Never Give In

This was the 3rd time Neela had been kicked out by a flatmate. First time was in London two years ago; her flatmate Kaitlyn got a boyfriend, and he decided to move in with her not long after they started dating.

Neela had to quit her job at Sainsbury's when she found a new flat to share with someone else, in Liverpool. She lived there while working at Starbucks for nearly 6 months before her flatmate, Tony, decided he was going to sell the house, and Neela had to move again. This time, it was to York, and she was sharing a tiny flat with a girl that she really didn't like.

York was a small town, and it wasn't easy finding a job there. In fact, there weren't any jobs available, and things didn't look up at all. One day, Neela found a note on the refrigerator, saying she had one week to find a new place unless she couldn't pay the rent. Not even three days later, she had a new place to stay, in Wales, at Kim's; her best friend since birth, basically. Her birth, at least, seeing as she was a bit younger than Neela.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here," said Neela as she walked into the newly furnished 3-story flat in Cardiff. Kim had just moved, or 'escaped' as she called it, from Merthyr Tydfil with her brother whom she was sharing the apartment with.

"Not a problem," she replied with a smile. "It'll be nice to have another girl around, so you can stay as long as you want to."

Growing up on the same street, Neela knew everything about Kim's older brother since their mums hung out a lot before Kim was born. He was the same age as her, a real prankster, and pretty much a dick to everyone as he got older. Neela thought it was a miracle he even had friends, but then again, his friends were pretty much the same as him.

"Well, well, well...look what the cat dragged in," came a voice from the bottom of the stairs. A tall boy dressed in black jeans, a black t-shirt with a print of kittens, and the same stupid peroxide hair as always. The only change was that he'd done side cuts.

"Sean..." said Kim, but too late, because Neela was slightly quicker.

"You mean that thing on your head? Or wait, is that your hair? I can't tell the difference."

"Oh, this is going to be fuuun," said Kim sarcastically and walked into the kitchen. Sean looked pissed, but there was a grin across his lips, and his eyes followed Neela walking in to the kitchen as well.

Weeks went by, and Neela hadn't found a job. She felt really bad about not being able to pay for rent or food, or anything, but Kim said not to worry about the money. She couldn't help it, though, even though Kim had told her to stop stressing about, one of the only things she thought about was how to get money.

And, in the middle of all her thoughts about money came the usual bickering with Sean, something Kim had gotten pretty tired of hearing. Every time they started bickering she’d walk upstairs to her room, or take a walk around the neighbourhood.

That morning was no different...

Neela was sat in the kitchen with her laptop, scrolling through pages of jobs in Cardiff, applying for those of which she met the requirements. Sean entered the kitchen, whistling on some tune as he poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"Aren't you going out today? The weather's pretty nice, you know," he looked over at her.

"You go," she replied, not taking her eyes off the computer screen. "Take your time."

"It's not like you’ll find a job anyway," he mumbled, putting back the milk carton in the fridge. Neela's eyes left the screen and instead, she glared at Sean.

"Excuse me? I don't see you working," she said through gritted teeth. Sean had just scooped cereal into his mouth and furrowed his brows at her.

"Ame a bah!" he exclaimed, but realised that wasn't clear enough to be understood, so he chewed for a couple of seconds before swallowing. "I'm in a band," he said.

"Right, the big rockstar," Neela held up her fingers and did the quote/un-quote gesture, turning back to the computer screen. Kim entered the kitchen.

"Good morning!" she said and walked over to the fridge.

"Well, it's a job," Sean hissed. "You have nothing."

"Nevermind..." Kim closed the fridge door, holding a bottle of water, and made her way out of the house. Neela stared at Sean again.

"Unlike you, I know what it's like to have a job," she said angrily. But before Sean could come up with a reply, Neela's phone rang. She looked at the display but didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?...yes, this is Neela...uh huh...really?...yes, thank you so much! Bye."

She hung up and looked at Sean with widened eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"I just got a job offer at the Disney store in St. David's shopping centre," she said. "I don't understand...I didn't even apply there."

"I did," Sean smiled coyly. Neela's eyes widened even more as he stepped forward to stand in front of her. "I left your CV and told them you'd be perfect in their store, I actually said loads of things about you, but bottom line is, they liked what they heard and said they'd consider hiring you."

Neela did the unthinkable; she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down so she could kiss him, but he didn't stop her or push her off. Instead, he placed his hands on her waist and pulled her closer, deepening the kisses as he did so. Seconds later when they pulled away from the kiss, they looked at each other.

"You know I still hate you, right?" she said, a small smile forming on her lips. Sean beamed at her words, showing the tiny gap between his front teeth. By now, these words had the exact opposite meaning. All these years, they'd been able to understand each other like no one else.

Sean leaned down and placed another kiss on Neela's lips.

"Not as much as I hate you."