Noises

It was Monday. Good ol’ Monday. The day where you don’t want to get up because your weekend was too good, and you’re either hung over or too lazy. For me, it was the latter. Once getting out of bed, though, I showered, got ready and dressed, then left for work, whilst Megan lay asleep on the living room floor. I don’t know why - she must’ve been watching something and just, fell asleep there.

Now, however, Megan was sat behind the desk, hung over from the party she had attended the previous night. Honestly, I don’t know how she stores all the alcohol; she seems so petite. I was in the backroom, opening boxes so quick it must’ve looked like a scene at Christmas. Well, Christmas was only, roughly, a week away, though these boxes weren’t exactly presents. They were books, that both Megan and I had ordered. I pulled the books out and glanced at them as I did - books that were replacing others, books that were old, and books that I genuinely didn’t want in my shop, because they were so pathetically rubbish.

I scooped up a pile after a few minutes, and cursed under my breath at the weight in my arms as I entered the store itself, wandering around and sliding the books onto the shelves I felt appropriate. After a while, though, the pile was getting lower and lower, and the door was heard opening, but I didn’t turn around. It was obviously just a customer, so Megan could deal with whoever it was.

Though, when I did turn around, I ceased my walking, and blinked. It was Joshua - surprise, surprise - and he hadn’t seemed to even notice me, thank God. He wasn’t wearing anything fancy, just a black and white stripy shirt, a grey hoodie - that, even in this weather, was unzipped - with jeans and some black shoes, that looked a little like Vans. The singer smirked, probably noticing how shitty Megan looked, and slammed his palms down on the desk, hard, his head tilting, a grin on his lips. “Hey,” he smiled, his voice louder than expected, or more than what Megan’s ears could take. She winced, and grunted, staring up at him. If she wasn’t feeling so tired, she probably would’ve slapped him so hard his brain would’ve lost cells. “I’m looking for Hollie.” he continued, his voice so loud. Megan’s face seemed to be turning pink, and her hands were curling up into little fists. I stared at the scene in front of me, holding back my amused giggles by holding a finger to my lips. “And, obviously, you aren’t her, so if you could tell me where she is-”

Just then, though, my dear friend launched herself at Josh, and she grabbed both his wrists, slamming his right palm down on top of his head, then his left. She let go of his wrists when I began to rush forward, with Josh groaning in pain.

“I’m going to have a headache because of that,” he whined, his eyes glancing at me, apologetically.

I shrugged, lightly, and looked over at Megan as she - looking quite smug - leaned forward to yell down his ear. “It’s not a nice feeling when your head feels like it’s had two bullets put through it, is it?”

Josh just grunted and flipped her off, and I turned to glare at Megan, just hoping she’d quieten down. And as she did, she sat on the chair, curled her legs to her chest and briefly raised her eyebrows, as if to say, ‘oh, charming’. I turned my attention back to the singer and tilted my head. “What’re you doing here?”

“I came to ask for your number.” Josh muttered, still rubbing his head. “Again.”

I tilted my head back a little, a laugh escaping my lips. Upon hearing this, and probably realising how awkward it’d be when I, again, told him no, Megan stood up and took her mug of Hot Chocolate with her, mumbling ‘see you, suckers’ as she disappeared into the backroom, pulling out her phone. “Listen, Josh, I said no last time.” I told him, sitting down on the chair.

The singer sighed, and his cheeks seemed to push in as he bit the inside of his lip. “If not your number, then at least come with me to get some coff-” he paused, took a small breath, and began to smile, gently. “Muffins, or something.”

I found it sweet that he even remembered me telling him I didn’t exactly favour caffeine, but I still didn’t think it was appropriate of me to go out with him. I didn’t know the boy, and he seemed to be following me, which I was sceptical about. “Josh, I really don’t know.” I sighed.

Just then, Megan’s head appeared around the doorframe, and she pursed her lips. “I’ve sent him a text, and Tom’s coming over.” she informed us, her expression staying the same as she continued, quite casually: “We’ll probably end up having hot sex, so you might want to leave whilst you still can.” she paused, and pointed her finger passed me, to Josh. “And I’m not doing this for his sake - Mr. Pixie, over there.”

I let out a laugh, then quickly covered my mouth with my hand as Megan disappeared into the backroom again. Turning my head, I noticed how shocked Joshua seemed; his jaw had dropped a little, and his untamed eyebrows were furrowed. Though, I could tell where she was coming from; he had certain features that just resembled a Pixie.

Then, his expression softened into a little smile, and he leaned across the desk, his eyes seeming to stare back at mine, the reflection from the light making them twinkle, slightly. “Come on,” he murmured, his voice quiet as he began to grin. “You can’t leave me hanging, now.”

I blinked, then smiled at him. It was better than being around whilst Megan and Tom were boning each other in the backroom. Standing, I pulled on my coat, then my bag, then my scarf, and watched Joshua as he stood back up, his eyes wide with excitement. I grabbed Megan’s packet of cigarettes that she’d left on the desk and peered around the doorframe, throwing them at her. As she jumped, curling her legs up with a squeal, I grinned. “Right, I’m leaving.”

With a lazy wave, she stuck up her middle finger and I instantly reacted by grabbing a magazine from the table and slamming it down on her head. I left the backroom with a calm smile as Megan whined in pain, and my smile widened when I saw that Joshua had the door open for me.

“Ladies first.” he murmured, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles gently, then dropping it back to my side, letting me step over the threshold. How charming.



“You know, this isn’t a date.” I told the singer, looking up at him. My arms were crossed over my chest, and I could see that the tip of my nose was a light shade of pink.

Josh twisted his lips to the side, and I could see them move as he bit the inside of his mouth. “I know.” he replied, finally, looking down when the wind suddenly got a little stronger, blowing my hair away from my unhappy face. England’s weather was fucked up.

“Right,” I huffed, glancing up at him. His cheeks were red due to the weather, and he occasionally licked over his lips to keep them moist. I glanced down at his hoodie, which his hands were stuffed into the pockets of, and raised my eyebrows. “You know, you look cold. It’d probably help if you zipped up your jacket.”

Joshua turned his head to look at me, then he glanced down. His hands - which looked pink and stiff - attempted to zip up his hoodie, and just as he managed it, he quickly stuffed his hands back into his pockets, and licked his lips again. “So,” he began, his teeth chattering, just slightly. “How did you and Melissa meet?”

“Megan.” I corrected.

“That’s what I said.”

I found myself rolling my eyes, but before I could answer, he’d took my wrist and pulled me into a small, cute bakery, then dropped it back to my side. He asked me what I wanted, and after I answered, he ordered me a blueberry muffin, and himself a cookie. When he paid for them, he passed me mine and I took it with a small ‘thank you’. I didn’t feel too bad; he insisted, and it was his idea, so he was paying either way.

As we left the bakery, with him biting into his cookie and me just holding my muffin in my hand, he glanced down at me. “Anyway, I asked you a question.” he muttered after swallowing, a few crumbs around his mouth.

I blinked at this, and then began peeling the wrapper from around my muffin, sinking my teeth into the sponge. My eyes closed, briefly, at the delicious taste, and I licked over my lips after swallowing. “Me and Megan? Well, she moved and ended up coming to my University. We grew pretty close and now, we share an apartment.” I shrugged, a light grin on my lips. Despite her always being on the go, and sometimes maybe even a little annoying, I loved her; she was the bestest friend anyone could wish for. She was trustworthy, smart, beautiful, and I’m a genuinely lucky person to have her around. “We’re at the stage in our friendship, where, because we’re so close, we can insult each other and neither of us would care.”

Josh laughed, and his smile stuck with him for a moment, before he took another bite of his cookie, wiping the crumbs from his mouth with the back of his hand. We were now beginning to walk down a road that I found very familiar; it was the way I sometimes walked home.

After a moment, I bit into my muffin again, and chewed silently. I half expected him to say something after he laughed, but he didn’t, so now we were in some kind of awkward silence, that was only half awkward, if that was understandable. I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes, slightly. “So, what about you? Tell me something about you, and not something boring. I mean something, like…” I trailed off and shrugged. “Most embarrassing moment in your… little life?”

Josh looked down at me with a look that said I was insane. “Little life?”

“Yes, little life. Like, when you were eleven year old, if you can remember that far back.” I laughed, nibbling at my muffin. It was more interesting to ask, than wanting to know what someone’s favourite colour was.

As if suddenly understanding, the singer hummed, and pursed his cold-looking, pink lips in thought. “Well, I remember this one time in my Primary,” he began, looking down at his cookie. “I was about six, right? And it was naptime, and I really needed to wee, but our teacher wouldn’t let any of us go.” he paused and laughed, shaking his head, slowly. “So I was wriggling around and I ended up, like, peeing myself? So, when the teacher finally let me go, I got up with this wet patch, and there was this girl who immediately began pointing and laughing and called me ‘Joshua-’”

“-Franceswee!” I cut him off, and it was basically automatic. So, this was the little boy who once pissed himself during naptime, and I was the one to turn his little cheeks red by pointing it out to everyone? Oh.

Joshua stared down at me, his eyebrows raising. “That was you? Seriously?” he asked, an expression on his face that made me want to slap it. He began to smile, and shook his head, his cheeks turning pink. “Well, thanks, Hollie. Really - happiest moment of my life.”

I laughed for a moment, then bit my lip, looking up at him. It was then that I realised he really didn’t seem to be so happy. I must’ve embarrassed him to no end, that day. Twisting my mouth to the side, I sighed, softly, and leaned up, planting a very gentle kiss to his cheek. “I’m sorry, alright?” I murmured afterwards, eating a little more of my muffin.

The singer looked down at me, and shrugged, picking at his cookie. “It’s alright. Besides, it was years ago, now, right?”

I smiled, just a tiny bit, and nodded, frowning when I watched him stop by a bin and throw his cookie in it. What a waste. However, because Joshua had slowed down, I had, too, thus giving me enough time to realise how close I was to my apartment. “We’re close to my place, now,” I muttered, hugging myself as I glanced up at Josh.

The singer looked down at me, then across the street, and smiled - a very little smile. Then, silently, he walked me to the building I lived in, then upstairs. Once I’d stopped outside my door, I turned to face him, and briefly licked over my lips.

“So,” I began, quietly. This was more awkward than I had expected. I itched my forearm, and lifted my head to watch him, just as he stared down at me. The lights in the hallway were, again, making his eyes twinkle, slightly, and it almost made me smile. “Thanks, for taking me for a muffin; I didn’t really expect it to be so… interesting, in all honesty.” I confessed, laughing quietly with him when we both realised I was still holding my little cake.

Josh shrugged, softly, and began to smile. “Thank you for actually coming out with me.”

I pointed at him. “It wasn’t a date.”

“It may not have been a date, but it was still lovely, so, thank you.” he paused, and leaned forward, planting a little kiss to my cheek, which, to my own embarrassment, made my cheeks turn pink. He suddenly seemed to look so smug once he noticed this, and took out his phone. “So, Hollie. Does this mean I get your number?”



By the end of the night, it turned out that what I didn’t want happening, happened. Joshua got my number, walked away with that stupid, cheeky grin on his Pixie-like face, and I entered my apartment, to see the entire area was a mess. The smile I had on my face, immediately fell, and I dropped my bag on the floor, slowly unwrapping my scarf from around my neck. I could feel my cheeks beginning to burn with rage, and it was odd; I was usually the one who left this place a mess, but it had never been so messy, and I knew exactly why.

Placing my muffin on the table, I looked around. There were clothes on the floor (and from where I was stood at the door, I could tell they weren’t all owned by Megan), ornaments on the floor - some were broken and some were not - and there were pieces of food littering the carpet, with a large packet of popcorn on the ground, laying beside a pound coin, which obviously must’ve fallen out of someone’s pocket.

I stood over the mess on the floor, as if it was a disease, and then as I advanced on Megan’s door, I grabbed the handle and forced it open, my mouth widening as I readied myself to yell, but instead, my yells turned into screams, as did Megan’s. Tom, who was hovering above my friend, almost flipped out of the bed, and as for her, well. I closed the door before she could throw her lamp at me, and I pressed my hand to my chest, breathing heavily. It was safe to say, that I had walked in at the most sickening moment I could’ve ever imagined.

From behind the door, I could hear Tom whispering, the sheets hustling, and then Megan, who yelled my name, so loudly, it hurt from where I was stood. Innocently, I peered back into the room, and ducked when she threw her shoe towards me, but, with me being so full of skill, I managed to dodge it just in time.

“You absolute-”

“I didn’t know you’d be fucking when I walked through the door!” I interrupted, my voice cracking. I could feel the fear radiating from my face as my friend glared at me, with one of - what I’m presuming - Tom’s shirts on, so I didn’t see anything that wasn’t needed in front of my eyes. “I’m sorry, alright?”

Megan’s glare softened after a minute, and she let out a breath, before her eyes widened. Oh, God, no. I knew what was coming. She rushed towards the door, and peeped her head through, which resulted in me taking a step away. “Did you do anything?” she hissed, excitedly.

Chuckling, I shook my head. “No. He bought me a blueberry muffin, and, you’ll never guess what I found out.”

“Wha’?”

“I went to his primary. He pissed himself when he was like, six, and I’m the one who practically killed all his chances of ever becoming a social butterfly.” I paused, and sighed, shaking my head. “I felt horrible - got to admit.”

Megan stared at me, then erupted into laughter. “Seriously?” she murmured, her voice low, again. “Well, what else happened?”

“He kissed my cheek just before, in the hallway, and now he has my number.” I murmured, biting my lip with quite a shy smile on my face.

My friend squealed, then kissed my forehead. “If he calls and asks you for a date, tell him yes, and I’ll be one of the bridesmaids at the wedding, alright?” Then, the door was being slammed shut in my face, and my mouth was still open from where I’d tried to butt in, with my eyebrows furrowed.

After a minute of staying like that, I turned, and winced at the horrible sight of the apartment, before tiptoeing around where it was most clean, and running into my room.

Well, it had been an eventful night, I’ll give it that.