The Hollow Days

I stared into the bathroom mirror, listening to the tap water run and splash back down the drain as I scrubbed my forehead with face wash. I had a pimple coming in from the stress today, and this fucker needed to be gone by tomorrow so Elliot wouldn't be staring at it whenever he looked at me. I had made a good impression on lots of people at school, and they seemed to like me. I hope.

I was rinsing the warm water over my face and reaching for a hand towel just when my phone vibrated off the sink. My heart leaped into my throat hoping it was Elliot, and I quickly wiped the water from my eyes with shaking hands. I snatched my phone off the counter and scanned the text from an unknown number. But I knew it was him.

Goodnight, Emma.

A warm blush spread to my cheeks and I felt butterflies swarm my stomach from nervousness. I couldn't believe it! But it had to be him. He was the only person I gave me number to today. I started laughing, making my cheeks even more red. I hurriedly typed in a flirty reply.

Sleep well, cutie.

I sank to the floor and sat down, typing the new number into my contacts. I imagined his phone vibrating next to him while he lied down in his warm bed, wrapped up in blankets. I could see him picking up his phone, blinking as if he couldn't believe what I wrote. Then his smile growing and sticking there on his face as he fell asleep.

A soft knock on the door brought me back to reality. "Hey, Emma? You alright in there?"

I couldn't hide the smile in my voice. "Yeah, mom. I'm perfectly fine."

I wiped the excess water off from my face and looked in the mirror, seeing the pimple already decreasing a tiny bit. I smiled with satisfaction and opened up the door that lead back into my room. There was my mom, bending down to kiss me on the cheek.

"I'll be gone at work before you wake up tomorrow morning, so I hope you sleep good and have a good day tomorrow." I smiled and gave her a hug, something I didn't do much, despite how close me and Mom are.

She gasped and hugged me back tightly before leaving my room, shutting the door softly behind her. My mom worked as a waiter for a restaurant, and had to work really early in the morning sometimes and help open up the place. I changed into sweats and picked out an outfit for tomorrow. Tight fitting jeans with some rips here and there with a low cut white shirt. I hoped Elliot would like it.

I went to bed that night with a smile on my face.

****

The alarm clock was screeching, the sound diving into my dreams before waking me up. I groaned, slamming my hand down over the black snooze button and wiped my eyes. I immediately thought of Elliot and hopped out of bed, quickly changing into my outfit. Well, quickly until I got to my skinny jeans. Those seemed to take forever.

I stared in the mirror, and happily found that the pimple was barely noticeable. I ran a hand through my hair, which was soft and clean from the shower I took last night. I decided to just straighten it, since I figured it worked with my outfit. But damn, these jeans were tight. Really tight. I sat down in my chair and powered on my hair straightener, waiting for it to heat up as I looked around my vanity. Two loud beeps told me it was heated up, so I picked up the straightener and started running it down strands of hair.

After taking a good twenty minutes to do my blonde hair, I brushed my teeth and used mouthwash, putting on deodorant as well. Mascara was thickly coating my eyelashes and a pale lipstick was now on my lips. I stared at myself in the mirror, satisfied with my look. I looked a lot better than yesterday. Or at least, I thought so.

I checked the time. Six forty-eight. I had two minutes until I had to leave and get on the bus. I grabbed two random socks and shoved them onto my feet, topping off the outfit with black shoes. I swung my bag onto my shoulder, hoping my shoes were tied good and slammed the door behind me just as the bus stopped in front of my house.

I was one of those lucky people whose bus stops were right in front of their house and didn't have to walk at all. My eyes scanned the windows, and I could see the back of Elliot's head. He knew this was my stop, considering it was my house, but perhaps he was too embarrassed to look? I boarded the bus along with five other people and sat across from Elliot.

"Hi!" He said cheerfully, making me smile.

"How was my text?" I said warmly, touching his arm lightly. His cheeks immediately were swarmed with red. I laughed softly at his expression, staring down at the spot where I touched.

"You look..." He trailed off, his eyes running down my body. I leaned in close, flirting like there was no tomorrow. God, flirting was so much fun.

"I look like what?"

"Pretty." He said, making it my turn to gape and blush at him.

This wasn't just finding out why he was sad anymore. I knew that now, and I noticed that while talking to him I got a few weird stares from people on the bus. But that didn't matter. No matter who I was, there was bound to be people who wouldn't like me.

But now, this was different.

I was actually really starting to like him.