought to myself as my eyes settled on Josh's jet black just-out-of-bed hairdo. The guys were waiting for me outside the shop. I walked towards them sheepishly, to find them talking amongst each other quietly.

Josh was wearing a bright blue hoodie and khaki coloured, ankle-length jeans, finishing his look with a pair of white Nike Air Force shoes. His air was spiked in various places, I was assuming it was a 'trend' he was following, but it looked as though he'd not bothered doing anything to his hair since he'd woken up.

Brent wore a simple black tee, denim jeans and sneakers. His hair was pushed up and out of his face, a style that I'd started to like seeing on him, in contrast to his usual sophisticated look.

Zayn wore a red oversized sweater and black jeans, finishing off with black Vans. He had his hair similarly styled as Brent, making them look strikingly similar. Zayn's red streak was fading but still visible in his hair, matching his red sweater.

Aidan wore a black leather jacket over a simple white tee, with black skinny jeans, which were pushed into his black combat boots. His hair was for once gelled up, showing his usually hidden forehead.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" I apologised frantically.

Josh was the first to look up at me, and he greeted me with a side-hug, "Hey, it's cool, you're not that late."

The rest of the guys waved at me and I returned their gesture.

"Okay, enough being formal," Josh interrupted, "Let's get something, I'm starving."

We chuckled at Josh's impatience and walked into the store. The strong smell of coffee hit me but it was a good smell, I wasn't complaining. Green curtains covered the oak walls. Emerald coloured cloths covered the tables and upon the ceiling was a beautiful glass chandelier. We walked towards the counter, which was attended by a young girl. As she saw us approaching, her caramel-coloured eyes widened and her long, curly, strawberry-blonde hair bounced over her shoulders.

"Hello!" The teenaged girl chirped, "How can I help you today?"

"Hey!" Josh smiled, "Can we get a venti almond milk Frappuccino for me, a chocolate milkshake for Zayn, an iced vanilla latte for Brent, a venti hot chocolate for Aidan, and... Raven?"