Chapter 2
Settling In
Rating - T
Disclaimer: I do not own Hollyoaks or any of the characters except OCs
Marie Roberts woke up in her room at the Valentine household in a groggy mood. She had just spent her first night at the Valentine's flat and was already regretting it... Her sleep was interrupted due to Sonny's loud music, Sonny banging around in his room and yet again, Sonny just making general racket. Marie groaned and tried to open her eyes. She looked at the time: 7:30 am. Marie rolled her eyes and decided to get up. She sat up on the bed and yawned. She found her pink fluffy slippers and hobbled over to the window. She opened the silver curtains and let the bright sunshine hit her eyes. She shielded her eyes and tried to get them used to the light. She felt her hair - she could already tell it was in knots. Marie sighed, rubbed her eyes and decided to make her way to the bathroom.
Marie walked across the landing as quietly as she could - trying not to wake anyone. She heard noises coming from downstairs...'Probably Calvin making breakfast before he goes to work...Work...that's what I need' Marie thought to herself. Suddenly, Sonny ran across from his bedroom - in his underwear - to the bathroom and locked himself in.
"Damn..." Marie sighed
Just then, Sascha erupted from her bedroom, with a wash-bag, a make-up bag and a set of straightners in her hands and ran straight to the bathroom door. She fiddled with the bathroom doorknob and exhaled sharply. Then she started to bang on the door.
"SONNY! GET THE HELL OUT OF THE BATHROOM! I NEED IT!" shouted Sascha, banging on the door.
"Nah, man! I'm in here!" shouted Sonny, "You shuda got up earlier, ya lazy woman!"
At that point, Sascha banged on the door even harder.
"SONNY!" Sascha shouted again..
Marie shuffled back into her room and flopped back onto the bed. 'If the wait for the bathroom is going to be this long, I'd better find a flat A.S.A.P...'
She slipped on her dressing gown and gave one last yawn. She left her bedroom again to find Sascha and Sonny still arguing about the bathroom. Marie shook her head and clopped down the stairs. At the table, Calvin was all dressed and ready for work, eating cereal. He flashed Marie a smile and waved. The smell of washing powder filled the air. She looked at the dining table. Three bowls and spoons were all laid neatly on the table. She felt like Goldilocks, invading the Three Bear's House...
"Morning!" smiled Calvin, a mouth full of cornflakes
"Morning..." yawned Marie, sitting down on the chair. She poured milk into her bowl and she gabbed the cereal.
"Did you sleep well?" asked Calvin
"Mmmm...like a baby!" said Marie, lying through her teeth, "You're right about the bathroom feud..."
"Oh, I know. Its like carnage every morning..."
Marie let out a giggle and took a mouthful of cereal. "So, is there any newspaper or something that I could look up 'Job's in?"
"Not today. You'll just have to ask around...But there is a beauty salon in the village...Evissa, I think its called"
"Evissa? Where is it?"
Calvin shook his head." That I don't know...But you can ask someone in town - they are usually quite friendly."
Marie grumbled into her cereal.
"Don't worry! They won't bite..." Calvin gave a reassuring smile. He go up off his chair and put his jacket on. "I better go to work"
Marie looked up at Calvin. 'God...I should have taken up his offer of a date..."
"I'll see you later. Ignore Sonny if he gives you any stick. Sascha can be nice. Call me if you have any problems. Bye". He raced to the door and left.
Marie flopped her head onto the table and sighed. "Great. Time to explore the village". She got up off her chair and made her way up the stairs...
Later that morning...
Marie looked herself in the mirror one more time. She had put her hair in a bun, with a few loose strands. She was wearing a white shirt with a bit of pattern on the hem and some black trousers. She put on her black high heels and analysed her choice.
"Well, at least I don't look like some gypsy woman anymore..." smiled Marie in the mirror.
She checked her make-up again. 'Mascara...check, Blusher...check, Lip gloss...check!'
"Okay. Time to hit the streets"
She grabbed her black handbag and made sure she had everything. She looked at herself again. Satisfied, she left her room. She was on the landing again. The bathroom situation had finished and both teenagers were in their rooms. She walked carefully down the stairs, trying not to fall. She grabbed her water bottle, took one sip and left the house. She shut the door and looked at the stairs: her next challenge.
'Why did I wear these shoes?' thought Marie to herself.
She grabbed the edge of the wall and started to walk down slowly. 'Down...down. down...down...'
She reached the last step and smiled. She looked at where she was. She saw the 'Washed-up Launderette', 'Drive n' Buy' and 'Il Gnosh'.
"Where on earth now?" Marie asked herself. People were everywhere in the street. Marie looked at some of the people. 'I can't ask strangers...'
Marie looked at the three shops. 'Which one shall I go to?' 'Stop being silly! Just pick one!'
She looked at the Drive n' Buy and walked straight towards it. She got to the entrance of the shop and pushed the door. She looked around at all the neat stacked shelves. They were all kinds of cereals in front of her. She looked at the counter. Above the counter, were old fashioned sweet-jars and an endless number of bottles of alcohol. She rang the bell on the counter. No reply. She rang it again. No reply. Suddenly from the other end of the shop, a young man came out of the 'Private' door. The young man was wearing jeans and a navy t-shirt. He had kind of longish hair and looked like the 'ladies man' type. He flashed a smile to Marie before looking her up and down. Marie gave a small smile. He got behind the counter and gave a cheeky grin:
"Gilly's the name, how can I help you? I don't believe we've met before?" He offered her his hand.
Marie looked at his hand and shook it. "Hi...Umm, I'm new to the area and I was wondering if you knew where a place called Evissa is? The beauty salon?"
"What's your name?"
'Oh great. Just what I need. Personal Interrogation' She looked up at Gilly. "Marie."
"Marie...nice name! Umm...Evissa...Heard of it, but never been though." He checked Marie out.
"Oh...okay. Thank-you anyway. Bye."
"Come back soon!" smiled Gilly
Marie gave another small smile before turning around to leave the shop. She felt someone staring at her. She quickly pushed the door and went back on the street.
She looked at Il Gnosh. 'Lets see if they are any better at directions' . She walked towards the restaurant. People were sitting outside on silver chairs, drinking coffee. 'Nice place..' thought Marie. She walked towards the door and pulled it open. Inside, it was a modern place with coloured glass behind the bar. It looked really nice. Flowers were in pots on table and the chairs were in funky shapes. The restaurant was quite busy, seeing it was about 10:00 in the morning. A waitress came out, sieving coffee to a table. Marie liked the uniform: black shirt and coloured tie. She noticed a man behind the bar with brown hair and brown eyes. She walked up to the bar, trying not to slip on the floor. He smiled and put his hands together.
"Hi there! What can I get you?" smiled the man.
"Hi. I'm Marie and I'm new to the area. I need to find out where a place called Evissa is. I've tried asking a man called Gilly next door, but he was more interested at staring at me...So far, Evissa seems like the Loch Ness monster to me...Do you know where it is?"
The man smiled. "I'm Tony, owner of Il Gnosh. Evissa, the beauty salon?"
Marie nodded. "Yes! I need a job..."
"What are you trained in?" asked Tony, intrigued
Marie sighed. "Well...I trained in College to be a Beauty Therapist...but I have no job. I just moved to the area".
Tony leaned forward towards Marie."The owner of Evissa is called Louise. She's nice. She'll help you out...but if she doesn't have a job for you, you can always work here! You can be trained.."
"Thanks!" smiled Marie.
"Evissa is somewhere around by the SU Bar...Where do you live at the moment?"
"I'm with the Valentines at the moment..."
Tony smiled. "Right, just go past the wall up to the steps to the flats and turn right. Its just down there."
"Oh, thank-you! Thank-you!" grinned Marie
"Look, the job offer's still available if you don't get the job...Come back here when you've got the news. Ask for Tony Hutchinson." said Tony
"Thanks, Tony!" said Marie and she walked away from the bar: her faith in the locals had been restored... She walked out of Il Gnosh and walked back onto the street. The temperature outside was getting colder and Marie felt a bitter sting across her cheek. She looked up at the steps up to the Valentine's flat and saw Sonny walking down them. He was wearing baggy jeans and a Ted Baker hoodie. He saw Marie and gave her a blank look. He then walked off, swaggering into an alleyway. Marie watched as he went away and then carried on in search for Evissa...
Marie stopped walking and looked up. She had made it to her destination. There it was...Evissa. The inside of the salon looked modern and professional. Marie peered through the window. She saw a women with blonde curly hair talking to a customer. It looked like she was finishing a manicure...
A woman with long brown hair was at the desk, looking through a book. Marie walked up to the door and pulled it open. The salon lights shone brightly on her and she was the woman with the blonde hair stare at her. The woman at the desk however, was still staring down at her book. Marie secured her bag firmly on her shoulder and walked up to the counter.
Marie smiled at the woman who she guessed was the owner. "Hi I'm Ma-"
"Sorry. No free appointments today, were all booked up..." sighed the woman, still looking down at the book.
"Umm...I'm not here for an appointment, thanks. I'm here to see if you're hiring at all..." Marie pulled her handbag strap up onto her shoulder.
"Oh." said the woman. She finally looked up from her book and stared at Marie, looking her up and down. "What is your name?"
"Marie. Roberts." smiled Marie, nervously. She looked down at herself, checking her image.
The woman gave a weak smile to Marie. Marie looked at the woman's eyes. They looked lost...dazed, as if a piece of her had disappeared.
"I'm Louise. Owner of Evissa. Well, we do have a part-time space available...What type of Qualifications do you have?"
Marie unzipped her handbag and pulled out her CV, neatly folded. She handed it over to Louise. Louise scanned the paper.
"I trained in College as a Beauty Therapist and had one previous job before..."
Louise looked up at Marie. "Do you want to follow me into my office?" She got up off her chair and walked out of the main salon area. Marie followed suit and walked over to Louise, who was now unlocking the door to the office. The door swung open and inside. The office was neatly kept, with a filing cabinet in the corner and a plant in the corner. Behind the desk, a man was sitting down. He had short brown hair and was wearing a green polo shirt and trousers. He gave a weird smile to Louise. Louise rolled her eyes and exhaled sharply.
"Warren..." said Louise, through her teeth, "I have a potential employee here..."
Warren got up off his chair and walked towards Marie. The scent of Warren's aftershave was making Marie feel sick...
"Well well well..." smirked Warren, "Who's the girl?" pointing to Marie.
"This is Marie Roberts. She's a qualified Beauty Therapist. Marie, this is Warren Fox. Warren
is a business associate of Evissa".
Warren offered his hand to Marie. Marie placed her hand in his and he shook it firmly. "Co-owner, Louise. I am the Co-owner of Evissa" corrected Warren. Louise looked put-out by his remark. Warren stood looking at Marie, with a smug look on his face.
"I best leave. Someone is giving me evil looks, right Louise?" winked Warren.
Louise rolled her eyes and opened the door for Warren to leave. She didn't look at Warren as he passed, just looked down at her shoes. Marie watched as Warren left. There was something about him that sent shivers down Marie's spine...
Louise walked over to the desk and sat down. She cleared some papers off the desk and moved them into a draw. "Please, sit down" said Louise, pointing to the chair on the other side of the desk.
Marie walked to the chair and sat down. Louise studied Marie's CV again and looked up at her.
"Well, I must say Marie, this is a good CV you got here..." smiled Louise
'She's gonna do the 'but' question.' thought Marie. 'Wait for it...'
"But may I ask something?" said Louise, staring at her CV.
'Bingo!'
Marie nodded, smiling.
"Why did you leave your old job?" asked Louise, leaning forward on the desk.
Marie felt her face get hotter. "Umm...Well, to be truthful, the pay wasn't great and the Boss wasn't very friendly towards staff..."
"I see." nodded Louise, "Well, how about this? My employee Frankie has given up her job to run her pub full-time and she probably won't be coming back to her job. We could do with another trained Beautician here...
I'm giving you three days trial. If you do well in the three days, then you get to keep the job permanently. How does that sound?"
Marie felt her face glow with joy, "Err. That'll be fantastic!"
Louise smiled. "Can you start today?"
"Sure. No problem!" grinned Marie.
"Great. I'll get you a uniform and then I'll introduce you to our main Beautician, Sophie". Louise walked out of the office door and left it ajar. Marie smiled to herself. She wanted to just call everyone she knew, right there and then and let her joy overcome her...
Louise returned to the small office with two white pinafores and two pairs of trousers. She handed over the uniforms to Marie.
"I didn't know what size you wanted, but we only have small or medium I'm afraid..."
Marie smiled and placed the two uniforms one at a time against her body to see which one looked best. She was 5"6, but had a tiny waist. The medium seemed to drown her.
"The small size is fine, thanks!" smiled Marie
Louise nodded. "Good. Now follow me and we can go and meet Sophie!"
The two woman walked out of the office which Louise locked behind her. They walked into the main salon area to see the blonde woman, sitting reading a magazine...
Louise took Marie's hand and lead her over to Sophie. Sophie closed her magazine and looked up at Louise.
"Everything okay?" asked Sophie, looking up at Louise.
"Sophie, this is Marie Roberts. Marie is a trained Beauty Therapist, like you and will be taking Frankie's place. Marie, this is Sophie Burton. Head Beautician."
Sophie nodded in Marie's direction. "Hi.." she said, weakly.
"Hello." said Marie, looking at Sophie down on her chair.
Louise turned to face Marie. "Now, the toilets are just by the office, so you can get changed into your uniform. Also, you will be working with Sophie's sister, Mel. She mainly does the admin work, answering telephones and stuff. She will be in tomorrow, so you can see her then... After you've got changed, Sophie will show you the ropes. Okay?"
Marie nodded and smiled.
"If you need the medium sized uniform, then give me a shout." added Louise.
"Thank-you so much!" said Marie, brightly
Louise smiled at Marie. "Happy to help"
Later that day...
"Marie?" said Sophie, staring at Marie.
Marie was sat in her new uniform at the nail bar. She was fiddling around with the nail polish, arranging them into colour and size order...
"Ummm..." mumbled Marie, glancing at the cerise nail polish.
"Louise has just popped out to sort some business out, so do you want to go and pick up the lunch order at Il Gnosh, while its quiet?"
Marie stared at the beautifully neat nail bar which she had just arranged. She hadn't had one customer today, but she had sort of expected it. In the time of all the appointments, she had read through a copy of Heat magazine, made tea for Louise and Sophie, swept the floor, cleaned the surfaces, put new stock on the shelves and sorted out the nail bar. She was feeling very, very bored...
"Err..yeah sure. Is it Louise's name placed for the lunch order?"
"Yeah, it is. We didn't expect you today, so you will have to get your lunch separately. Sorry..."
'Great. Another adventure into the town...' thought Marie. "Don't worry, its fine..."
Sophie smiled. "Thanks! You're a star!"
Marie finally got up off her stool which she had been sitting on for an hour. She picked up her handbag and checked her phone.
'Any messages of congratulations?...Salutations? Good luck messages?'
She pushed a few buttons on her phone.
'You have no new messages'
Marie sighed and placed her handbag over her shoulders. She walked towards the door. She turned back to see Sophie waving at her. Marie waved slowly and pushed the door to get out.
She started to walk away from Evissa and towards the main strip of shops.
'At least you have a job now...Hooray! Now you can sit around feeling bored all day...I hope tomorrow isn't like this. I'm sure I will get some customers tomorrow wonder how Calvin is? God, he looked really good in his uniform...STOP IT MARIE! He is just a friend, that's all! I mean for Christ's sake, he has only recently lost his mother!'
Marie looked at where she was. Nearly near the shops...
'No, Marie. You are just attracted to Calvin. Nothing more...
What am I gonna get for lunch now? At least getting the lunch gives me an excuse to go and tell Tony the news about the job...At least I know a few faces now. Louise. Sophie. Well, three's better than one...'
Marie was now at the door of Il Gnosh. She pulled the door open to see that the restaurant was even more busier than the first time she came in. She looked at the bar. No Tony. She looked to see if he was serving outside. No Tony. Marie sighed and tried to see if she could spot a waiter or waitress...Nothing. Marie walked up to the bar and peered around to see if anyone was going to come out. Out from the kitchens popped out a man with light-ish brown hair. Marie stared at him coming towards the bar. He had the same face as Tony, but he looked slightly different. He opened the hatch to the bar and leaned towards Maire.
"Err...Are you...Tony Hutchinson?"
The man gave a small laugh. "Close. I'm his brother, Dom. Tony has just gone out at the moment. Can I help you at all?"
"Sorry..." grimaced Marie, "I'll catch him later, but I have come to pick up an order from Louise at Evissa?"
"I'll go and get it" nodded Dom.
'How embarrassing...Why couldn't I tell it wasn't Tony?"
Dom reappeared with a paper bag full of food and two coffees.
"Here you are. Lunch order for Evissa."
"Thanks!" said Marie, trying to balance the two cups of coffee.
"Do you need any help?" asked Dom, staring at Marie struggling.
"No, I'm fine thanks. I'll think I'll survive!" laughed Marie.
Marie headed for the door, dodging some tables, while carrying the lunch in one hand and two cups of coffee in another.
'Task for today completed. Now, back to read the Ok! Magazine...I hope Sophie hasn't nic-
Marie didn't see where she was going and bumped into a man with a plate in his hand. Marie slipped and fell on her knees, dropping the lunch bag and her handbag. Luckily, the coffee cups were tightly secured in their little tray, which was being tightly gripped on by Marie. Her handbag however, had decided to make a bid for freedom and all the contents of her handbag spilled onto the floor.
'Oh...crap...'
Marie felt her face go red as people stared at her...
"I am so sorry! Are you okay? I wasn't looking where I was going!" said a man's voice.
Marie looked up. The man she had bumped into was a waiter. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He was smiling at her, apologetically and was wearing a black shirt with an orange tie. The plate which he was carrying was now safe on a table.
"I'm...okay. thanks...No, I'm sorry, its my fault completely! I was too busy in my own little world and lost my general common sense!" laughed Marie, nervously while frantically picking up the contents of her handbag.
"Here, let me help." said the man, getting down on his knees and helping her pick things up.
"Thanks..." smiled Marie. She quickly stuffed her tampons into her handbag, before he could see them. He passed her water bottle into her hand. Luckily, it hadn't suffered from the fall. She quickly stuffed her things into her bag. Strips of wrapped chewing gum, a pen, Post-It notes, her purse, a loose Tesco Clubcard, some Paracetemol and a fluffy bunny key ring...
"Is this yours too?" said the man, holding up the lunch bag. It didn't look too badly squashed...
"Thanks. I hope Louise and Sophie don't mind flattened sandwiches..." said Marie, feeling embarrassed.
The man stared at her." You work at Evissa? You look new...I mean, have you just moved here?"
"Yeah. I'm staying with a friend. For now..."
The man smiled. "I'm O.B"
"Hi, I'm Marie" said Marie, zipping up her handbag. "Are you okay? You didn't get hurt or anything, did you?"
O.B smiled. "No, I'm fine, honestly." He stood up and offered his hand to Marie. He pulled her up off the floor. Marie checked the floor, making sure no embarrassing items where still left on the floor...
"Well, I'll hope to see you around, Marie..." said O.B, looking at Marie up and down, smiling.
"Me too, yeah. Thanks again, O.B...Bye!" said Marie grabbing her stuff, trying to make an exit swiftly.
"See you around! Bye!" called O.B as Marie left the restaurant.
Marie pushed the door open and covered her face with her hands with embarrassment.
'I'm always gonna be the girl who fell over in Il Gnosh...'
That Evening...
Marie was now back at Evissa after surviving the humiliation of her fall. She sat at the desk, looking at the clock, counting down how long she had left. Sophie was dealing with a customer, while Marie was meant to be observing, but was half-way reading an article about Big Brother's Glynn. Marie fiddled with her hair, while putting a Tic-Tac in her mouth. She watched as Sophie talked over the different products to quite a posh woman with a stern-looking face. The woman didn't look the type that would have manicures and pedicures, but Marie knew that people were always full of surprises. Louise emerged from the office, walking towards Marie. Marie shoved the magazine to one side and pretended to look busy...
"How has your first day been?" asked Louise, looking at Marie for an answer.
Marie nodded, putting her best smile on." It has been good, yeah! Sophie has been very helpful...The salon is lovely!"
"Good! Well, don't worry, you will get a customer tomorrow. I'm going give half of tomorrow's appointments to you...Can you handle it?"
"Of course! I am always up for a challenge..." said Marie, brightly
"I like to hear that!" said Louise, looking at her watch. "Well, its only fifteen minutes till we close the salon, but I think we can leave Sophie to lock up today. Do you want to go for a drink at the pub, as a kind of celebratory thing for your first trial here?"
"That sounds great!" smiled Marie, "I could do with a drink..."
"Me too!" laughed Louise, "People have been calling for Warren all day and I am getting sick and tired of dealing with them. God knows where he's gone off to!"
"Soph?" called Louise
Sophie looked at Louise eagerly.
"We're going to The Dog for a drink. Do you wanna lock up and then meet us there?"
"Oh. I can lock up, but Russ is taking me out to Dinner tonight, so I won't be able to make it. Sorry!" said Sophie, apologetically.
"Ooh! Lucky you! Have fun and give me a call when you need to!" said Louise, closing down the desk computer.
"I will. Enjoy yourselevs. Bye, Marie! Bye Louise!"
"Bye Sophie!" said Marie, waving as she went out of the door.
Marie sat in the Dog, admiring the pub and checking out the locals. Monday night's at the Dog seemed busy - and it wasn't even Kareoke Night. A young blonde woman was singing to herself while serving drinks. Marie looked at the people at the tables, seeing if she could spot anyone she had met today. Outside, it was still light and the breeze gentily blew through the windows, making the pub quite airy. Louise carried the drinks over to the table.
"Here you are: White wine for you and another for me..." said Louise, placing the drinks on the table.
"Thanks. I'll get the next round in!" said Marie, taking a sip of her drink.
"Don't worry about!" said Louise, sitting down. "So, it seems like you've really enjoyed yourself today!"
Marie nodded, "Yeah, its been great! Although my fall in Il Gnosh wasn't quite how I planned to make my first impression to the village..."
Louise laughed. "Don't worry. I sometimes do stupid things...Well, I have done stupid things in the past..." Louise's face had turned sombre now and she quickly took a huge gulp of her drink...
Marie looked around at the tables inside. At one of the tables, two men were sitting together and drinking beer. One of them, however was staring at her. Marie couldn't see them clearly as they were at the very back, but it looked like they were wearing Il Gnosh uniforms. Marie had the image of the uniforms placed in her mind. The man staring at her gave her a wave. Marie couldn't work out who it was, but gave a wave to him back. Suddenly, the man got up off his stool and started to make his way down to the front of the bar. The other man began to follow. They were both coming towards the table. Nerves were beginning to kick and Marie grabbed her drink and necked most of it down. Then she made out who the man was...it was O.B.
"You all right there, ladies?" asked O.B.
"Hi O.B." waved Louise, "Hi Dom"
Dom came up towards the table and smiled. Marie felt like the room was getting smaller.
"Hi. Look, I am really sorry about what happened earlier! I feel like an idiot!" sighed Marie.
"Hey, don't worry! Things happen!" laughed O.B. "Speaking of which..."
He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it over to Marie. It was her mobile phone.
"I found it under one of the tables just after you left..."
"I knew I left something behind! Thank-you, again!" laughed Marie. "Do you both want to join us? I mean, if that is okay with you, Louise?"
Louise shook her head." No problem at all! The more, the merrier!"
"Yeah! That sounds great!" said O.B. sitting down. Dom was still standing up. He was staring at a girl with frizzy hair and glasses. She had just entered the pub and was looking around for someone.
"Thanks for the offer, but no can do...I'm meeting a girl here!" Dom smiled. He walked over towards the doorway area. "Tina!" he called, disappearing from sight.
"What can I get all of you?" asked Marie, reaching for her handbag.
"I'm fine at the moment..." smiled Louise
"Nah, I'm okay" said O.B., looking up at Marie,
"Are you sure? It'll be my treat. A sort of way of saying Thanks!" said Marie, looking at O.B.
"If you insist!" smiled O.B. "I'll have a beer"
"One beer, it is!" said Marie, going off towards the bar...
'He seems really nice...Good-looking, polite, sweet...Stop it! You've only just met him! He could have a girlfriend! ...' Marie thought to herself.
Marie returned with a beer and another glass of wine in hand. She handed it over to him, who smiled back at her.
"Thanks!" said O.B, putting the beer to one side.
Louise picked up her ringing phone. "I'm so sorry Marie! I just realised I was meant to meet with Warren to discuss finances! I'll see you tomorrow, nine in the morning? Okay, bye!"
" Bye Louise!" said Marie, "Thanks for the drink!"
O.B. moved further towards Marie. "So, Marie, what has brought you to the village?.."
Marie took another sip of her drink. "Well, mostly because I was sick of being with my parents and because I had the Boss from Hell...so, when my friend Calvin, offered me a spare room, then I jumped to it!"
"Calvin Valentine?" asked O.B.
"Yeah. Do you know him?"
"I've heard of him - never really got the chance to speak to him though..."
Marie nodded. "I just feel so awful for him right now..."
A silence lasted for about a minute or so. Marie thought more about Diane and more memories of her...
"So, does your boyfriend like you living in Hollyoaks?" O.B asked, grinning.
Marie raised her eyebrow and laughed. "What makes you think I have a boyfriend?"
"Pure guess!" said O.B., leaning forward to Marie.
Marie laughed. "No...I broke up with my boyfriend six months before I moved..."
"Ah, The Lonely Singleton...moving to a strange new village..." laughed O.B. jokingly into his beer.
"I'm not lonely!" laughed Marie, "How about you, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Nah, no girlfriend in the scene for me..."
" I see. Where do you live then?"
"I live with Tony and Dom. A bit of a bachelor pad!" laughed O.B.
Marie put down her drink." Sounds nice!"
"Yeah. Although, I would love my own flat..."
"Me too! Not that I don't like Calvin or anything, but the queue to the bathroom is horrendous in the mornings!"
O.B. laughed, "Tony's the worst - he spends ages doing his hair in the mirror to make him look like David Hasslehoff!"
They both laughed together. O.B. then looked into Marie's eyes and she did the same to him...
Marie looked at her watch. "I didn't realise it was getting quite so late!"
"Time flies when you're having fun..." O.B. then leaned closer to Marie. "I've had a great time..."Are you busy this Friday night?"
Marie shook her head. "No...I haven't got anything planned..."
"We could go out then, get to know each other a little better?"
"Yeah sure!" said Marie, grabbing a pen from her handbag. She scribbled down her number on a Post-it for him.
"Here's my number" he said and he wrote his on a spare napkin. They exchanged numbers and smiled at each other.
"Friday it is then!" grinned O.B. "I'll call you tomorrow!"
"Okay! Nice to see you, O.B."
"And you, Marie...Bye!" said O.B., watching as Marie left the pub.
'Perhaps Hollyoaks isn't so bad after all..."
END OF CHAPTER 2
A:N/ Hope you liked it! Please review xxxxxxxxxxxx