Confessions of a Matchmaker

s i x

[a/n: don't worry, you didn't miss something but there's like a five hourlong time skip, I'd suggest that you reread the end of the last chapter because your stupid author hasn't updated in so long that you've probably forgotten what happened.]

h a l l e
v a l e n t i n e

I was locked inside the janitor's closet of the mall with Dylan. Tip: do not skip school or you'll get pregnant and die. This had been such a foolish idea anyways, how could I, the straight A student even think of doing such a thing? It was definitely going to leave a deep scar in my reputation as a devoted good girl.

So recap, in the past 24 hours, I foolishly agreed to skip school with Dylan and his friends; we had eaten; and now, he convinced me to go the mall with him. However, I has thought that he meant window shopping and such, only to find out last minute that he wanted to have an adventure which included us running around and angering shopkeepers. At one particular shop, a German guy got so pissed off that he started chasing us which is how we ended up in the janitor's closet but then supposedly the mall closed at seven because of a protest.

We had no idea of this alleged protest and Dylan only remembered when the lock clicked shut so we were locked inside the mall. Everyone else had been hiding in the ice cream cart so I wasn't sure where they were and there wasn't any service on both of our phones. I could see the headlines right now 'Former good girl dies with another student after attempting to skip school'. Then it occurred to me that even worse was the fact that I was grounded, my mom was bound to kill me for staying out late and possibly extend my grounding.

"Still no service?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

Dylan shook his head, slowly slipping his phone back into his pocket then giving me a guilty smile, "Nope," then he leaned back onto the wall defeatedly, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess."

"I kinda agreed to this besides it was fun. The shopkeeper called me a bitch in German, that's pretty cool," I'd done a little bit of German but then I dropped it once I got to Year Ten. "Do you think the others are still in the ice cream cart. I mean, if they escaped they'd get someone to look for us, right?"

Panic was about to set in when he nodded assuring me, "Trust me, it'll be fine," then he emphasized, more importantly, "We'll be fine, yeah?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine," I repeated to myself for extra assurance.

The atmosphere was eerily silent as we stood in the closet then Dylan slid down to the ground and I followed suit. His chin was rested flat on his open palm and a bored expression on his face.

"I guess we'd better use this time wisely," I settled comfortably, stretching my legs across the hard tile, "So about the blind date that I was talking about. It's with this really nice girl. She likes bluebells so make sure you get her a bouquet on Wednesday. You should probably talk to her about, um, football and stuff."

He raised an eyebrow amusedly, "I should talk to a girl about football?"

"She's a different type of girl," I insisted, "The type that likes football and baseball. Her favourite film is The Purge and she's into cars. She can name car brands off the top of her head," I suddenly realised how different Carmen was as I talked about her, "She's really pretty and funny. She swears like a sailor and acts like she's in sane most of the time but she's amazing. When you meet her, please don't judge her by her exterior because believe it or not -- and trust me, it will be a shock to meet her -- but honestly she's the most incredible person."

Dylan nodded, a small grin setting in, "I could fall in love with her just by the way you describe this girl. You make her sound more than incredible. If she's anything like you said, I'm sure the blind date will be fine."

"It will be," then we were silent for a few more seconds before curiosity got the better of me, "I'm just asking this out of sheer curiosity but what's the youngest you would date and the oldest? It's good to know these things sometimes. Oh, and what's your biggest turn off? And biggest turn on."

He took a sip out of his water bottle, "Youngest is eighteen because I've got future plans after high school and I can't be tied down by someone still in high school -- as bad as that sounds it's true. The oldest I'd date is thirty two because I think that's Megan Fox's age, right?" Cracking a smile, he continued, "My biggest turn off is a girl who chews with her mouth open and my biggest turn on is a girl with big boob-- I mean, a big heart," he corrected himself when I violently hit his arm from that inappropriate remark.

"Typical guy."

He spluttered, "I was joking. I like girls with big hearts who are generous and kind and effortlessly selfless, most of all honest. But then despite all these things, you can't really choose who you fall in love with regardless of their age, looks or even their nastiest habits. You can't help it."

I agreed, "You've got a point there."

He nudged me with his knee, "And you?"

I laughed almost nervously, "What about me?"

"We always talk about me but I just realised that I know near to nothing about you which is why I'm now asking -- wait, no, demanding that you talk about yourself a bit. For a minute or two at least."

"I'm not very interesting," I tried my lamest excuse but when he only raised his eyebrows, I sighed, "Fine. I'm the middle kid out of five children. My favourite colour is pink, don't judge me, I was a really girly girl and I still am. My favourite band is My Chemical Romance and my favourite single artist is Amy Winehouse. My guilty pleasure, sadly, is Justin Bieber music -- don't judge me -- and bacon."

He frowned, "Why does bacon have to be a guilty pleasure?"

I passed him back his water bottle, explaining quietly, "My family is vegetarian, mostly because of my mom who is a health freak and basically all fruits, vegetable and monthly diets person. Don't get me wrong, she's amazing, but honestly she's like one of those patronising moms at times. It's ironic seeing my dad is the typical All American Dad. You know, hates frills; likes meat a lot, problem when you're supposed to be vegetarian; loves lazing around on the sofa on Sunday mornings; and is majorly overprotective of his little girls."

"Not so little anymore, though," Dylan quipped playfully.

I hit his arm, "Shut it. What colleges have you applied to? If you're planning on going to college, that is."

"I'm looking at foreign ones actually, remember how I told you about my urges to explore and have my own adventures? Well, I've applied to a college in Belgium, one in France and another in Zimbabwe. They all have names that I'm yet to learn how to pronounce. I've also applied to Cambridge, University of Lancaster and University of Manchester. There's also a university in Spain and a few backups in America like Princeton, Yale, maybe NYU and such."

I smirked, "Whoa, you must be crazy smart if you're applying to those," then I licked my lips tentatively, "But it's good and kinda admirable that you're so eager to explore and be independent."

"Thank you," he smiled once again, I was almost getting used to seeing his beautiful smile, "Maybe one day you could join me on a trip to Cape Town since you seem so interested in my adventures. It'd be crazy fun and Cape Town is really beautiful," his eyes seemed to twinkle and I couldn't help but laugh -- he could make me laugh.

"Maybe."

A/N: Such a short chapter I know but it's better than nothing considering the fact that I haven't updated in years literally. Happy New Year guys, how did you spend the holiday? (I'm back in school which sucks but yeah the holiday was cool) picture of Cape Town on the side because South Africa is so freaking beautiful, you don't even get. Bye then, Zara (your irresponsible writer who couldn't even update on time)

P.S: Dedicated to emma2therescue she's amazing :)