La Vie En Rose

Here, In Your Arms - Hellogoodbye

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

I threw my arm out from under the covers and searched for my alarm clock while my head was still buried beneath my pillows. I reluctantly turned the alarm off, and re-positioned myself in my bed so I could face the ceiling. With a huge frown on my face, I sighed loudly.

Today was Valentines Day.

I wasn’t exactly sure if I should be thankful or pissed off about the fact that I had a nine am business class today but at least it confirmed the fact that I was getting out of bed today.

I grudgingly threw my legs over the side of my bed and stretched my arms above my head. I let another yawn escape my lips before standing up and walking over to the window. Casually leaning on the ledge, I peered down at the street. Rain rapped against the window, trickling down the glass surface once it made touchdown. Perfect. I could tell this day was going to be awful already.

After changing into my normal attire, I stuffed my laptop into my messenger bag and walked into the kitchen. The apartment was quiet, and surprisingly, everything outside wasn’t as loud as it usually is. With a flip of a switch, the coffee-maker began to brew while I grabbed my to-go coffee mug and pulled out the sugar. I casually leaned against the cold counter, arms folded and starred at my moccasins as I waited for the coffee to finish. Last night before falling asleep, I decided that I wouldn’t feel sorry for myself for the next sixteen. I just need to keep telling myself that it’s just like any other Friday and nothing has changed.

Once the coffee finished brewing, I made my coffee and headed for the front door. Just as my hand touched the handle, I noticed a yellow post-it square with scribbled writing stuck to the door. I picked it up and read it:

G,
Had to dip out early for the photo shoot in Long Island. Might be stuck there all day. Sorry for abandoning you. Have fun later ;)

A x

‘Have fun later’? I furrowed my eyebrows together, wracking my brains by what she meant. It then hit me that she was referring to the seductive video chat with John. I cringed, crumpled up the note and closed the door behind me as I walked towards the elevator. I wasn’t even sure what John was doing today. We didn’t make any certain plans to video chat today. I’ll probably call him and we’ll discuss how lonely we are. You know, the usual. There is no way I was going to do a stupid strip tease for him. That sounds all sorts of awkward.

Business class was boring, as usual. I lamely clicked through my emails while the Professor taught. She found it to be ‘most appropriate’ to wear a red V-neck sweater today since it is - and these are her words, not mine - ‘the day of tenderness, passion and intimacy’. Where’s my gun?

I eventually stumbled across The Maine’s website and went through their updates. I had to cover my giggles when I came across one of their posts about Valentine’s Day. They took a group picture, all wearing knit sweaters with huge, obnoxious red hearts on the front. Their goofy grins and thumbs up was enough for me to snort loudly, causing a couple of students in the class to turn around and glance at me.

Being in a relationship with John for the past couple of weeks has made me learn something: his fans were the wrong kind of fans to piss off. Apparently, more and more of their fans have figured out we’re a couple and while some were leaving comments on The Maine’s website saying ‘Aw, you guys are so cute’ or ‘So happy for you, John! If you’re happy, I’m happy!!’, most hated my existence. I should of seen it coming, really, I knew how they felt. I was in their shoes when I found out Aaron Carter and Lindsay Lohan were dating back when I was in 5th grade. I was so pissed that I refused to watch The Parent Trap for four years straight...and that was my favorite movie. Alas, seeing comments like ‘Let’s kill Gigi’ and ‘I hope they break up today. I’m praying for it!’ really throws me off guard.

Luckily, the professor dismissed class early, telling us to ‘gird our loins’ today. I wanted to scoff but I bit down on my tongue and exited the hall. All I could think was the bitch was crazy.

When I reached the busy sidewalk outside, I noticed it finally stopped raining. Still, everything was damp, there were puddles in the streets and the sky was covered in grey clouds. The weather was definitely on point with how I’m feeling today. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my black peacoat and strolled down the street. With Alma being absent for the rest of the day, what was I going to do? Maybe the only option I had left was to drown myself in my sorrows with hot chocolate, chocolate bars and ice cream. I smiled and shook my head. I sounded insane! I pulled out my phone from my pocket and glanced at the time. 10:15am. John is in Kansas City now, meaning he’s only an hour behind. I clicked on his name and had my phone against my ear. As I passed vendors who were waving me over to buy pretzels, I waited patiently for the ringing to start. I knew hearing John’s voice would instantly make my day ten times better.

But the phone never rang. It went straight to voice mail.

I let out a frustrated noise and clicked the red button. He never turns his phone off. If there was a verb to describe how I felt right now it would be perplexed. Very, very perplexed. He must still be sleeping or his battery died. He’ll probably be online when I get back.

As I walked back to the apartment, I noticed a flash of bright pink, purple and red in the corner of my eye. I stopped abruptly and took a couple of steps back. Victoria’s Secret. The conversation I had with Alma last week suddenly popped into my mind. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have a look around?

“Damn.” I whispered as I examined myself in the mirror of my bedroom. “I look good!”

Ok, so I gave in. Who knew buying yourself a new bra and underwear would instantly brighten up your day? Well, a lot of women know that but...I forgot how good it feels.

I fiddled with the straps of my new blush pink-colored lace bra and let a small smile form on my lips. If only John could see me no-

“John!” I gasped.

I picked up the blue sweater from the ground, threw it on, ran over to my computer and turned it on. The phrase ‘please be on’ repetitively went through my head as skype connected. I skimmed through my list of contacts, hoping to see a green dot next to his name. Sadly, he wasn’t online. I frowned and dramatically fell on top of my bed.

I hate my horrible life.

Alright, I know. I’m being super dramatic and my life isn’t that horrible. But it’s Valentine’s Day and for once I had a boyfriend around this time of year. Is it so bad to want to have him with me today? Better yet, every day. Unlucky. So unbearably unlucky.

The loud shrill of my phone disturbed my thoughts. I quickly sat up and picked up my phone without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?” I asked.

“Hey beautiful.”

I was grinning ear to ear, within seconds.

“John, hey!” I exclaimed, getting up and pulling on a pair of booty shorts I bought at American Apparel. “I tried calling you earlier but it went straight to voicemail!”

“Really? Huh, thats weird.” He dismissed it immediately. “I wanted to call you and wish you a happy Valentine’s Day!”

I let out a small chuckle. “Thanks, loser.”

“How are you? You doing anything today?” He questioned.

“I’ve got myself a hot date with the ABC family channel for the next-” I glanced at my alarm clock. “-thirteen hours. How about you?”

He laughed. “I’m stuck in St. Louis today so the only thing I’ll be doing is eating my body weight and sleeping.”

“Yeah, because your body weight is that heav-hey, wait. I thought you were in Kansas City today?” I questioned.

“Kansas City?” John sounded surprised. “No, I’m in St. Louis.”

“I could of sworn you said you were in Kansas City today.”

“I never said I was in Kansas City today.”

I narrowed my eyes at the floor suspiciously. “John are you-are you alright?”

“I’m awesome! Why do you ask?”

You know when you’re on the phone with someone and their voice goes up an octave because they’re hiding something from you? John just did that.

“You sound a little o-” I started but he abruptly cut me off.

“Did you get the flowers I sent you?” He asked cooly.

“You sent me flowers!?” I grinned, standing up and walking into the living room and kitchen area. “Aw, you shouldn’t have!”

“Of course I did.” John chuckled. “You’re my girlfriend, who I admire very much. I would do just about anything for you.”

I could feel the blush reach my cheeks. “You’re the best boyfriend but I don’t think they were delivered yet. I just checked the kitchen and living room.”

“What about outside your apartment?” He asked.

“You mean out in the hallway? Why would they be in the hal-”

There was a loud knock at the door. I froze, starring at my front door. I fell silent and slowly turned my body towards the door. My heart was racing a mile a minute, several thoughts running through my head. I was being stupid. There was no way that-I then noticed John fell silent on the phone too.

I quickly took two steps toward the door and swung it open.

And just like that, I forgot how to breathe.

With his usual lace up vans, black skinny jeans, red flannel shirt and leather jacket, stood John O’Callaghan on my doorstep, with his phone pressed up against his ear and a dozen of red roses in his hand.

Both my phone and jaw dropped to the floor.

He flashed his signature smirk as he brought his phone down from his ear. He stepped forward and with a soft voice, he spoke. “Surprise.”