Softly.

11 Chestnut Road.

The taxi pulls up outside a large house lit with luminous glows and music blasts from the gaps in the windows. A nearby sign reads, '11 Chestnut Road'. This is the place. A fluttering feeling fills your body, is it anxiety, or excitement? Or maybe it's both. You don't like parties much, they make you nervous and there's way too many people. Usually, you'd like to read a book on your bed, or play video games. "Have a nice party." The cab driver smiles. You open the door, nodding in appreciation, before stepping out into the unknown.

You bring a shaky fist into the front door, knocking twice then standing there awkwardly, shuffling your feet at the doorstep. After a few seconds, the door opens and you greet an unknown face. A man, who looks to be around 19 - 20, like everyone else, with a scruffy beard and messy hair. Now the thing is, you hardly know anyone here. You only went because literally everyone at your college went. The man smiles and steps aside, beckoning you to go in. You nod and smile, entering the house. The first thing you notice is the smell of food, and beer. The bitter smell fills your nostrils, you hate it. The food, not so bad, but the smell of beer you absolutely despise. I won't be spending a lot of time inside, you think, heading to the garden. Outside is a lovely pool, lit with lights. Most guests are here, dancing and making out, and whatever people do at parties. You approach a table lined with all sorts of food and drinks, from wine, to gum drops, to sausage rolls, and sandwiches. You take a red gum drop and bite it, satisfied as the flavour explodes in your mouth. After taking a few more, you wonder around the pool, watching everyone having fun. Someone catches your eye, someone interesting enough to make you stop pacing the pool. There's a brown haired female, her hair falls just below her shoulders, coming out the house. She grabs a cup of wine on her way to the pool, before perching on the side. You try to un-suspiciously get a little closer, so you can see more of her. You realise her hair is mixed with blonde, and you think it looks very nice. She tucks her hair behind her ear, revealing more of her face. You simply cannot comprehend how beautiful she is. You find yourself staring, for a good six minutes, at least. She looks up, and her eyes meet yours. Your heart stops, and she smiles, showing the perfect dimples in her cheeks. That's when you fall. Fall into a deep, deep, hole you cannot escape.

*time skip*

She's still sitting there, on the side of the pool. You're sitting on a chair to her right, sipping on some wine and eating most of the gum drops. You specifically picked out all the red ones, since no one else is eating them, and not to forget, they're the best flavour, after all. You've also been thinking about approaching the girl, but your nerves have gone haywire and will not let you. You swish the red liquid in your cup, resisting the urge to look at the girl. After a few minutes have passed, a voice interrupts your swishing of the wine. It's soft and gentle, almost angelic.

"Hey." It says.

Your gaze shifts up, and there she is. The female of your dreams. That perfect blonde - brown hair, those perfect blue eyes, staring right at you. You snap out of your daydream, your cheeks glowing bright red, trying to find the right words that won't fuck up your first impression.

"Oh, hey there." You reply.

Shit, that sounded so cheesy.

"I'm Claire." She smiles, taking a seat on the chair next to you. You look at her in awe, Claire is such a wonderful name. It sounds so sweet and heavenly, like chocolate.

"I'm (Y/N)." You reply. "I think your name is really nice, by the way." You blush a little.

"Awe thank you, I think (Y/N) is honestly a beautiful name, too." She grins, showing off those damn dimples again.

"So, how is the party going?" You ask her, your eyes darting across her body, studying ever part of her, taking it all in. You can't resist.

"It's going pretty shit, actually. Boring." She nods. Hopefully the shadows hide your eye movement.

You nod in agreement, not really listening to what she's saying. You notice she has a really pretty outfit on, a yellowy orange crop top and some denim washed jeans. She's talking, but you get distracted by the way she moves and the way her hair falls down to her face as she's smiling.

"So, yes or no?" She asks, bringing your attention back to her words.

"What? Oh, sorry, pardon? I wasn't paying attention, I was uh-" You say, startled and embarrassed, feeling very rude and terrible.

"It's totally fine, sometimes I talk too much." She laughs, also a very perfect laugh. "I asked if you'd wanna maybe come to the coffee shop with me, since I can tell the party isn't working out for you either."

You nod, a little too quickly and eagerly. "Yeah, I'd love that!"

*time skip*

You and Claire enter the coffee shop, and approach the counter. It's empty, aside from a couple sitting in the corner of the shop sipping on some coffee and talking over some cake.

"What would you like?" Claire asks, smiling. "I'll get you something, you go find us a seat. By the window over there looks nice."

"You sure?" I ask, surprised by her generosity.

"Yeah, of course." She nods.

"Thank you so much - I'll take an uh, a cappuccino, please." You grin, before wondering over and sinking into the seat by the window.

You wait a few moments before Claire appears and places the coffee on the oak table in front of you, following that she sits opposite you.

"So, tell me a bit about yourself." Claire says, sipping her coffee, and cursing under her breath because it's obviously too hot.

"Well, I'm not very interesting." You frown.

"Sure you are, I'd like to know more about you. Please." She pleads.

"Well, I love music. Bedroom Pop, Indie, that sort of stuff. I love Rex Orange Country." You ramble on.

She nods. She seems to be a very good listener.

"What about you? Anything about yourself?" I ask.

"I love that music too! Rex Orange Country is amazing!" She says, a smile curving at her lips a little.

*time skip*

After a few hours of chatting and more coffee, Claire suddenly checks her watch in horror.

"Oh shit! It's 2am!" She exclaims.

"Oh, fuck." Your eyes widen in shock, as you down the last of your coffee, most likely the 20th of the night. That can't be good for me, you think. She gets up from the seat and leans in to hug you.

"It was so nice meeting you, Y/n." You embrace her, and inhale the heavenly smell of her skin. She smells of strawberries and whipped cream.  She pulls away, and smiles. "Oh, nearly forgot. Number." She hands over her phone much to your surprise and joy. Your fingers quickly enter your number into her contacts, and she rushes off.

You sit there for a good minute or two, just thinking about her touch and smell, the sound of her voice, and the look of her face. It's like now she's in your mind, you'll never get rid of her.