Where Two Collide

Chapter Forty-Five - Alice

Chapter Forty-Five

Alice

"Do we need snacks?" I asked as I opened a cupboard door in the kitchen.

"Always," said Tia coming up behind me and grabbing a giant bag of salted popcorn. "Bowl or no bowl?"

"Bowl." I opened another cupboard and took out a bowl, passing it to her.

Rachel was already lying on my bed when I opened the bedroom door, she'd littered the floor with her shoes and coat and bag, and the contents of Tia's bag was half strewn across Cats bed. She didn't look up as I plonked myself cross legged on the grey woollen rug in middle of the room.

Tia took one look at her bag and flashed Rachel a irritable glare. "I swear you are the nosiest person I know."

Rachel smirked a little. "You shouldn't leave your stuff out if you don't want people to go through it. Besides, I was looking for that lipstick you were wearing yesterday that you said I could have."

Tia reached into the pile and drew out a red tube, launching it at Rachel. "You could have at least put my stuff back after you tipped half of it out."

"I forgot, sorry," she said with a shrug. "Open the popcorn will you, I'm starving."

Tia teared open the packet and poured it out into the bowl. "What's left of your birthday party planning at this point?" She asked as she set down the popcorn on the rug, sitting down opposite me.

"The boys are bringing booze and they're going to start building the bonfire before it get dark, and I've got loads of snacks together," I replied, counting it out on my fingers. "I'm just doing a bit of basic decoration and I wanted you guys to help me put together these paper decorations I ordered online. I just want to give it a sort of theme."

"Isn't the beach already a theme," Tia asked, reaching for the popcorn.

Rachel joined us on the floor. "I don''t know why you want us to help with this, isn't artsy fartsy crap more Cats scene," she said matter of factly. She pinched a single piece of popcorn and popped it in her mouth.

This was completely something Cat would excel at but the fact she'd even agreed to this party, let alone was considering bringing friends, was too much out of left field for me to risk pissing her off. I wanted her to turn up, she was my twin and although I had my friends and my boyfriend, I still wanted to celebrate our birthday together.

I had asked her if she'd maybe make a sign, but I'd made out like it was no big deal if she didn't have time, which she seemed to enjoy pointing out to me regularly. I did need it though; it was basically the centre piece of my whole party. Right now, though, I just wanted her around, that was good enough, even if we weren't talking like we used to and sharing everything that was going on in our lives.

"She's too busy with her Art Club at the moment," I said, waving a hand. "You guys are helping anyway, we've totally got this."

"Yeah we do," said Tia enthusiastically.

I opened the box of decorations and chucked the random assortment of Hawaiian style decor at my friends. It was all very colourful, very tiki-esq. Which was exactly the kind of theme I was going for.

Rachel stretched out a lantern made of different shades of pink paper. "Aren't these illegal or something?"

I shook my head at her. "No these are just battery-operated lights. We're just going to sit them around the sand so it's all pretty. You're thinking of the kind that you float into the air, they're illegal."

"Huh," she said, setting it to one side. "So, where's Owen, how come he's not helping you with the decorations?"

I cringed at the mention of his name. I'd barely seen him in school, this time it was him avoiding me and I wasn't sure if that made it worse. I wasn't even sure what that meant. Was he done with me now? That didn't seem likely, he was always so sure of us, more so than I'd ever been, and he had that ongoing fear that I would leave, so why would he be the one to end it.

I sighed to myself. Maybe it would be a relief if he ended our relationship, it would relinquish all responsibility from me. I loved him, at least I felt like I must after everything we'd been through together. Though there was this small niggling feeling of disquietude. I was afraid, constantly of what he was going to do, how he was going to react. Yet I didn't want to hurt him, and I didn't want it to be over.

"Because we're helping, duh," said Tia. She threw what appeared to be a flower bunting at Rachel, and it streamed through the air like a colourful rainbow. "The boys don't always have to be here when we're hanging out; we don't need them."

I shoved a handful of popcorn in my mouth, not keen to continue this conversation about Owen. They hadn't noticed he'd not been about much, but then again, they'd both been pre-occupied with their own drama to notice mine.

Rachel raised both eyebrows. "Did you just say that? You realise if there was a Queen of Boys, you would wear the crown right? I mean you just dumped a guy you'd been dating for five weeks for a guy who you met in a cafe, to then dump him for Ashton."

"Actually," Tia said, picking at her nail varnish on her fingers. "I'm dating Mikael now."

Rachel huffed loudly, flopping onto her back on the carpet. "How do you have three guys in the space of a month, and I can't find a single one."

"It's because you're super picky, whereas I look for the potential in every guy," said Tia. "Some things make up for mid-level attractiveness. Like if they have a pool at their house, or they drive or can afford to take me out to lots of awesome places."

"And because you don't really want to date anyone, you still want Dan," I said, welcoming the opportunity to focus on someone else's problems.

"Can't I just have a really hot guy, one that is an eleven, that drives me around and brings me gifts just because they want to?"

Tia laughed. "Keep dreaming. That sounds more like a slave than a boyfriend."

I scrunched up my face. "You think Dan's an eleven?"

"Hmmm, no," Rachel said, suddenly thoughtful. "Owen is though, just look at his giant tasty muscles. They are delicious." She licked her lips making me cringe some more.

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