So Much More Than Decoration

Noises were heard first, they weren’t distinct but Amberlyn could hear them. Next were little pitter patters, whether they were steps or knocks on the door she again couldn’t make out a difference at this point. Her name, now that was distinct.

“Amber...” She heard as someone lifted her feet to sit down before placing them back down on their lap. “ Amber what are you doing?”

Barely awake she gave a grunt in response, pulling the worn material of the quilt above her shoulders snuggling further into the couch.

“Amber are you ok?” The voice cooed lightly with a worry. Falling asleep on the couch and being this unresponsive in the morning was uncharacteristic of Amberlyn causing a slight worry. “Should I call mum?”

Another grunt came in response as Amberlyn’s brows furrowed wanting not for Chloe to call their mother but to leave her alone or at least be quiet so she could fall back asleep.

“Are you hung over?!” Chloe scowled in a whisper, respectful of the fact that Amberlyn was easily irritable at this point before cursing under her breath. “I’m going to kill Josh, I told him not to let you drink...”

“No.” Amberlyn muttered, reluctantly abandoning all hope of more sleep. “I’m just tired.”

“Oh.”

“And don’t worry, I didn’t drink anything. Besides soda and water.”

“Good! You shouldn’t drink.” Chloe instructed, ironically acting like their mother. Amberlyn only rolled her eyes at her sister’s hypocritical comment but didn’t have the energy to bother commenting.

“What time is it?” Amberlyn questioned, stretching the sleep from her bones.
“Its half past noon... did you sleep here last night? What time did you fall asleep?” Chloe fired, it was scary how much Chloe was acting like their mother at the moment.

“Well mum,” Amberlyn joked earning a scowl from her sister, before sitting up properly to face Chloe. “I think its pretty obvious I slept here and I don’t remember what time I was too tired to check.”

“Mmkay,” Chloe responded not bothering to question her sister further.

“I’m going to take a shower, make us some breakfast yeah?” The older twin suggested gingerly as she left not giving Amberlyn the chance to respond.

Relishing her last moments sitting in her substitute bed, Amberlyn took a deep breath as she stood up stretching to wake the last of her sleeping bones. Rubbing her eyes to the early afternoon light that flood the kitchen Amberlyn checked first the fridge then cupboards for breakfast. Amberlyn would have been content with cereal and a bowl of cut up fruit on the side but knew her older half would throw a fit for such a simple meal claiming its not filling as she always did when Amberlyn would make herself breakfast which Chloe tried to mooch off of. In order to avoid Chloe’s squawking Amberlyn pulled out a bowl, a frying pan, eggs, salt, sugar, butter, milk, vanilla extract, sliced break and cinnamon to make french toast. It was quick, easy and one of Chloe’s favourite breakfast meals, a win-win situation in Amberlyn’s book.

---

“I’ll see you later!” Chloe yelled from the front door.

“Where are you going?” Amberlyn called back from the kitchen as she dried the last few dishes, hoping her sister hadn’t left before answering her. It was Saturday afternoon, of course Chloe had somewhere else to be.

And before the door slammed all Amberlyn could hear was “Out!”

Typical. Alone again.

In attempts to fill her silent home with life, Amberlyn turned on the small portable radio in the kitchen hoping something decent to listen to was on. To her dismay most of the channels were flooded with commercials or the hourly break where the hosts would chat. Turning the radio back off once she put away the last dish, Amberlyn folded the dish towel she was using and placed it back in its spot before heading upstairs to her room. Amberlyn grabbed her bath robe, towel and ipod before heading into the bathroom. Amberlyn placed her ipod on the dock and left it on shuffle as she filled the tub with water before adding in her favourite Lush bath bomb she’d been hiding from Chloe. Perfect.

Amberlyn climbed in and soaked in the sweet scent of the bath bomb and warm water. Her feet still stung slightly from her ankle boots from the night before but it was nothing a little relaxing in the tub couldn’t fix. Within 5 minutes of wallowing in the tub Amberlyn heard a faint noise countering the sound of her music, a jolt of paranoia struck as the unknown sounds only reminded her that she was indeed, home alone. She clung to the edge of the tub and listened closer but it had ceased and Amberlyn brushed it off as no big deal continuing to enjoy her bath. Another minute or so passed before the muffled noise started up again, and for a second time Amberlyn listened closely trying to pin point where in the house the sounds were coming from but once again, moments later it stopped. Perhaps it was the neighbors seeing as her townhouse did indeed share a wall with the neighbors, of course its probably the neighbors.

After re-assuring herself that nothing was wrong, Amberlyn finished up her soak in the tub and dried off quickly before swapping the wet towel with her fluffy bath robe before unlocking the bathroom door leading into her room. Upon opening the door Amberlyn jumped at the commence of a ringing noise, she placed her hand on her heart as she felt as if it was going to pop out of her chest before realizing it was the phone that had been making the muffled noises. It stopped almost as soon as it started and Amberlyn changed quickly into a cream 3/4 sleeve length dress with light brown stripes, opaque black leggings and cream and grey wool-knit house socks. She then sat by her vanity putting on her moisturizer and lip balm before heading back into the bathroom to dry her hair. The sound of the hairdryer was loud enough to mute any other noises in the house leaving Amberlyn jaded to the person wandering downstairs.

Turning off the hair dryer and looking into the mirror, Amberlyn’s long dark brown hair now laid in messy waves which she stared at for a moment before deciding she’d pin up the sides to have it half up- half down. Looking for something to pin up the strands of hair she held with one hand, she headed back to her vanity in her room where she kept a small box of bobby pins. Still holding the pieces of hair in one hand and pushing the door with the other she kept her head down to keep her hair from falling as moved.

“I thought you’d be in there forever.”

Startled, Amberlyn let out a scream as she dropped her hair to hold her chest and muffle her yelp. “Good Lord!... Josh!?”

“Sorry...” Josh apologized as he laughed at her reaction. He did not mean to startle her but couldn’t help but laugh when she let out a shriek, he was not expecting that.

“You scared me!” The frightened girl let out once her heart rate lowered and she felt like she could breathe again. “What are you doing here.... and how did you get in?”

“Well, I climbed through your window of course.” Josh said with a straight face earning a bewildered look from Amberlyn before the corners of his lips began to curl upwards into a smile signifying that he was just joking. “Your mum let me in, I saw her getting in when I was walking up your driveway."

Amberlyn nodded as she made an “o” shape with her mouth before sitting down by her vanity. She pulled her hair up again and placed the bobby pins in looking at Josh’s reflection in the mirror as he sat on the edge of her bed.

Mrs. Finch never questioned her youngest daughter’s friendship with Josh, she merely accepted it from the get-go. Amberlyn was selective when it came to the people she chose to associate with, not by choice but by circumstance. Mrs. Finch understood Amberlyn was a reserved, soft spoken, shy kind of girl, she guessed it was from being in Chloe’s bold shadow since the twins were young. Mrs. Finch watched as one of her daughters blossomed into a social butterfly while the other was content in her shell like ca-coon, rarely letting people in which is why when Amberlyn did so happen to chose to let someone in, Mrs. Finch was not going to deny her daughter the opportunity at all. Mrs. Finch knew she could always trust Amberlyn’s judgement when it came to people, Amberlyn may be naive but she understood the walls she put up and quickly read what kind of people she was comfortable with and whom she was not. The fact that Josh was a boy gave Mrs. Finch pause at first but that became of no consequence once she saw her daughter was happy with her new friend.

“So what’s up?” Amberlyn smiled, turning to face Josh properly.

“Well I tried calling you like a million times before I came over, but I was just wondering if you were still going to crash band practice today... I mean you don’t have to but--”

“I’d love to!” Amberlyn beamed, being invited to hangout with Josh for a second time this weekend and it not relating to studying.

“Its at your place right?” Amberlyn clarified so that she could pass along the information to her mother.

“Yeah, we should probably head over soon if you’re ready.”

---

“So Amberlyn seems nice.” Josh heard as he was helping his mum in the kitchen.

“She is.”

“... are you two.. you know...” His mother awkwardly put as she wiggled her eyebrows at him.

“Are we what mum?”

“Are you two going together?” She giggled gingerly knowing this was probably embarrassing Josh or at the very least making him feel ridiculously uncomfortable.

“Oh my god mum!” Josh rolled his eyes as his cheeks began to heat up. “No! She’s just a friend from school.”

“Oh.” His mother pouted before continuing to fire questions at her son. “Well, why not? You like her don’t you? Does she have a boyfriend is that why? Oh my, is she seeing one of your mates is that why you two aren’t--”

“Mum!” Josh stopped her before she asked why the two wouldn’t just elope now. “Jesus mum, if you like her so much you go out with her.”

His mother’s eyes darted at him upon hearing his remark. “Boy, don’t you speak to me like that. I am your mother!”
“You’re like fixated on her, you just met her today mum calm down. And you wonder why I don’t bring more friends home.”

“But Amberlyn is so lovely! Why aren’t you seeing her?”

“Because we’re just friends, ok mum.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Josh and his mum were quiet once again before a small knock came from the entrance way. Amberlyn popped her head into the kitchen before politely interjecting to any conversation that could have been going on.

“Am I interrupting?” She called from the corner before stepping in to the kitchen.

“No dear of course not.” Josh’s mother answered smiling at the girl.

“I just wanted to say thank you for having me and it was lovely meeting you Mrs. Fra--”

“Please dear, call me Marie!”

“Thank you for having me Marie.”

“It was out pleasure, come back any time sweetie!”

"Amberlyn smiled turning her attention to Josh. “I have to get going now, thanks for inviting me over it was a lot of fun Josh, I’ll see you Monday!”

“Wait, I’ll walk you home.” Josh called back, putting down the dish cloth. “Its about to get dark, you shouldn’t be walking by yourself.”

“No, its okay! You’re already home it’d be silly if you took me. Its like a twenty minute walk, I don’t live far.”

“Rubbish, you’re not going alone.”

“Really Josh, that’s sweet but I can walk on my own. I’ll text you when I get home to let you know I’m alright. Really you don’t need to walk me--”

“Yo, Josh I’ve got to head out now! ” A voice called from just down the hall. “Oh, sorry. Was I interrupting?”

“Its alright Dan, I think I was going to call it quits for today as well. That or I’d be back in a bit to walk Amberlyn home.”

“I told you Josh, its alright. I can walk by myself.” Amberlyn continued to protested.

“Its getting dark, you shouldn’t be wandering around at night...” Josh argued.

“Or I could drop you off at home Amberlyn, its on the way home.” Dan interjected.

After spending the afternoon with Josh and his mates, Dan felt slightly closer to Amberlyn. She was still a bit of a mystery to him but he could tell she was warming up to him and the group a lot more than she was the other night at Max’s party. She spoke a bit more and didn’t shy away from conversation as he noticed she did the other night, sure she was still quiet but it was a lot easier to get her to speak this time around. He guessed it was due to the more casual and smaller environment that made Amberlyn feel more comfortable. She easily charmed all the guys but nothing less was expected with her sweet personality and polite mannerisms.

“Really you two, its not a big deal.” Amberlyn objected once again. She didn’t like being an inconvenience to either of the boys, especially with something as trivial as walking home.

“No, I insist. That way Josh doesn’t have to leave or worry, and its on the way so I don’t mind at all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course, plus my car is a lot warmer than walking.”

“Thanks so much Dan!” Amberlyn smiled.

“Sorted, are you ready to go now?” Dan asked while slipping on his jacket.

“All ready.” Amberlyn smiled putting her wool coat over her red cardigan.

Amberlyn thanked Josh once more for inviting her over, giving him a quick hug before dashing off to follow Dan. Josh stood in the doorway and waved as the two pulled out of the drive way before speeding off. Josh felt an odd sensation as they left, he couldn’t place his finger on what it was but it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He wasn’t sure what about the scenario rubbed him the wrong way but something did. Josh felt like he should have been the one taking Amberlyn home, he should be with her right now, he should be the one making sure she was home safe. But alas his best mate was doing all those things. Josh convinced himself that he was just being protective of Amberlyn and he just felt like it should have been his responsibility as a friend to make sure she got home ok, yeah that’s it. He was just trying to be a good friend.

---

Amberlyn had a lovely time with the boys, they all treated he like they’ve known her for ages and actually included her in their conversations. She actually felt like she was making friends. Amberlyn learned she had a common love of cheesy movies with Max and that he suggested the two have a ridiculously-cheesy-movies-staring-Amanda-Bynes-marathon. She learned that she used to take dance with Matt’s younger sister back in London and he teased her slightly about having pictures from all the old recitals. She noted that like herself Chris didn’t talk much but seemed very sweet. She saw a lot of herself in him by his mannerisms and his quiet, reserved nature. And she learned that Dan was the only one of the group to share her love of sushi, all the others thought it was gross but he loves it. Max teased the pair saying they should go on sushi dates since no one else would go with them. Amberlyn’s cheeks would burn a bright pink at the notion but Dan just laughed it off going along with the joke. She was sad to go since she’d only be seeing Josh and Max at school but the boys insisted she drop in from more of their ‘practices.’

Amberlyn and Dan spent most of the car ride quiet, although thinking about it 5 minutes isn’t exactly enough time for a heart to heart. Pulling into Amberlyn’s driveway Dan gripped the steering wheel tightly before awkwardly fiddling with the grips on it.

“Thanks for driving me Dan, I really appreciate it.” Amberlyn started. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

“Umm, yeah. Sure.”

“Alright, see you--”

“Wait!”

Amberlyn paused after unbuckling her seat belt, now slowly releasing it back into the hoister turning her head to face Dan. She stared at him blankly afraid she did something wrong.

“There’s no kind of casual way to say this but I was wondering if maybe next weekend, if you’re not busy, we could hang out...”

“Hang out?” Amberlyn repeated, her heart beginning to beat pump a little faster. “Like with the lads?”

“No, I mean. Like you and me. As in a date.”

“A date?” Amberlyn repeated again, her heart now pumping at a speed she didn’t know was feasible for a heart. She had never been asked out before, not even to hang out as a play date let alone an actual date.

“Yes,” Dan chuckled hoping ease her slight anxiety. “Would you like to go on a date with me?

Amberlyn shook her head ferociously, indicating she would. She couldn’t get the right words out since the only words dancing on her tongue were Oh. My. God!