Chapter 22: A Bouquet of Roses and A Bowl of Noodles

"You did WHAT?" Taylor exclaimed, shocked.

"I.. I kissed him... I kissed him..." I whispered trying to convince myself, then glance at Taylor who looked at me as if the world had ended.

"OH MY GOOOOOD!!!" Taylor squealed, making me cover my ears. "How did it happen? Who made the first move? And in front of everyone? Do you have any idea of how many people were there? Hell, the amount of photographers who covered the event was insane!" She said this all in one breath and then looked at me expectantly.

"But it was fake..." I said softly.

"What?" She said

"It was fake, Tay, it wasn't real." I sounded like I was convincing myself more than her.

"What do you mean?" She asked me, now completely confused, and I related all the events of the party... Gareth's flirting, then how I met Adam's dad, our conversations, the way he held me by my waist suddenly while I talked to his dad and whispering in my ear, Gareth pulling me away, Lance's warnings, and then Milani's appearance, Adam's silent plea for help, me walking up to him and holding his hand, then kissing him in front of everyone, her shocked face, then Michael's sudden appearance, Adam kissing my cheek and calling me his girlfriend, us walking away and Lance's threat to Michael and telling Adam to bring me home, and the note and rose I found this morning when I woke up.

"Wow... I mean... just wow..." She said, listening to everything with rapt attention. "So you really made the first move?"

"Well, it was actually really a peck that lasted for like... 5 or 6 seconds." I corrected her.

"But still, and he kissed you on your cheek? I'm dying right now Bee, your life is so interesting." She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah... a bit too much.." I whispered to myself.

"Well.. It certainly is too early to make assumptions, but looking at this beautiful bouquet and the note and his concern for you, it doesn't look like nothing." I decided not to respond to her and get her hopes high... That would NOT end well, trust me.

"Anyways, it's getting late now and I have to finish up some work. But I'll see you tomorrow at 8 at the cafe, right?" She asked me hopeful.

"Yeah, I'll be there. Don't worry." i gave her a small smile, when she hugged me.

"Take care Belle. Bye!" And she left with a skip in her step, making me smile.

I sat right where I was for a few more minutes, randomly thinking to myself.

Does he really care for me? No, he couldn't.. This is Adam Thorne we're talking about, the careless, cold and domineering man... But... What if?

I shook my head suddenly then glanced at the roses, smelling them once more and then reaching for my phone that was still turned off. I opened it to see a dozen messages.

Jeez, I thought.

I answered every message one by one, then opened Adam's contact, to see four messages from him.

Are you okay?

Did you eat anything?

Are you feeling better?

Why won't you answer?

And my heart did a little flip. God what is wrong with me? Then I answered all his messages.

Sorry my phone was turned off since yesterday.

I'm fine now and feeling much better, thank you.

Had a cupcake.

Thank you for the roses, they're lovely. I really appreciate it. :)

And I turned my phone off, setting it aside and realizing it was almost dinner time. I got so caught up with Taylor I didn't realize how late it had gotten, and was just about to get up when someone knocked on my door and Arthur came in with a tray in his hand, followed by Lance and Tristan.

"Why are you all here?" I asked when they all came and sat beside me, setting a tray in front of me.

"You didn't eat when Lance clearly told you to eat, and then when you did eat, you ate a cupcake, and without us!" Tristan exclaimed dramatically, making all of us laugh.

"Sorry guys, I wasn't really hungry.

"But you will eat this, because we made it ourselves." Arthur pushed the tray towards me and I opened the lid on top and gasped.

"Oh my god! Don't tell me you guys made this!" I exclaimed, full of happiness when I looked at my favorite homemade-instant noodles. "You all must have worked so hard!" I said sarcastically laughed.

Whenever I felt down, my brothers would make instant noddles for me, but add in a few more things, making it even yummier,especially because they made it themselves. This was something we had been doing since we were kids, and I hadn't eaten them for quite a while now.

"Oh you have no idea. We flipped the sauce pan three times, full of hot water because Arthur couldn't turn on the stove" Lance told me and Arthur stuck out his tongue at him, making us laugh.

"What about dropping all the noodles when you opened the pack Lance? You dropped them twice on the floor." Arthur looked at him smirking when Lance glared at him.

"Oh and don't forget Tristan!" Lance said suddenly, diverting all the attention to Tristan. "He let go of the saucepan too when the noodles were done because apparently it was too hot, and we had to make them all over again."

"You should've seen how scared Lance was when Mr. Baker glared at him. And at Tristan, for the mess they made." Arthur exclaimed.

"He glared at you too and you looked like you would start crying." Tristan laughed at Arthur.

We all looked at each other and then burst out laughing, doubling over.

Then taking a fork each, we dug into the big bowl of noodles, pushing each other for space. We always ate noodles in one big bowl because it made it even more fun to eat. Somehow, these noodles always helped me in difficult times.

We were still eating when Lance suddenly looked up and stiffened. I glance at what he was looking at. The bouquet of roses.

Shit, I thought, and looked at Lance looking at me with a serious expression. Tristan and Arthur noticed this and looked up, also glancing at the roses then at me and Lance.

"Hurry up Lance, Belle's gonna eat all these noodles!" Arthur said suddenly and Lance smiled, before snatching the bowl and turning away, laughing, and we all went after him screaming to give us the bowl.

They know just how to make me laugh, I thought and smiled to myself, grateful for such wonderful and caring brothers.

.......................................................................................................

Who doesn't want brothers like these? What lengths are they willing to go to keep Belle on her feet?

Keep reading on to find out!

Question of the Day: Do you have siblings?

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