At The End of The Day. Chapter 1
The ring of her alarm clock signalled the end of her not-so-blissful sleep. She rolled over hitting the snooze button with a little more force than she expected. This was it, and she hated to admit it, but she couldn't be more fucking nervous for what was going to happen in a few hours.
She sat up on the side of the bed, resting her head in her hands for a few minutes then rubbing her eyes in an attempt to get rid of the sleep still tempting her, and failing. She wasn't able to get any sleep the night before. The thoughts of what was going to happen today kept hanging over her and denying her any form of rest. She thought about it all – from what she was going to wear, to what she was going to say when she saw her. Fuck's sake. All that time thinking about everything and she still hadn't come up with a single coherent sentence that didn't include her making a fool out of herself.
She decided a hot cup of tea was going to calm the explosion of nerves inside her stomach. It always seemed to do the trick. She made her way downstairs, grabbing a mug out of the cupboard and switching the kettle on. Turning around to rest against the counter, she noticed a note on the table. Sitting down, she picked it up, examining it with confused eyes.
'Went to work. Left money for you on the counter. Good luck for college, sweetie. I love you. Mum xx'
Well, her mother was nothing if not straight to the point. Trust her to leave for work at 6 in the fucking morning. The whistle of the kettle knocked her out of her anger induced day-dream and she got up to make herself the cup of tea she was desperately craving.
She finished her tea along with half a pack of fags, which she decided was the other secret to calming the nerves, then went back upstairs to start getting ready. Finally deciding between the best two outfits she had in her closet, she put on her tight white top and plaid shirt over it, which she decided to leave open, and her favourite pair of skinny jeans. She applied her makeup and straightened her blonde hair, which seemed to frame her face perfectly and fall loosely at her shoulders, stopping at her collarbones.
She found herself at the bus stop, waiting for the bus to take her to the one place she knew was going to lead her to the one person she's been avoiding the whole summer. Feeling those nerves working their way back into her stomach again, she decided another fag was the way to go. Crossing her legs and resting her back against the cold glass of the bus stop stand, she looked up and closed her eyes, allowing the smoke to make its way down her throat, then blowing it out into the cold, harsh September air.
She found an empty table away from all the others and decided it was exactly the place she needed right now. Unwrapping the toast she just bought from the college canteen, knowing perfectly well she was going to regret ever letting it near her mouth very soon, she took a bite out of it and scrunched up her nose.
"Fucking hell. Horrible." She whispered to herself, then threw the toast back on the table. She looked around the canteen, her eyes stopping dead in their tracks when they spotted bright red hair. She saw her look up and lock her eyes with hers, as if feeling her eyes on her. That feeling in her stomach never failing to make an appearance whenever she saw her looking at her with those overly expressive chocolate brown eyes. God, those eyes. But it was not the same kind of feeling she had this morning. This was more butterflies, than nerves.
The blonde was the first to break the conversation they seemed to be having with their eyes to look down at the hem of her shirt, giving it much more attention than necessary. Looking up, she saw the redhead making her way towards her table. Feeling those butterflies kicking back up, this time at double speed, she sat upright and crossed her legs again, unsure of what to do with herself. She could feel herself getting more nervous with every step the redhead took.
When at last she finally came to her table, sitting down opposite her, she tried to read the expression in her eyes. Anger, anger and possibly more anger. She could have sworn she saw a hint of excitement among all that anger, but she quickly decided against that, blaming it on her imagination, remembering how she ripped her heart out and basically ripped it in half with her own two hands this summer.
She saw the redhead sit back and cross her arms across her chest, clearing her throat and licking her lips. Fuck's sake, that tongue. She could barely enjoy the sight of hot, angry Emily licking her lips and sitting in front of her while she was preparing herself for the most brutal and harsh words to ever come out of Emily's mouth to be directed at her. As she opened her mouth to speak, the blonde closed her eyes and braced herself.
"So, where have you been this summer, Naomi?" She questioned with such calmness, it was overwhelming.