AN- Hey! So, we are two authors working on this collaboratively and this is in fact our first Fan Fiction and our first story on this site. So you could call us amateurs... We are REALLY excited to be sharing our story with you guys and we hope you like it! Thanks for reading! :D
The grade twelve class of Kensington High filed off the large passenger airplane, into the crowded London airport. Caroline Lawrence and Ella Rhodes marched down the narrow passage of shops they didn't recognize as their classmates explored the unknown territory. There were automatic doors that lead out to the busy street. Ella bumped into a tall, slim man, apologized and when he said sorry in his thick British accent, she giggled towards her friend, Caroline. People were everywhere they turned, coming, going, meeting for lunch, or returning back to work. They started feeling claustrophobic and overwhelmed by the dense population, much bigger than the few thousand people in their hometown of Queens County, New Brunswick.
"This is so... so..." Ella started, thinking of the right word to describe the new environment all the senior students were experiencing.
"So sick!" Ryan yelled, running up beside Caroline, placing his arm around her shoulders playfully. She shoved him off as she said, "I don't think 'sick' is the right word, Ry. It's more like sophisticated and inspirational." Ella's foot slipped into a puddle.
"Sure, the total opposite of Ella!" Ryan left the girls to run up to some other boys in the class.
"Okay, students! Listen up! We're going to head over to the hotel and then you will have an hour or so before we'll get our dinner!" The English teacher Mrs. Anchory yelled, only to be heard by Ella, Caroline and a few others of her 'favourite students'.
"Okay!" The class shouted back in unison. Students began crossing the street, heading in the same direction but walking as far apart as possible.
Once everyone had reached the hotel, they went straight up to their rooms after they'd all been checked in.
Caroline, Ella and their two other roommates unlocked the door to room 508. The beds were neatly made but there were only two. The light yellow wall paper was peeling in the area under the window, right above the radiator, obviously from the heat. Caroline turned the two bedside lights on, but they were so dim that they barely made a dent in the darkness.
The girls quickly slipped out of their plane clothes and into their evening attire. Lindsay and Morgan, the other half of the four girls opted for sparkly tops, slim black jeans and knee-high boots, hoping to stand out in the big city, but being ever so clueless about the clothing that London party-goers wore. Caroline decided to wear a figure-hugging dress to show off her curves with a pair of black ballet flats. Ella, not knowing what to expect, threw on her dad's Princeton hoodie and skinny jeans.
"Oh, honey, you can't wear that. This is London, not your dad's high school reunion," Lindsay hissed absentmindedly while applying a thick coat of makeup to her already flawless skin.
"How would you know? And, for the record, Princeton is a university, not a high school. But I'm not surprised you mixed the two up since you'll never graduate from either of them," Ella spat back.
"Okay, guys, let's break it up. We should head down to the lobby now anyways," Caroline intervened. Lindsay and Morgan left in a matter of seconds, while Caroline and Ella stayed behind for a while.
"She's such a bitch," Ella muttered.
"Ella, she may be a bitch, but you can't sink to her level. Who knows, maybe all this time we'll be spending together up here in our room will bring out her true colours and you'll change how you feel about her. Just give it some time," Caroline said.
"Some time? You're asking me to give her some time? I've given three years, Car. She's had three years to show me her true colours. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm talking about."
"You're right, she's just a bitch." Caroline smiled at Ella, wrapped her arm around her shoulders and they walked out of the room towards the elevator.
...
"Caroline! Wait up!" The girls turned their heads as far behind them as they could to see Ryan, flailing his long arms around as he ran to catch up to them.
"Hurry! Close the door!" Ella yelled at Caroline, knowing she wouldn't.
"No! I need to talk to you, Caroline." Ryan sped up and just as the elevator door closed he stuck his big foot out to stop it.
"Can't it wait? We're already late. I bet everyone's waiting for us downstairs," she said.
"Fine," Ryan stepped inside and stood in silence, with a slow humming and quiet classical music in the background.
...
The first dinner in London was a mandatory group meal, crushing the plans of most of the students. Mrs. Anchory had decided to bring the thirty odd students to a little pub in one of the busiest parts of London, not accounting for the fact that it was a Friday night. The students spilled out to fill nearly three large tables, four booths and it took seven waiters to get everyone's orders right.
Ella, Caroline and Ryan had snagged the end of a large table, closest to the bar part of the establishment.
"Why did we all have to eat together? I mean, this is so noisy and crowded, and I am sure it would be like this without all of us teenagers in here anyway. But seriously, Mrs. Anchory is so stupid and so lonely here that she made us eat with her so she wouldn't have to eat by herself." Ella sat complaining, while the three friends waited for their drink orders to be filled.
Whispers shot down from the table, ending up at Caroline and Ella. "Those guys over there are so hot," Morgan said with a grin on her face. "Check it out, I think they're twins."
"Where?" Caroline asked, a hint of excitement echoed in her voice.
"Right over there," she pointed. "The tall ones standing by the bar. I think Lindsay just got up to go talk to them," she squealed. Ella and Caroline glanced at each other then quickly turned their heads in the direction Morgan had pointed in shortly before. Ella shook her head in disapproval, frowning at Caroline. "I bet they're just a couple of jerks," she said with a scowl.
"A couple of sexy jerks," Morgan added.
"As I was saying," Ella continued, shooting Morgan a look. "They probably think they're all that. With their perfectly chiselled chins and British accents. They probably have girls falling all over them, but not this girl. Nuh-uh, she ain't falling for their good looks. And I've seen better anyways."
"Yeah right! You probably think they're so hot. You just don't want to admit that you may actually have a soft-" Morgan quickly stopped talking when Lindsay returned to sit beside her. "What happened? How was it? What did you say? What did they say?" She asked excitedly, like a little girl in a candy shop.
"Oh, they're actually gay," Lindsay said, nonchalantly, looking at her perfectly manicured fingers.
Caroline frowned down at the table, a wave of disappointment flooding her eyes. "Are you sure? They don't look gay." She glanced up at Lindsay confidently, positive she was calling a bluff.
"I bet they're not. You're probably just saying that so we all keep our hands off them. Don't worry, we're not interested. They're preppy, private school boys who think they're the most important people on the earth and I bet they have nothing interesting to say. They probably sit around all day drinking tea, talking about their horses on their farm in Cheshire and discussing business and politics all day long. B-O-R-I-N-G."
"What's boring?" A strange, British voice asked. Ella spun around faster than a spinning top and glanced up at the tall figures standing behind her.
"Uh, nothing," Ella said, completely caught off guard by the very people she was talking about. In a mere second she caught herself and restarted, "I mean none of your business. Who are you anyway? Haven't you heard of keeping your dirty noses out of other people's conversations?" She glared at the two handsome boys making sure not to break. So what if she was wrong about their looks? That didn't mean she was wrong about their personalities. She needed to stay strong.
"Sorry about my friend. She didn't mean to be rude. I'm Caroline. We like to call her Ella," Caroline said and flashed a friendly smile.
"Don't worry about it. I'm Jack and this is my brother Finn," he said, his voice drenched in a thick accent. They were identical twins, not hard to tell by looking at them. They both sported chestnut hair, styled in the same fashion. Jack's eyes were hazel while Finn's were more of a burnt brown. They shared the same chiseled, dominant features. Jack was slightly taller than Finn, but Finn's voice was a tad deeper. He smiled back at her but with a little more flare. Finn looked at Ella. "So you think we're gay?" He said.
"Lindsay said that. Not me," Ella replied dryly.
"I see. But I could have sworn I just heard you say it," he said back.
"Why don't you just tell her if you're gay or not. It seems one of you is lying."
"It's not her I'm interested in." Ella started to blush but before she let it go any farther, she stopped herself. "Look, I'm sure you're a nice guy or whatever, but maybe you should try that line on someone else." As she said this, Caroline stood up and pushed past Jack, then Finn and stopped at Ella. "You're being rude," she whispered. Lindsay twitched as Jack said, "So, Caroline, have you been here before? Maybe I could show you around."
"Yeah that'd be great. But maybe we could all go? The four of us?" Ella nudged her, wishing she'd stop talking.
"Yeah, cool. When do you think you'll be finished?" Jack replied, not taking his eyes off of Caroline.
"Maybe five minutes? We'll just run to the washroom quickly, if that's okay with you," she said politely.
"Take all the time you need. We'll meet you outside," Jack said, smiling at Caroline.
"Great," she replied, looking at Finn who was eyeing Ella. Caroline grabbed Ella by the wrist who followed her, resisting Caroline's forceful grasp on her hand. Ella trudged to the loo behind Caroline.
"Look, Ell, they're cute and sweet and I'm diggin' the accent. And Finn is totally in to you. Just go with it. Trust me, Ell."
"But I don't want to-"
"All they want to do is show us around town. They're harmless. If it's not what we expected or what we're looking for, we don't have to see them again."
"You mean you. What you're looking for, what you expected."
"Oh come on, Ell. Live a little, put yourself out there, be social. Two cute British boys just offered to take us around London. If anything, we're getting a reliable, useful tour of the city that we can benefit from."
"Okay," Ella said, giving in.
"I know it sounds strange now, but I think this could be really fun, Ell." Caroline ran her fingers through her hair.
Caroline and Ella left the washroom and headed back to their table where Finn, Jack and Ryan sat patiently. They grabbed their bags and were just about to leave the dark, British pub when Caroline felt a small hand on her shoulder. She whipped around, startled, only to find Mrs. Anchory with Lindsay and Morgan standing behind her smugly.
"Just where do you think you girls are going?" She asked loud enough to be heard over the guests at the bar. Everyone turned to look at the commotion by the door.
Ella could feel her cheeks burning as she mustered the strength to say, "Nowhere, Mrs. Anchory. We just wanted to get some air outside. It's a little warm and crowded in here."
Mrs. Anchory quickly stole a glance at Lindsay then returned her attention to the two friends and their companions. She sighed, "Alright. But if you aren't back in ten minutes, I'm sending you home. I won't be responsible for your well-being if you're going to run off with strange men!" She laughed, as she was joking, but Caroline nodded, knowing she was right. Mrs. Anchory left Caroline and Ella with Lindsay and Morgan trailing behind her.
"Ugh. Her stupid annoying voice and her loyal bitches," Ella started to complain. She used a tone that was clearly a form of mockery towards Mrs. Anchory, Lindsay and Morgan.
The four of them stepped outside, the cold, harsh wind startling Caroline.
"So your teacher seems nice," Finn commented. "Yeah, real charming," Jack added. The two boys stood sheepishly in front of Caroline and Ella, blocking them from the wind with their broad bodies.
"Yeah," Caroline mumbled. "So, I guess we can't go out-"
"Hey," Finn paused, looking at Ella who looked away sharply when their gazes met. "Just because you can't go out right now, doesn't mean we can't take a rain check," he continued.
"I guess," Ella murmured.
"Well if we exchange numbers we could plan to get together when you can get away for a couple of hours," Jack offered to Caroline.
"Sure," she replied, glancing slightly at Finn, then focused her attention back on Jack. "Tonight when we get back to the hotel, we have two hours before lights out."
"Do you want to meet up then?" Finn asked.
"Okay," Ella replied. Jack walked to the pub door, opened it and ushered Caroline in. "Ladies first," he smiled, Caroline returning the gesture. Ella and Finn followed close behind.
The girls returned to their table, Ella upset about her food being cold. Mrs. Anchory informed the class that they had ten more minutes before they had to return to the hotel.
Ella groaned. "I can't believe I won't have time to order more food. I'm starving!"
"What about your fish and chips? You hardly touched them," Caroline said.
"I can't eat this! It's colder than it was before it was cooked."
...
When everyone was back at the hotel, full from a delicious meal, Ella and Caroline headed straight up to their room. They wanted to discuss their plans for later that evening, without Lindsay and Morgan there to eavesdrop. Ella was reluctant. Caroline was excited.
"How are we going to do this? We can't leave while Lindsay and Morgan are still up but we don't want to leave too late," Caroline said, weighing their options.
"Maybe we just shouldn't go. I guess it's not meant to be," Ella replied, cancelling out all of Caroline's possible plans.
"Well I could always go by myself," Caroline teased, knowing Ella wouldn't go for it.
"No, I'll come with you. But if we get caught, it's on you," Ella warned.
"Okay, okay, fair enough. We could always make a deal with Lindsay and Morgan," Caroline pondered, grinning.
"What do you mean?" Ella asked.
"Well if they're planning on going out one night or do something they're not supposed to do at night, like sneak down to the boys' floor, we could keep their secret if they promise to keep ours." Just as she finished explaining, before Ella could nod and agree, Lindsay and Morgan stumbled through the door giggling. They stopped mid-step and glared at Ella and Caroline.
"Hey, guys," Caroline said, breaking the ice.
"We have to get ready," Morgan said, pushing past Ella.
"For what?" Caroline asked.
"We're going out, smart one. But I swear, if you tell Mrs. Anchory, I will kill you," Lindsay threatened, eyeing Ella.
"We won't tell, but you have to do something for us," Caroline said.
"What? Tuck you in?" Lindsay joked.
"Funny," Ella said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"We're going out, too. Or, planning on it at least. If you don't tell on us, we won't tell on you. Deal?"
"Depends on what you're doing," Morgan said.
"We're just meeting up with a couple of people," Caroline explained.
"Who?" Lindsay inquired.
"It doesn't matter," Caroline spat harshly.
"Fine, but you can't tell anyone," Morgan clarified.
"Obviously," Ella muttered.
...
Ella's phone blared an irritatingly catchy tune at what sounded louder than full volume.
"The fu-" Her voice got quiet as she reached into the small pocket of her skinny jeans. Caroline was frantically running around the hotel room, trying to decide between jeans and yoga pants or if she should just keep on her dress. Ella accepted the call; even though she didn't recognize the number. She hesitantly said hello.
"Ella?" A deep British voice said calmly.
"Yes. Who is this?" Caroline looked at Ella, taking a break from her mini workout.
"Okay. I thought I had the wrong number for a minute. It's Finn."
Ella sighed. "Hi, why are you calling me?" She asked, not putting two and two together.
"Well you guys said tonight was good to get together so we can meet you at your hotel. Which is...?"
"Right! Oh, we're staying at," she paused, looking at Caroline expectantly; mouthing the words 'what hotel is this?'
"The Sheraton," Caroline said, a confused tint in her soft brown eyes.
"Great, we'll meet you in the lobby," Finn said.
"No! No, don't do that. We'll meet you across the street," Ella exclaimed before calming her voice. "That little shop, whatever it's called."
"Oh... okay. We'll meet you there then," Finn replied.
"We'll be ready in like," she paused, glancing at Caroline. "Twenty minutes."
"Okay, cool. See you soon."
Ella hung up the phone without responding and put it back in her pocket before jumping stomach-first onto one of the two perfectly-made hotel beds, sighing heavily as she watched Caroline return to her pacing.