Forward

Chapter Nine

"You on set tomorrow?" Inanna asks, breaking the otherwise peaceful silence.

I give her a brief look, nod and then look away again. I'm sure she knows that I am..

"Me too." She stands a little closer.

"It's so cold out here.." She shivers. I look down at her and can't help but feel a little bad for her. Remembering how I had been quick to help Jo earlier, I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't do the same for Inanna.

Keeping the cigarette firmly taught between my lips, I remove my jacket and hand it to her. Maybe I was wrong to judge her so quickly.. Maybe I have been a little harsh.

It was her confidence that threw me and rubbed me up the wrong way.. But maybe I should give her the benefit of the doubt, after all.

"Thanks." She smiles and turns around, waiting for me to slip it on her.

I raise my eyebrows briefly before sliding the arms of the jacket over her and stepping back.

A small plume of smoke hits me directly in the eye and I hiss as the sting becomes too much.

"Oh my god, are you okay? Here, let me see." I hear her fuss.

"No, it's fine. I'm fine, really." I protest with a wince, my face still screwed up tightly from the pain.

"Oh there you two are. Everything alright?" I hear Jo ask.

I try to open both eyes but can only really open one. I can see she's concerned but she doesn't look exactly happy either, especially judging by the way she's folding her arms and looking at my jacket on Inanna's small frame.

"Come on, let's get you back inside." Inanna takes hold of my arm and tries to lead me away.

"I'll be ok." I tell her. "Thankyou though." I say to her before looking for Jo only to see that she has already gone back inside.

As we return to our seats, the lively chatter soon dissipates and stops. Anna eyes us both carefully before addressing the obvious as Inanna slips of my jacket and returns it to me with a smirk.

"Do you do this for every girl that you meet?" Anna laughs. "Offering them your clothes?" She prompts.

"What? No." I half frown and grin. "She was cold." I shrug.

"Which one? You kinda need to specify.." I hear an unfamiliar voice point out in a cocky manner.

Looking further down the table I see another girl who's sipping on her drink and waiting for my response.

"Um.. Both? I guess. Sorry, I don't know your name.." I say squinting.

"Khadijha. But you can call me Red" She says before sipping on her colourful drink again which is incidentally, also red.

"She's going to be playing my roomie, Steph." Jo tells me without looking at me.

"Ohh! Steph. Yeah, I see it now." I smile politely.

"So you've read the book?" Khadijha raises an eyebrow.

Shit, what was I thinking.. I hope it isn't obvious.

"That's so awesome!" She smiles at me before turning to the dark haired guy beside her. "Unlike you, Samuel."

I frown and lean forward to see who she's talking to.

"Oh, my bad. This is Samuel, he's playing Zed." Red mentions casually as she returns her attention to her drink.

"Hey Samuel aka Zed." I grin, raising my hand.