Ugh I posted this yesterday but I found a few mistakes with it afterwards so here's the final version. Hope you guys can forgive me!
I'm updating this story again because I've got terrible writers' block when it comes to my other stories and also a hell of a workload at uni. It's really annoying but I think this is my favorite story of mine so meh.
Suddenly after my revelation, I had become hyper aware of Derek's presence. I never paid his schedule any mind up until now. He woke at six in the morning, showered while the coffee was brewing, ate breakfast at six thirty and was out the door by seven. He arrived home at six o'clock in the afternoon every single day without fail. There was rarely an occasion where Derek went off his schedule.
So what did I do? Well, I started doing the creepy thing, of course. Suddenly I was a morning person who loved to wake up at six o'clock. I played it off as me needing to be at work earlier but the second he was out the door, you bet your ass I was sleeping for that next hour until I actually had to head into work. Some may say I was being desperate, and they'd be correct. Typically I would roll my eyes at any girl who pulled something like this just to hang out with a guy at breakfast.
But along with this revelation was a lot of confusion and distraction. On one hand, I wanted to spend time with him. On the other, was having feelings for my flatmate really appropriate? Things could get weird.
"That doesn't go there, Chloe." Nate motioned towards the file in my hand.
I looked at it again. It was a patient file that was about to go into our budget folder. "S-s-sorry." I swivelled my chair around to the correct set of drawers and neatly tucked it away where it belonged.
Nate frowned, concern etched on his face. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I avoided eye contact for a very good reason. "Didn't get my coffee this morning. You know how it is."
He gave me a look as if to say 'I don't believe you' but he played along anyway, eventually retreating to his office. I sighed as I resumed my tasks, my frustration increasing.
"Come on. Spill." Angela demanded.
I let my head hit the desk and groaned. Usually Liz was my go-to girl for advice but Angela was the next best person. So I told her everything... well, nearly everything. I left out the cringeworthy moment I had with Simon because I did not want to re-live that. Not even in an anecdote.
"You've got it bad." Angela said.
"What do I do?"
"I don't know. Bump into him while wearing just a towel? Stop wearing pants around the apartment? Beats me."
"You're no help." I smacked her arm playfully with a folder. "I'm trying to squash these feelings, not throw myself at the poor guy."
"Why?"
I stopped what I was doing. She had a point, as much as I didn't like to admit it. But the idea of jumping into things with a guy I was living with could go awkwardly wrong. And who was to say he'd even reciprocate those feelings anyway? Now that would be a huge strike to my ego and I'd never live it down as long as we were sharing the same living space.
"I... I don't know." I replied, truthfully.
She crossed her arms triumphantly, knowing that she was right. Ever since Derek picked me up from work that day she had been going crazy about him, nicknaming him 'Tall, Dark and Handsome'. She wasn't wrong, but I didn't openly fawn over him. This confused her, as we were two totally different people. Angela was naturally confident with men and had a sexy vibe going on, whereas I didn't. It was beyond her why I wouldn't just throw myself at an attractive guy that I was bunking with.
My shift ended and I felt just as confused as I had previously. Angela said a few words of encouragement before I left. Perhaps going straight home to the source of my confusion wouldn't help, so I decided to take my sweet time. I stopped by Liz's work at the nursing home to see what time she finished up, hoping that maybe she'd be a good distraction.
"I get to leave in..." She paused and looked at her watch, "...right now. Want to grab a coffee?" She asked. I nodded and she promptly grabbed her bags and we left for the cafe.
"So how did it go with Simon?" She asked.
I internally groaned, hoping that we would be able to avoid any conversation about the Souza-Bae family.. Simon left that previous day, claiming that he had plans for new years eve back home. Things were normal with us again. There was that initial feeling of awkwardness but we got over that quickly when we suspected that Tori was catching on. That was a can of worms I really didn't want to open.
"It didn't." I told her truthfully as I sipped my mocha. "He tried it on, I wasn't interested."
She smacked her face with her palm. "Damn it, Chloe. Why did you have to let the cute guy slip away?"
"Hey, you can have him for yourself now. You guys were pretty chummy together."
"No way." Liz blushed. "Plans for New Year's?"
I smiled and shook my head at her not so subtle transition of conversation. "Movie night in bed."
She frowned. "Come out with Tori and me."
I scoffed. "You guys dragged me to a bar the other week. That's my social interaction quota filled for at least the next six months."
"You're no fun."
"They don't call me Buzz Kill Chloe for no reason."
After Liz and I finished our drinks we went back to our respective cars, driving away in opposite directions. The light rain we were getting turned into a shower, which quickly turned into hail that clinked against my car with every hit. I squinted in an attempt to see better as I pulled on to my street. The parking garage came into my line of sight and I sighed in relief knowing that I'd soon be in the comfort of my bed until the new year.
I stopped at the four way stop sign on the corner of my block, ensuring that it was clear to go. There was a red car coming to my right but they were a far way back and needed to stop at their own stop sign, so I proceeded.
The screeching of tires squealed closer and closer, ending with a bang. I didn't see anything for a moment, just a blur of movement as my car spun out as a result of being hit. It came to a stop on the curb and the red car that had hit me only stopped once it hit a street lamp.
"Holy fuck." I murmured to myself, feeling my breathing becoming more shallow with every heave of my chest.
A woman rushed up to my car as I sat there, still trying to process exactly what had just happened. She yanked open my door and killed the engine before looking over me to make sure I was okay.
"It's okay, hon. The other girl should have stopped. We'll call your parents."
I blinked at her. My parents? Why would I need to call my- oh, she thought I was a teenager. Of course.
"N-no need." I said as I swung my legs out of the car. The lady protested, worried about a potential neck injury, but the hit wasn't that bad. Was it?
I looked at the rear end of my car and my heart sank into my stomach. The entire back was smashed, pieces of the body strewn across the road along with parts of the other car. It looked fixable, but incredibly expensive. I looked over to the red car and a teenage girl stumbled out, a clear expression of shock laced across her face. She began to stutter her apologies and explanations but they fell on deaf ears as I looked at what remained of my car. I muttered out an 'it could be worse' before feeling a gentle hand touch my shoulder.
Spinning around, my eyes met a familiar pair of green ones. A look of concern and worry reflected off them as he spoke but like the other girl's words, they fell on deaf ears too.
"I'm okay." I told him, trying for my most convincing voice.
He studied me, his hand still rested on my shoulder. "You're okay." He breathed.
I rubbed my arms with my hands, not even realizing up until now that we had been standing in the pouring rain. Derek ushered me undercover and draped his jacket over me as I shivered.
"Hon, do you know this man?" The woman from before looked up at Derek, wary and suspicious at his close proximity to me.
"Y-yes."
"Can he call your parents for you?" She asked.
I shook my head. "I'm fine."
"She's twenty three." He grunted, frustration evident in his voice. I would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that my car had just been scrambled on the road.
Ugh, my poor car.
The woman mumbled something and shot him a glare as she walked over to the teenage girl and the paramedics arrived soon after. They checked me over for injuries and shock but I recieved a clean bill of health save for the little scratch on my forehead caused by the airbag deploying. The girl was much worse off and was treated for shock. Her parents arrived and we exchanged insurance information before they took her home. The cars were towed away which left Derek and I to head back to the apartment in a sour mood.
I stripped myself of my wet clothes and put on a warm pair of sweats and a large jumper that I found folded up in my closet. Frowning, I tried to recall where I got it from. It was probably another clothing item I bought and forgot about.
I met Derek back in the common area.
"What happened?" He pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke, trying to contain his rage.
"The girl ran a stop sign. There isn't much more to it." I defended as I plopped down on the couch.
I wondered how I was going to get to work without my car. There was no chance that my insurance was going to pay to get it fixed - the repairs would be worth more than the car itself. I groaned as I sat back on the couch. This meant I'd have to use up my savings to buy a new car and take the train to work in the meantime.
Derek sensed my frustration and his expression softened. "I'll be driving you to work from now on." He said as he laid down his briefcase on the table.
I shook my head before resting it on a pillow. "You don't have to do that."
"I want to."
We made eye contact and as much as I didn't want it to, my heart fluttered a little bit. I couldn't say no. We both nodded in agreement, not needing any words.
He rifled through the cupboard at I sat in silence and plucked out two cans of soup. "Canned soup okay? I was going to make it from scratch but-"
"From scratch? What's the occasion?" I joked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
He scratched the back of his neck. "Just thought it'd be nice to do." He paused. "You've been... a little off lately."
"No I haven't." I piped up a bit too quickly. He gave me a pointed look and I shrank back into my seat. "Soup is good. Thank you." I pulled my knees up onto the sofa and turned the television on. Derek continued with his business in the kitchen before joining me on the couch and handing me a bowl.
Was Derek catching on? I sure hoped he wasn't. Sorting out my own feelings needed to come first before any funny stuff happened. Me acting 'off' could have been a result of anything from a simple illness to a completely obsessive infatuation with my flatmat-
I stopped my thinking there.
Soon after I devoured my soup I closed my eyes, only intent on resting them for a few minutes. The next time I opened them I found myself in my own bed with no recollection of how I got there. I smiled as I snuggled further into the sheets, suspecting that I didn't get there on my own. My mind was devoid of any confusion in that moment and let sleep take me under for a second time that night.
"So what's the plan for tonight? Going to be partying it up?" I asked as I jotted down notes for yet another script that was probably never going to be seen.
It was New Year's Eve and as I had told Liz, I had zero plans. Liz and Tori begged me to go out with them but I was content with a quiet night at home.
Derek scrunched up his nose at my suggestion. "Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"
I scoffed. "Do I really look like the kind of person who goes out to celebrate New Year's Eve?"
"Guess not." He rumbled, rooting through the cupboards for food. "I'll be working on a case."
It was my turn to scrunch my nose up. "Okay, I know I'm boring but that's just sad. Why would you want to work on New Year's?"
"Do I really look like the kind of person who goes out to celebrate New Year's Eve?" He mocked.
"Touche."
He grabbed a packet of crackers and opened them, popping one in his mouth before taking the rest with him into his office.
I would have been more than happy catching some sleep early tonight, but something told me that I'd be kept awake by mindless, drunken shouting out on the street and fireworks. There was a little part of me that hoped that Derek would maybe join me for the New Year's festivities, but he was practically married to his work.
I inserted the first DVD of many into the player and began my marathon.
Halfway through watching the third movie, The Godfather, Derek's office door clicked open and he shut it behind him, probably finishing up his work for the night. He stretched in the doorway, catching my attention. My eyes gazed over him right as his shirt twisted up, exposing his chisled stomach. I felt my face burn a bright red as my breathing hitched and quickly looked away before he could notice me staring like an infatuated school girl.
There was no denying that Derek was good looking. He was tall, muscular, and handsome in a weird unconventional way. I had spent an embarrassing amount of time studying him while he wasn't looking, and it made me wonder why he was single. There was never a time where he brought a girl home, and he was always home at night.
Was he gay?
No, he couldn't have been. Simon suspected that something was up with us - whatever that was. He would have warned me if Derek was gay.
He sauntered into the kitchen and looked at what we had, mumbling to himself about Tori eating all of his food.
"I'm ordering a pizza. Want anything?" He asked.
"Supreme, thanks." I said without tearing my eyes away from the movie.
Derek called in the order and told me the wait would be around half an hour. He settled down on the couch with me and we watched the movie in silence. I couldn't help but smile that he chose the couch over the recliner. He shifted beside me and all thoughts about the movie drained from my mind. Did he just move closer or was I imagining things? I took the opportunity to move as well, fidgeting with the blanket that kept me warm. Derek looked down and took the blanket into his hands, pulling it over himself. I stared up at him, feeling irrationally suspicious about this new level of contact that we were having. He didn't so much as glance down at me as I stared.
It wasn't until we heard a knock on the door that Derek left the couch. The sudden absence of him under the blanket made me feel cold and I shivered. The only positive outcome of this was that he returned with pizza. We ate silently as the movie ended.
"So what's up next?" He asked, stretching his back.
I gestured towards the stack of DVDs on the coffee table. "You pick."
Derek sifted through the mountain, inspecting each one and reading the backs of the cases. He eventually settled on Inception. Go figure.
When Derek sat back down, he was even closer than before.
Was he doing this on purpose? Or was I imagining things? He had all the room in the world on the other side of him.
My mouth went dry at our close proximity. A million thoughts rushed through my head but the loudest one was telling me to just go with it and stop overthinking things.
When Derek's arm found the back of the couch and rested on it I tentatively leaned against his side. I looked up at him for some sort of confirmation that what I was doing was okay. Our eyes met and the corners of his lips twitched up. I took that as a sign it was okay and leaned in further, basking in the heat that he gave off.
Maybe it was a mistake because I didn't know what this meant for us. Did this mean Derek reciprocated my feelings? Or was he just being friendly? Or worse, leading me on...
No, Derek wasn't that kind of person.
As I got comfortable, I felt him relax next to me and I suppressed the urge to smile. Maybe he did reciprocate my feelings.
We continued to watch movies until a loud bang coming from outside caught our attention. The kitchen exploded with light as fireworks went off, bursts of light and color came as quickly as they went, each one more beautiful than the last. I rushed over to the kitchen window to watch the show and Derek followed shortly after, standing behind me.
Derek looked at his watch and grunted.
"Happy New Year." He mumbled.
"Happy New Year, Derek."
Perhaps asking for a New Year's kiss would be pushing my luck.
So there's another chapter done and dusted. Please review and let me know what you think. Reviews encourage me to try harder! :) xxx
