in time // h.s.

xxiv. janet

Twenty-one years old...

The weekend after our double date, we all went back to Cheshire. It was my dad's fortieth birthday and a big party had been planned to celebrate. The hall in our local community club had been booked, a mullet-coiffed DJ hired and a few dozen blue and silver helium balloons had been puffed up for decoration.

After all the drama of the previous weeks I had been thrilled to be going home, back to familiar surroundings where everything was once so simple. However, our calm little house had been taken over for the weekend and turned into chaotic madness. With distant and overseas relatives invading us to share in the celebrations, there was a battle over the bathrooms, hairdryers and any tiny little space as we all fought to get ourselves ready for the party.

At seven twenty-five on the dot, once my hair was in a high bun and I'd managed to squeeze myself into my floor-length emerald dress, the taxis arrived. As the rest of the family cascaded into the waiting cars, mom turned to me with her hand on her forehead.

"I completely miscalculated how many of us there were."

"Huh?" I frowned, slipping my feet into my heels. "I'll just squeeze in the back."

"No, the driver won't allow that. You wait here and I'll send someone back for you."

"But, mom," I whined, hating the idea of being left behind and having to turn up on my own.

"That way I can check everything's okay with the hall before everyone else arrives. Thanks, love," she flustered, before giving me a kiss on the cheek and running out the door.

Rather bemused, I sat on the stairs and waited.

After about five minutes, the doorbell rang. I opened it to find Matty, looking dashing in a grey suit, his ginger hair slicked back into a stylish quiff. Somehow, despite all the recent events and how much he'd hurt me, he still managed to take my breath away.

"Did my mom send you?" I asked, reaching for my clutch bag.

"Not quite."

"What do you mean... did you ask her to leave me behind?"

"Maybe," he smiled, looking nervous, still wary of how I might act around him. "I just thought it would be nice to go together. We've not had a night out like this since, well, I think it was our sixth-form ball."

"I guess not."

"This is for you," he offered, pulling a corsage from behind his back. A thick row of gorgeous pearled beads made up the band, on to which was attached a deep red rose. "May I?" he asked, gesturing for my wrist.

I couldn't help but smile then. It was exactly the same as the corsage he'd given me on the night of our ball three years before, when he had, again, picked me up from my doorstep and escorted me.

"This is very nice," I smiled, appreciating the effort.

"Thank you," he said softly, looking bashful.

Once the house was locked up, I took hold of his arm and let him lead me to the taxi, where he opened and closed the door for me like a gentleman.

As the car started moving and we sat in silence with our hands entwined, I felt closer to Matty than I had in weeks. I shut my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder, allowing myself to enjoy the warmth I'll admit I'd begun to miss.

The car stopped sooner than I expected. To my dismay I opened my eyes to find we were outside Harry's house. Not only was he walking towards the car, but so was Alex, something I was completely unprepared for.