Crash

Hollie sat at the back of the room, tapping her fingers against the wood of the desk as she eagerly awaited the clock's strike of 4pm, signalling the end of class. Her teacher began to wind up the end of the lesson and Hollie's brain just shut off. Idly, she closed her notebook and capped her pen, slipping both things into her bag which she then carefully zipped up. Her thoughts wandered as her psychology tutor reviewed what they had been through, her voice droning on.

She really hoped that her tutoring session with Josh would go well today. Deep down, she knew it would; after all, their conversation yesterday had been the type you’d expect between lifelong friends. In some respects, that’s what they were. They’d known each other for quite some time; they’d just not really considered each other to be a friend. It was more like one of those cases where the feelings were mutual – they knew that the other was there for them if need be, but their knowledge on each other’s life was minimal. They were comfortable around each other, without any awkward silences or tension.

“Hollie? Hollie, the bell rang 3 minutes ago, are you going to go home or just sit here and stare into space?” The brunette shook her head, all previous thoughts flying from her mind as her classmate’s voice brought her back to reality.

She stuttered, the shock of being so disconnected from what was real scaring her slightly, “Sorry, Caitlin, I – I just zoned out.” She gathered her belongings as the other girl gave her a sympathetic smile, dashing out of the classroom. Hollie left the room, making her way through the hallways and grabbing some papers from her locker before she walked towards the fountain at the front of her school where she could see Josh waiting for her. It sounds corny, but her heart literally skipped a beat when he stood to meet her, his smile automatically igniting hers.

“I thought you’d forgotten.” The guy said, his smile still intact.

She shook her head, a slightly shocked expression creeping onto her features, “I couldn’t possibly forget about this, I’ve been looking forward to it all day! But shhhh, that’s a secret.”

Josh chuckled as he motioned for Hollie to follow him to his car. “I’ll keep quiet about how you’ve been looking forward to it, if you keep quiet about how I’ve been looking forward to it too.”

“Promise.” She winked, a giggle following the motion.

Josh unlocked the car and the pair got in, clicking their seatbelts into place as the engine whirred and they set off. The drive to Josh’s house was short, 10 minutes, if that. Much to the pair’s approval, the entire journey was encased with conversation about music, favourite bands and such like. They knew that they had many things in common, taste in music being high up on that scale.

Josh’s car pulled into the driveway and he smiled at the brown-eyed beauty in the passenger seat. “I feel we’re too early on in our relationship for a ‘meet the parents’, Josh.” The girl half-joked, her tone serious but her expression one of pure amusement.

“We could sneak in, but I’m sure that’ll give off the wrong impression.” He countered as they both made their way to the porch, Josh leading the way as he called into the house. “We’re home!” he shouted to his mother, who quickly came rushing to see the girl who her son simply had not stopped talking about.

“You must be Hollie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The older woman extended her hand, which the younger gratefully took out of respect. Hollie smiled at Josh’s mother as the boy shuffled almost awkwardly.

“The pleasure’s all mine, Mrs Franceschi, thank you for allowing me into your home.”

“Oh please, call me Anne! For as long as you’re a...” She cleared her throat, and an air of discomfort surrounded the three. “For as long as you’re a friend of Josh’s, you’re welcome in our house. I’m sure you two have a lot of work to do, so I’ll leave you be.” Relief washed over Josh’s face and he encouraged Hollie to follow him downstairs to his bedroom. His mother called out again and he sighed, much to Hollie’s hilarity. “Josh, I’ve filled your fridge with drinks for the pair of you!”

Hollie giggled as Josh jabbed her in the ribs, “Cheers mum!” He threw Hollie a semi-serious look and rolled his eyes. “You. Downstairs. Now.”

“What if I don’t wanna go downstairs?” She teased, licking her lips as he stared into her eyes.

“Then, not only will I have to take physical action, you’ll probably fail your English exam.” Josh smirked as he opened the door to his bedroom, flicking the lights on and leading Hollie down the stairs.

“Fine, but go easy on me or I’ll bite you.”

“Is that a threat or a promise?” The dark-haired boy responded to the girl’s banter and the pair got settled on the soft mattress, tucking their legs underneath their bodies as they set to work.

---

They’d been working away for well over an hour and Hollie had started to become even more distracted than she could imagine. In fairness, it was hard for the pair to be able to concentrate around each other as it was, let alone in a working environment.

“Hol, I think we need to wind this up, I can see how you’ve lost interest!” Josh laughed, noticing how the girl had started to braid her hair whilst she was reading.

“I haven’t lost interest! I’m just distracted...” She trailed off, getting quieter as she untwisted her hair.

Josh took one of the many textbooks away from the brunette, hoping to keep her mood up. “Recap on what we’ve learned?” He asked, catching her gaze. She nodded, her face perking up a little. “So, what’s an oxymoron?”

Smiling, she responded in a rehearsed fashion. “A rhetorical figure in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined.”

“And an example of an oxymoron in a Shakespearean play?”

She thought for a moment, seemingly scanning her brain for ideas. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” She choked out, tears quickly filling her eyes and spilling down her cheeks without a care. She began to sob hard, and all Josh wanted to do was slap himself silly for asking such a question. He felt that he was partly responsible, though she could’ve chosen any oxymoron from any Shakespearean play, yet she chose that one. He knew it meant something to her, he could just tell. They hadn’t spoken about what had happened with her father, but rumours had given him a pretty good idea. He shunned the thoughts and pulled the girl close to him, holding her tight as she continued to sob.

“It’s okay, it’ll be fine. Let it out.” He rubbed small circles on the base of her spine as he watched her breathing regulate and she eventually calmed down. He pulled Hollie’s frame from his gently, wiping away the remnants of her mascara filled tears with the sleeve of his hoodie.

The pair sat in silence for whilst they both composed themselves and the girl spoke up, her voice still raw from her sobs. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Josh. I don’t know what came over me.”

“Don’t apologise, it’s okay. We can talk about it one day, if you like. I’m happy to listen if you need me to.” He responded, his tone sympathetic, his slight smile small yet warm.

“One day. One day soon, I promise. I’d just quite like to get home, if you don’t mind.”

“Whenever you’re ready to talk, love, I’ll be here. I’ll drive you, if you like?” He stood from his bed, offering his hand, Hollie taking it as she heaved her body from the mattress.

She cleared her throat, straightening her clothes before she spoke. “I think I’ll walk, actually, the fresh air will do me good.”

Josh took the hint and nodded, gesturing for Hollie to follow him back up the stairs so she could leave. They walked in silence back to the porch and, before they parted, the boy plucked up the courage to ask Hollie a question. “I’m... I’m having a party on Saturday night, would you like to come? I know it’s a few days away, but I’d really like it if you were there. I can pick you up?”

“I’d love to come. Maybe we can talk about it later?” She said quietly, her voice threaded with hope.

“Of course. Get home safe, darlin’, text me when you’re there.” His finger grazed her cheek, causing her bright white teeth to make an appearance.

“Okay.” Hollie nodded, turning to leave then stepping out the door. “Josh, thank you. For everything today. You’ve been great.” She took a step closer to him, leaning in slightly as she pressed her lips to his gently. It caught him off-guard, evidently, as it took a moment or two for him to respond, but their kiss was brief and sweet all the same. “Later. I’ll text you later.”

“I look forward to it. Get home safe.”

Josh watched her walk down the streetlamp-lit road as she left. He sighed softly to himself, realising that the feelings he thought that he’d always had for her were quickly coming to light.