I groan and stretch my arms, looking around. “Where are we?”
He shakes his head and leans back. “Ah uh, I’m not telling. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“And what if I don’t?” I challenge him. He sighs.
“Then I’ll take you back right now.” I look into his eyes and sigh too, before unbuckling my seatbelt. His eyes flash with some emotion as I open the door and climb on, folding my arms as I lean down to look at him as he still sits in the car.
“Are you coming, or do I have to find this surprise myself?” He grins, copies my actions, and moves round to stand by me.
“I’m glad you trust me,” he admits, pressing his warm lips on mine and wrapping a muscular arm around my shoulders, tucking me to his side perfectly.
I smile up at him. “You better not ruin it now.”
“I won’t.” He promises, and I believe him.
Ten minutes later, and I’m sick of his hands covering my eyes. “Are we nearly there yet?”
“No,” he laughs. “You asked me this five seconds ago.”
“What are you, a clock?” I retort.
“No, I’m just a very patient person, unlike *cough* you *cough*.”
I let us fall into silence for a moment as we walk on, before opening my mouth to speak one more. “That was the worst fake cough I have ever heard.”
He laughs again, before finally telling me to stop. “Okay, you can look now.” He lifts his hands away from my eyes and I gasp.
Surrounded by fireflies and roses, was an old stone pavilion, right next to a river. It was vintage and looked like it came right out of a classic romantic novel, with the stone archways and the engravings on the outside. Inside, was a white, iron swinging chair, with potted plants around it. From where I was standing, I could see the whole pavilion, the fireflies and the shimmer of the water behind the beautiful structure. In the sky, a million perfect stars twinkled down on us like fairy lights against dark velvet.
It was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen.
“Do you like it?” His husky voice floats into my ear and makes me shiver as his hands rub along my waist.
“I love it,” I breathe, drinking in the scene with fascination. “It’s beautiful.”
He presses his lips to my ear. “So are you,” he whispers. I turn around in his arms, smile softly at him, and lean up to give him a kiss. Our lips flutter against each other a few times, before he pulls me tighter to him and draws his tongue along my lower lip, nibbling it slightly. I moan softly, opening my mouth to taste him.
After a few minutes, he pulls away with a gentle sigh, his eyes bright with happiness. “I wanted to tell you something,” he starts huskily, his face flushed from the kiss. “But I think I’ll wait until the end of our date. “
I open my mouth to protest, but he smirks, bends down in a bow, and offers a hand up to me. “Can I have this dance?”
“There’s no music, moron,” I grumble, a grin spreading across my face as I place my hand in his nonetheless and let him lead me to the opening, surrounded by roses and fireflies. He twirls me under the stars slowly and I go dizzy with happiness and another feeling, a stronger feeling. I let him pull me to his chest and sigh, tucking my face in his neck, my head resting on his shoulder as we slow dance to the silence of the night.
“Darcy,” he breaks the silence slowly, his voice deep and comforting. “I want to tell you now.”
I stop and pull back to look into his golden eyes curiously. “Tell me, then.”
He nods hesitantly, and leads me to the pavilion, where we lean against the railings and look out at the water. “I know that, um, we haven’t known each other as long as most couples, but it doesn’t matter. Darcy, I know you might not feel the same yet, but I do and so could you, in time. But I want to let you know because I need to get it off my chest and I want to know how you feel as well-“
My heart hammers against my chest. “Tyler-“
“Darcy, I love you.”
I gasp, my eyes rising to gaze into his eyes, my lips dry and open in shock. My heart is racing and my mind is flashing and shouting a million words at me. He goes bright red as well, but he doesn’t look away.
I think about the first time I laid eyes on Tyler, about how he managed to both annoy the hell out of me and yet make my heart flutter at the same time. I think about how much he’s been there for me, about how he’s always by my side and how sweet he is. I think about our first date, about how special it was and how magical every moment I spend with Tyler is, no matter how simple it is.
And then, I realise something. I’m in love with Tyler Masters.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Twenty
The next week, I spent every free moment with Tyler. After confessing our love, we’d grown closer and our bond had gotten stronger, almost to a point where we were almost inseparable. But don’t get me wrong – it’s not like we became that annoying couple that couldn’t be apart for more than an hour or two. We spent time with our friends as well. We’d just became more comfortable around each other and favoured our time together more.
And speaking of friends, it was now Saturday, and it was Joey’s birthday. I was at Remy’s with Dana and the crazy girl herself, preparing for the party and making sure everything was going to go great.
By half five, we went upstairs to get changed into the clothes we’d brought with us. Dana wore a tight red dress over fishnet tights and a cropped leather jacket, with leather high heeled shoes. Her white hair was curled over one side and she’d made her eyes smoky and outlined them thick and dark.
Remy looked bright and colourful as usual, with a multi-coloured dress that flared out and had what looked like fifty different coloured bows on it. She wore white doc martens and had her hair in two spikey pigtails, with a huge bow at the back.
I stood there next to them feeling normal and ordinary, in a cheap navy dress that clung to my upper body and rippled to my knees after my waist. I had on black wedges and my hair was natural and wavy, and I wore next to no make-up as usual. By the time we were ready, the party was ready to get started, and we danced down the stairs and set out the food and drinks, while Remy turned on the music to full blast. By the time we’d finished, the front door had already been opened, and people had started to pour inside.
After an hour, Dana finally went off to get Joey. Remy turned to me with a bright smile. “I can’t wait to see his face!” She squealed loudly over the music. “He’s going to be so excited!”
“I know,” I shout back to her. A pair of hands slip around my face and I look up to grin at Tyler. He returns the expression, before kissing me on the lips. “Hey.”
“Hey to you, too.” He smirks. “Joey is going to be pretty shocked.”
“I hope so,” I say into his ear. He kisses me again. We’re getting into it when a hand sliced between our faces and someone makes a ninja noise in our ears. We turn to look at Remy, who smiles sheepishly at us and points to her phone.
“Dana just texted me; Joey is on his way. Get into positions, guys!” She turns around and screams it to everybody else. Someone turns off the music and we all duck down as we hear a car park outside the house. Remy waits patiently, and when someone knocks on the door, she goes to get it, an innocent smile on her face.
“Oh, hey guys!” She says casually, hugging them both. “Come in, sit down. I’m so bored in here, all on my own.” She and Dana walk in first, Joey after them. The moment we see him, everybody jumps up and screams surprise, happy birthdays flying at him from all directions. The music is turned up at full volume once more and Joey gapes at everyone in surprise, his eyes wide and his jaw almost hitting the ground. Me, Dana and Remy run up to him and envelope him in a tight hug.
“Surprise,” Remy repeats, giggling like a maniac.
Joey laughs loudly. “You guys! I can’t believe you did all this for me. And you got all my friends down here, too. You guys are the best!” We laugh and agree. The song
changes to Nicki Minaj and Dana turns to Remy and raises and eyebrow.
“Really, Remy? Really?” Remy laughs and nods, turning to the crowd and starting to dance. Dana shrugs and goes to join her, but not before making me promise to dance with them later. I nod and watch them go and be crazy, before turning to Joey with a huge smile.
“So, do you like it?”
“Are you kidding?” He laughs in shock. “It’s crazy – you people are awesome. How many people did you invite?”
I shrug. “You’re entire friends list on Facebook.”
His eyes widen. “You’re shitting with me, right? Do you know who’s on that list?”
I pause and shake my head slowly. “Noooo….”
He sighs, turns around to face me, and drops his hands on my shoulders dramatically. “Darcy, I have people like Alex, Cam and even Remy’s sister on there.” He sucks in his cheeks and it looks like he’s sucked a lemon. “I hope to God none of those people have turned up. Talk about awkward.”
Someone clears their throat behind us, and we turn at the same time to see who it is. A guy with blonde hair and blue eyes behind his glasses shuffles awkwardly, a grin on his face as he looks at Joey. “Happy birthday, man.”
Joey squeaks and his face turns bright red. I looked confused from one to the other, and I only get it when Joey manages to get out a “Hi, Cam.”
Oops.
Cam smiles at me and shakes my hand. “Hey, you must be… Darcy, right? Joey’s told me a lot about you. You’re a great girl, Darcy.”
I smile at his genuine personality, warming up to him straight away. “You too, Cam. Joey’s told me a lot about you, I mean. I feel like we’ve already met before.”
He chuckles. “I know what you mean.” He turns to look at Joey, a blush rising on his cheeks. “Um, do you think we could talk in private? It’s just I wanted to say some things and-“
“Of course!” I burst out, stepping back already. “You two take all the time you need. Use protection!” I call the last part out stupidly, but thankfully no one else hears me over the music as I back away and head towards Tyler, who is talking to a guy with black hair and snake bites.
I run over and throw myself at Tyler, giggling as he wraps his arms around me. “Hello people.”
The guy Tyler was talking to smirks at me and nods in greeting, watching as Tyler kisses me gently before carrying on with the conversation. After a few minutes, I get bored, and head off into the kitchen to get a drink. It’s there that I see the bottle of vodka, and my curiosity and depression rises and takes over. If my dad can to it, why can’t I?
I knock it back and shudder at the taste, hating the way it feels in the back of my throat. It’s too strong and gross, but I repeat the action anyway, until my head feels warm and fuzzy, and I can’t feel any pain of the memories.
I giggle and stumble into the guy from before – the one with the snakebites. He smirks down and me and puts a hand on my arm, leading me to the corner where we sit down on empty seats.
“Why, hello there…” He mumbles. “I think you’ve had a bit too much to drink. Who are your friends?”
“J-Joey,” I slur. “Oh! And D-Dana. Man I love that bitch.”
His eyes widen in shock. “You’re friends with Dana?”
I nod sloppily. “Uh huh. We’re best buds – as tight as Lycra pants and close as sisters. Don’t you mess with her or I’ll – I’ll do something to you back…” He smiles sadly.
“Then I guess you won’t be happy when I tell you who I am, huh?”
I look at him – at all three of him – in confusion. “Who are you?”
“My name is Alex-“ he starts, but I cut him off with a slap to the face.
“You’re the ass who broke her heart!!” I yell loudly, and he rolls his eyes at me, rubbing the red side of his face. I feel proud as I watch him hurt, but anger takes over as I glare at the guy who hurt my friend. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Honestly?” He sighs. “I wanted to see her. I- I miss her, and I want to talk to her, sort it out. I regret hurting her, and I just want to fix it.”
“Well you can fix it from a distance, because she is not going to be happy to see you. I think you should leave.” I cross my arms and stand up, only to topple to the side and fall headfirst towards the marble floor. A pair of tan, tattooed arms stop me – practically saving my life – and I look up at him in confusion. “Ur, ch-cheers.”
He shrugs, “No problem. Look, you really aren’t in a fit state and I ain’t gonna leave you on your own. I’m gonna help you find your friends.” He takes my arm and helps me stand up. I lean on his for support and groan.
“Why is the house moving? Houses aren’t supposed to move! It’s broken!” I cry as he half-drags me out of the kitchen and into the throngs of people dancing to the heavy bass. He looks around and suddenly his eyes light up.
“There’s your friend,” he tells me, and he waves his arms madly before walking my over – kinda. I look up to see a shocked Dana frozen on the ground, staring at Alex with hate, hurt and regret.
“What are you doing here?” She whispers, but we still manage to hear her over the music. Her voice is filled with pain and wariness.
He gestures to me. “I believe she belongs to you?” He jokes. “I-I was wondering if we could talk?”
“Alex-“ She starts, but is interrupted when Tyler steps in the way and pulls me into his arms.
“What the hell, dude? You got her drunk?” He glares at Alex, who holds his hands up in innocence. “Well then who the fuck did?”
They look at me and a shrug and giggle crazily, pressing a kiss to Tyler’s chest before letting my head fall down his body. He holds me up and hugs me tight to him so I don’t slip back down. He sighs. “Great, she’s out of it. I’m going to take her out of here.”
Dana and Alex both nod, and Tyler picks me up bridal style and carries me out of the room. He walks me upstairs and a make a ‘whoa’ noise with every step as my head moves. He chuckles and opens a door, and puts me down on a multi-coloured bed that smells like Remy. I close my eyes before a thought hits me suddenly.
“Tyler – we left Alex and Dana on their own. That’s no g-good…” I mumble.
He shushes me and stroked the hair back from my face, sitting down next to me as my eyes go heavy. “It’ll be alright,” he whispers. “Just let them talk it over. You need to sleep, Darcy. Close your eyes and sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“You promise?” I ask him.
“I promise.” I believe him, and I close my eyes once more and let sleep take over. I try not to think about how much my head is going to hurt in the morning.
Twenty One
I do wake up the next morning with a horrible headache; my brain feeling like it’s going to burst. I hiss and lift a hand up to hold it in place, squeezing my eyes shut tight against the pain. Someone chuckles lightly near my ear, and I used my other hand to blindly hit them in the face.
“Gee thanks, says the night in shining armour.” A sarcastic voice rumbles. I reluctantly lift an eye open to look at Tyler, and immediately regret it when I’m blinded by sunlight. I make a sound like a mix between a vampire being burnt in the sun and a cat hitting the water as I roll away from the light and off the bed, hitting the floor with a thud.
Tyler rolls his eyes at me as he leans over the edge of the bed to look down at me. “Need a hand?”
“No. I need some ibuprofen. And water. Do you want to be the best boyfriend ever and get me some?” I pout up at him, batting my heavy eyelids and regretting it when it makes my head hurt even more.
He rolls his eyes at me again and rolls off the bed, heading out of the room. I grumble to myself and crawl back up on the brightly coloured bed and close my eyes again. A few minutes later, someone shakes my shoulder, and I open my eyes to see Tyler holding a glass of water and two mini pills.
“Yes!” I grab the stuff and pop the pills desperately, rubbing my head slowly to speed up the
healing process. Tyler smiles at me, takes the glass to put on the bedside table, and sits on the bed besides me and begins to stroke my hair.
I sigh, “thank you.”
“It’s alright,” he breathes out. “But I think Remy has something to say about us taking her bed away from her.”
Just in time, the door slams open, and a rainbow mess walks into the room, wearing unicorn pants and a blue and purple vest top. She pouts at us under the pink mane of hair. “Thanks for stealing my bed, guys. I had to sleep in Patricia’s room. Dana and Joey are here, too. And some random guy called Carlos… I think his name was Carlos. Or Carlo or maybe even Kyle.” She shrugs. “Eh, I dunno. But we’re all downstairs now, so stop being lazy asses and get out of my bed. It’s midday, y’know.”
I look at the clock with a growl, the numbers 12:34 flashing at me mockingly. “Great,” I grumble. “Half the day is gone already.” I roll myself out the bed with the help of Tyler, who rubs his messy hair and yawns.
“Yeah, but because we’re the bestest friends ever, we’ve waited until you guys got up before making a start on the cleaning. So: chop chop! My parents are going to get here around seven, so we’d better hurry.”
I look at Tyler and we both groan loudly. “Feel like climbing out the window?” He jokes, only half serious.
“Nah, she’s chase after us and then we’d be sorry,” I mumble, taking his hand and walking out the room. “I hope you’re ready for a day of scraping pizza of the ceiling and scrubbing beer off the carpets.”
He groans again, and I laugh as we head down the stairs. Unfortunately, we actually did have to do those things, which made me wonder what the hell actually happened at the party last night; it wasn’t that crazy, was it?
“Yes, it was.” Dana said flatly as she sipped her coffee. We were sat in the café down the street from Remy’s house, just the two of us. We’d finally finished cleaning the whole house and Joey left with Cam, Tyler had plans with some friends and Remy was spending time with her parents. So that left just the two of us, drinking hot drinks in a red and orange café, where the guy behind the counter working the coffee machine kept scowling at us for not tipping him.
Then Came You Page 10