The Movies Make It Look Easy

Chapter 20

Shannon’s P.O.V:

I was woken up at the ungodly hour of eight the next morning.
It was Monday morning and normally I’d have to get up for class but we had the day off so I didn’t appreciate it when I was woken up by my phone ringing.
I turned over and placed a pillow firmly over my head in an attempt to muffle the incessant ringing. It worked to a degree and eventually the sound cut off. I was just starting to fall asleep again when my phone started to ring again.
Grumbling, I reached out, fumbling for my phone with my eyes tightly squeezed shut against the harsh light coming through my window. I’d forgotten to shut my curtains the night before and was wholeheartedly regretting it.
When I finally located it, I squinted at the screen; it was Natalie – I should have known.
Finally managing to find the right button to accept the call, I muttered a greeting as I flopped back onto my pillows and tried to make myself comfortable again. Natalie’s voice babbled at me through the phone but the most I caught was,
‘We just have so much to talk about that I’m coming over – I’ll be there in ten!’
I grunted a semi-affirmative response before I hung up the phone and chucked it off the bed. I vaguely heard a thud as it landed somewhere across the room but I was already drifting back to sleep, welcoming the darkness.

Sadly though it didn’t last long. It felt like only seconds, let alone ten minutes before Nat banged in my bedroom door and jumped onto my bed. ‘Rise and shine sleepyhead!’ she chirped in my ear.
If there’s one thing I know I’ll never understand, it’s why people enjoy getting up early. It was a mystery.
I groaned at her, turning so that my back was facing her but she just pulled my covers off and dragged me out of bed. I slowly followed her out of my room and flopped down on the couch. My eyes began to close as I leant my head against the arm of the couch – it wasn’t as comfy as my bed but it would do.
Next thing I knew, a pillow had been thrown at my head. I sat up, glaring at Natalie but she just smiled serenely at me.
‘No sleeping for you missy, we have too much to discuss.’
I rolled my eyes.
‘Now’ she said, lowering her voice as she glanced around
‘Is he here?’
‘Is who here?’ I asked normally, knowing it would irritate her.
She scowled ‘you know who I mean’ she said in a quieter voice than I’d ever heard her use before.
I glanced over to Nick’s room and was surprised to see his door open. When he’d said he needed to get up early, I’d presumed he was just saying it as an excuse to leave early, obviously not.
‘No’ I told her, ‘he’s not’
She sighed with relief.
‘Good, no chance of being overheard then’ her voice had returned to its normal level.

For the second time I felt a pillow connecting with my head. I sat up straighter and glared at her.
‘Now, how could you?’ she asked, anger clouding her features.
I frowned ‘how could I what?’
‘How could you not tell me who your roommate is?’
I shrugged ‘I dunno, I’m sorry Nat. Does it really matter who he is though?’
Her eyes widened in shock.
‘Of course it matters’ she announced disbelievingly, eyeing me like I’d suddenly grown a second head
‘Do you know who he is?’ she gestured vaguely towards his room, speaking again before I had the chance to answer that yes, I did in fact know who he was.
I mentally rolled my eyes as she spoke,
‘Nicholas King...Nick freaking King!’ she said excitedly.
I frowned, ‘umm...ye I don’t know why his name’s important though...’
I trailed off at the look she gave me.
‘He’s like the hottest guy in college, bad boy extraordinaire!’
I had to fight the bile that rose in my throat at the dreamy look in her eyes. Natalie didn’t normally look like that; no matter whom we were talking about. ‘He’s just a guy Nat, and I doubt he’s the hottest guy in college’
I couldn’t even make myself believe my own words – how sad.
‘Whatever, you’re so in denial, but anyway talking about guys, how’s Lee?’
‘Can we please not talk about Lee?’
She frowned ‘why?’
‘I just need to think about some things, that’s all’
She nodded ‘ok, fair enough...just try not to hurt him too much, he’s a good guy’
I nodded my head, but I couldn’t help thinking about what Nick had said.
Was it not true? Or did Nat not know?
I didn’t want to ask – I needed to make a decision for myself.

We sat in silence, each lost in our own thoughts –I had a good idea what Natalie was thinking about by the way she was dreamily staring at Nick’s open door – when the door opened.
Nick walked in with a battered old bag over one shoulder and wearing equally battered old clothes with unknown stains covering them. He looked up at us and smiled.
‘Hey’
I smiled in return and Natalie muttered a ‘hi’, suddenly finding the table on the opposite side of the room to Nick very interesting.
‘This is Natalie’ I said, gesturing at her,
‘Oh ye, you were at dinner last night right?’
She nodded still staring at the table.
He shot me a quizzical look, but I just shrugged, I didn’t know why she was acting all shy – hell I didn’t even know the word was in her vocabulary – normally I couldn’t get her to shut up.
He turned his attention to me when it was clear that he wasn’t going to get more of a response out of her.
‘Didn’t expect to see you up so early’
I glared at Natalie who had finally looked up and she had the grace to look sheepish. Nick smirked.
‘Right back at ya’ I retorted, smiling.
‘I said last night that I had to get up’
‘Ye but I didn’t think you actually would, I mean you’re worse than me’
He laughed, sitting on the armchair and dropping his bag beside him with an audible clunk.
‘True’
‘So why are you up?’ I asked genuinely curious.
He didn’t get up for just anything. He looked away and ran his hand – nervously? – through his tousled hair.
‘Just working on something’
I just nodded, aware that he clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
Natalie however didn’t seem to pick up on that fact,
‘What is it?’ she asked eagerly, she seemed to have gotten her confidence back. ‘Umm just something’ he shrugged
‘Ahh come on, it has to be important, what is it?’ she pushed.
He glanced at me and his whole expression was screaming for me to help. I sat back and tried to contain the laughter that was bubbling up inside me as I watched the two of them.
‘It’s kinda private’ he confessed.
‘Well is it for class or are you just doing your own project?’

I cleared my throat, my mouth twitching. He threw me a grateful look, thinking I was going to rescue him but he quickly narrowed his eyes when I’d spoken
‘I’m just gonna go make some tea, I’ll uh, leave you two to talk.’
I hopped up and skipped into the kitchen. I took my time – fifteen minutes or so – making my tea. I opened the fridge door and got out the milk.
I jumped when I turned around and saw Nick standing in the doorway with his arms crossed – he did not look happy.
I burst out laughing.
He didn’t join in, just stood there glaring at me. That of course just made me laugh even more.
Eventually I calmed down and he took a step into the kitchen, looking over his shoulder, no doubt to see where Natalie was.
‘She’s still in the bathroom’
He sighed in relief, ‘she kept asking me about what I was doing earlier and she wouldn’t take the hint that I wasn’t going to tell her’
He paused, looking over his shoulder again.
‘And then she started asking me all these questions about my life’
He had the most desperate look on his face that I smiled.
‘She asked me what I washed my hair with’
He actually looked offended that she’d asked something like that.
I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my grin
‘And she asked how long I took to do my hair in the morning to make it look so messy...’ he looked truly baffled and vaguely horrified.

That did it, I couldn’t stop laughing. He glared at me. I leant back against the counter with my arms wrapped around my stomach
‘Sorry’ I managed to wheeze.
‘This isn’t funny you know’ he glared.
I just laughed some more, wiping my eyes to get rid of the tears that had formed. He took another step forward, mock growling at me,
‘This isn’t funny’ he repeated.
I didn’t stop laughing.
Next thing I knew, he’d picked me up and slung me over one shoulder. I squealed, still laughing,
‘Put me down!’
‘When you stop laughing’
That just made me laugh harder so he started to spin me around, making me laugh even louder.
He stopped abruptly.
‘What’s wrong’ I asked curiously.
He’d stilled completely. He let me slide slowly down the length of his body. I put my hands on his chest to steady myself before I turned around to see Natalie watching us with one eyebrow raised.
Everyone was silent.
I was still standing in front of Nick and I could feel his breath stirring my hair.
‘I was just coming to tell you that I have to go, I have a project due.’
Natalie eventually broke the thick silence.
She glanced at Nick before resting her eyes on me again.
‘Umm, ok I’ll call you later?’
She nodded ‘yes...you will’ her eyes flicked to Nick again.
She turned to leave but stopped in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe.
‘Just remember what I said earlier Shannon’ she said without looking back before she walked across the living room.
I frowned as I heard the front door open and close behind her. It took me a moment to remember what she was talking about, “just try not to hurt him too much, he’s a good guy” the sentence went round and round my head as my heart sank.
I realised how it must have looked from Natalie’s point of view. I sighed; she probably thought there was something going on between Nick and me.
‘What did she mean? What did she say to you?’ Nick sounded confused.
I shook my head and turned around to face him.
I’d known he was close, but I hadn’t known we were so close; there was barely an inch between us.
I raised my head so I could look him in the eye. His warm, golden brown eyes flickered between my own, looking for something, I just didn’t know what.
‘It doesn’t matter’
‘You can tell me you know’
I sighed ‘it’s just about Lee’
His face hardened immediately.
‘He called me like five times last night while I was asleep’
His jaw tensed.
‘I just don’t know what to do’ I admitted, letting my head drop forward against his chest.
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me as close as was possible.
I felt his lips lightly kiss the top of my head as his hands rubbed my back soothingly. I sighed in contentment, it felt right.
‘It’ll be alright’ he whispered and I thought I heard him sigh faintly.

I don’t know how long we stood there but I suddenly groaned.
He tensed again, ‘what is it?’
‘My tea’ I said miserably ‘it’s probably cold by now’
My words were muffled against his t-shirt. I felt his chest vibrate with his laughter. ‘Oh you poor baby’ he said mockingly, letting go of me – unfortunately.
I pouted, ‘don’t be so mean, you know what tea means to me’
He rolled his eyes.
‘I’ll make you some more’
‘Yay! Thank you.’ I smiled, batting my eyelashes at him.

Two minutes later he handed me a steaming cup of tea. I wrapped my hands around it, closing my eyes as I inhaled the herby, milky goodness. I opened my eyes when I heard Nick’s phone ring.
His conversation was short. When he hung up the phone he looked at me,
‘That was Mark, I’m going over to his, you wanna come?’
I was surprised that he asked me to come. He misread my hesitation.
‘Don’t worry, Lee’s not there’
I grimaced ‘I’m alright I have work to do, rain check?’
‘Okay’, he walked out the door.
‘Talk to you later Sweetheart’ he called
‘Bye’ I said softly as the door slammed shut, leaving me alone.

Heading for my room with my tea, I sat on my bed and opened my computer.
There was an e-mail from Conor:

Hey Hun,
How’s it going? Any news for me? How’s College?
Write back immediately, I haven’t talked to you in ages!
Love, Conor xx

I chuckled to myself as I clicked reply, where to start??