Crash

Saturday.

Party day.

It’s safe to say that Hollie was excited. The perfect way to round off a rather eventful week, she thought. With the knowledge that Josh would be around to pick her up in six hours time, Hollie just had to do the typical girl thing and get ready.

Okay, so maybe six hours was quite an extensive time to take to get ready but Hollie just wanted today to be the kind of day that every girl dreams of. The relaxed, chilled out day before the mental party that would be the highlight of the week. It was heavily anticipated by many, that much was certain. There had been people talking about it in the corridors and hallways at school and there was sure to be a lot of bodies in the Franceschi household tonight.

The brunette lifted her body from the beanbag in the lounge, careful not to make too much noise as she knew her mother would be asleep after working the night-shift at the hospital. Nicola Phillips was a good woman. Hollie aspired to have as much passion and fire for her life and work as her mother did. It came at a cost though, as the pair only rarely saw each other. It was a shame but they’d both come to accept it and to cherish the time that they actually had with each other.

Hollie smiled to herself, making her way through the house and to the bathroom, turning the shower on and ridding herself of her clothes as she shut the door and hopped under the hot stream of water. She washed her dark locks, massaging her head with her fingertips and working the conditioner deep into her scalp before she started to wash her body, a pang in her heart as the sponge grazed bruises that were seemingly embedded in her skin. From the inside of her upper arm, the top of her ribs, her hips and her thighs; black, blue, slightly purpling, fading to sickening shades of yellows. She hoped, prayed even, that they’d fade quickly this time because the last time that it had happened was the last time it would have to happen. There was no need for it to happen again, she’d never let anyone that close.

Hollie shook all of those thoughts from her mind, rinsing the soap suds from her body and getting out of the shower, throwing some clothes on so she could concentrate on making herself look presentable for Josh this evening. She walked over to the her jewelry box, picking out the necklace her dad had bought her for her sixteenth birthday, before it started. She pressed the clasp around her neck, a pained smile on her lips as she went about preparing herself for the night.

---

He told himself he wouldn’t make a big deal out of it. It’s just a party, Josh, you have parties all the time. That’s what he told himself, but, when he really thought about it, it wasn’t just a party to him. It was a chance for him to find out a little more about Hollie, maybe get closer to her, find out if the few sweet moments that they’d had shared were simply on the spur of the moment or if they actually meant something to her. He really hoped it was the latter because, hell, they definitely meant something to him.

Josh was now, quite frankly, fed up of walking around his empty house. His parents were away for the weekend, his sister with her boyfriend – dinner and a movie if Josh could recall correctly. There were a few things that had to be set up for the party, though Josh wanted to keep this for when Hollie came, just in case they were at a loss for things to do.

It was just after five thirty, and Josh was getting ready to pick Hollie up. They’d been texting all afternoon but the guy felt that he needed a confidence boost before he met the girl face to face again. He called a classmate, a close friend of his, for some advice. The phone rang twice before it was answered.

“Josh, you alright mate?”

“Dan, I’m freaking out. I’m picking Hollie up in a few minutes and I know we’ve known each other for years and I’ve never really had to face up to the fact I like her but now I have to see her all the time for tutoring an-” Josh started to panic and it showed, ignoring all rules of punctuation by not stopping to catch his breath.

Dan cut him off quickly, knowing how to calm him down. “Mate, stop. You like her. By the sounds of things, she likes you too. Keep it calm, keep it cool, everything’ll be fine. Go and get Hollie, chill for a few hours and then I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“I’ve got no choice here, do I?” Josh spoke, his tone one of defeat.

“No choice at all, bud, now go and see her before I do because I swear to God, she is gorgeous.” He laughed, making light of the situation.

“I’ll see you later, Dan, cheers for this.” Ending the call, Josh grabbed his coat and his keys, heading outside to the car.

---

It took Josh a little over ten minutes to get to Hollie's house and his conversation with Dan had certainly calmed his nerves. He pulled into her driveway and got out of the car quickly, running up to her front door and knocking twice, before he shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting a sign of life.

The door swung open, Hollie greeting him with a confident smile before he spoke. "Hol-Hollie, you look... Wow."

She grinned even wider, her eyes catching his sparkling blue ones as she stepped out of the door. "You're not so bad yourself, Franceschi. Right on time too."

A light blush made its way onto Josh's cheeks and he felt his skin burning. Honestly, he was appreciative of the fact that Hollie was so comfortable around him, had the ability to be so confident in his presence - he just had to remind himself that she was real; she was perfect.

The pair made light conversation for the duration of the journey back to Josh's house and throughout the evening up until a crowd of people arrived at Josh's front door, gagging to get the party started. Josh and Hollie were only too pleased to welcome everyone, turning the music up loud and pointing people in the direction of the seemingly never-ending alcohol supply. As more and more people arrived, Josh and Hollie were practically attached at the hip, with a brush of skin here and there, a whisper in the ear and a giggle eliciting from lips to cheek.

The night had most definitely gotten off to a good start.