Baby, Just Breathe.

“John is finally coming back tomorrow!”

Sophia was so excited to see his brother that she didn’t let me do anything else that prepare a big banner that said ‘welcome back’ in caps for the week before his come back.

“Do you know that you have the dentist visit tomorrow right?”

“Ew! I hate the dentist!”

“But you have to go. Besides, you brush your teeth every day so it’s just a visit of a couple of minutes. The dentist has to decide if he can take those braces off from your nice little teeth. Aren’t you happy for it?”

“Yes, of course I am. But I want to be home before John is here”

“Wouldn’t it be better if you came back and he is the one who has to wait for you?”

“I don’t want to make him wait!”

“Don’t worry about that. Just think that if you go to the dentist, you’ll be able to see him, although you won’t. What are you going to do then?”

“Ok. I’ll go to the dentist if you put it this way”

The day after, she went to the dentist with her mother, as settled. Mrs. O’Callaghan asked me if I could have stayed there waiting both for them and for John, because she wasn’t sure of the right time they were going to be back. So, I had to stay alone in a house that wasn’t mine for about an hour.
As I was bored I decided to put on my IPod and listen to some music while reading a magazine that I found in the living room. Too bad that the music took me over at some point and so I started singing out loud and dancing over the last Katy Perry’s album. I even took off my shoes; I was dressed of a simple tank top and some ripped shorts. I was acting like I would have done in my own house.

“You make me feel like I’m living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on, I can’t sleep, let’s run away and don’t ever look back, don’t ever look back!”

I made my way from the living room to the kitchen and back, keeping on dancing and singing, when I spotted that someone was watching me from the hall. I stopped myself immediately to realize a guy was there. And definitely not an ordinary one. John was staring at me like he has been seeing a ghost. Or worse, a girl who was ready to be sent to the mental hospital or something like that. I really didn’t know what to say to justify what I’ve been doing. I simply took off the headphones from my ears and looked at him in shock. He had two big bags with him that felt on the floor as soon as he saw me.

“Oh my God I’m so sorry”

That’s all I could think of.

“No…don’t be. I mean, Katy Perry’s music is so catchy”

I didn’t get if he was kidding or making fun of me. I wouldn’t have blamed him for both the options though. I would have probably laughed out loud if I saw a girl dancing and singing in my house like I was doing. I felt my cheeks burning red and I would have liked to shoot myself in the head because I made a fool of myself in front of the hottest guy I’ve ever seen in my life.
Yes, because now that I had the chance to see John properly, I had to state that he was even better that in the pictures. He was the tallest and skinniest guy ever and his beautiful green eyes were still staring at me.

“Ehm, yeah, I…like her”

That was really, really…really not needed.

“I like her too. Where is Sophia?”

“She had a dentist visit. She’ll be back along with your mom in like an hour I guess. They didn’t know when you were coming back exactly but they were late so…”

“It’s ok, secretary. So…I guess you made yourself at home”

He pointed at my shoes over the room. I rather have been dead in that moment, I swear.
I was about to say that I was sorry again but he interrupted me before I could have opened my mouth.

“I’m not mad, I’m just kidding. It was fun”

“If you say so”

“Anyway, let me introduce myself properly. I’m John, John Cornelius O’Callaghan The Fifth to be exact”

We shook hands and his catch was determined. It’s easy to understand people from the way they shake hands. And John seems a guy who knew how to handle things and knew more than one thing or two. The life he lived was hard and I was sure it helped him growing up through the years. He seemed mature.
His eyes were intense and the way he looked at me was intimidating, as much as his sister’s.

“I’m Lauren”

“I knew that. You can call me Johno if you want, everybody does. Even my mom”

I nodded and waited for him to tell me what to do. I was standing in the same spot from the moment I saw him. I felt like a statue.

“I think I’m going to have a shower so I can be prepared when Sophia gets home”

He didn’t want me to help him with the bags, so I just stayed in the same place until he went up to his room. I sat on the couch, starting to tell myself I was a massive, huge, enormous, giant, idiot.

“Oh, hey, and…Lauren?”

He called me from upstairs so I looked up and I saw him on the stairs looking at me.

“Yes, Johno?”

“Nice shorts”

He disappeared again, before I could have said something.
What was that supposed to mean?