Chapter Twenty-Two

"Now I really have to go," Kevin said as he tried to make her let go of him. It was almost ten o'clock the next morning; her parents had gone to work already, and they'd stayed in bed shamelessly late, as if they were making up for the past three years. He knew his parents would worry if he got home much later, as he wouldn't have stayed at Bailey's this long. 

"Ohw," Heather complained as she reached up to give him another kiss. 

He let himself get lost in her kiss for a minute before he ruefully pulled back. "I'm seeing you tonight anyway. I really have to get home now," he told her now, taking hold of her hands before she could wrap her arms around him again. 

"Okay," she finally gave in with a pout. 

"I'll pick you up at six, okay?" he said and gave her a single kiss. "See you later," he added and, after kissing her again, headed down the stairs and out of the front door. 

Heather sighed and stomped her way down the stairs and into the living room. Her parents were both at work, so she had the house to herself, which only made her miss Kevin more. She dropped down onto the sofa as she thought about what she could do that didn't involve thinking about or stalking him. She played with her phone a bit and realised she hadn't told her best friend yet. 

Do you have time to come over? I got some really good news x. 

Heather didn't have to wait long for her phone to beep. 

Sure thing! I'll be over straight after lunch! X.

Her eyes moved to the clock and saw she only had to occupy herself for another hour and a half. She decided to make some lunch and settled in front of the TV as she waited for her friend. 

Heather nearly jumped up out of her skin when the doorbell rang incessantly. She sprinted towards the door to find her friend grinning at her. "Dude," she told her off and gave her a shove before pulling her in the house. 

"Sorry, I couldn't resist," Bianca apologised with a laugh. "So, what is this big news you've got to tell me?" she asked as she wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder and headed into the living room. 

"You'll probably end up saying something about 'finally' or whatever. But," Heather started as they sat down on the sofa. She crossed her legs underneath her and looked at her almost intently, as if they were conspiring something together. "Kevin and Stephanie broke up on Saturday after they had a fight because she assumed he was moving to Brighton and…" 

"Wait, that's what they broke up over?" Bianca asked surprised. 

"Well no, that was just the catalyst. It got the ball rolling," her friend responded. "Anyway… he came back on Sunday morning and happened to find me on the beach… And… we got back together!" she exclaimed at the end, getting a shriek in response before the blonde flung her arms around her neck. 

"Oh wow! Yeey!" 

"I know!" Heather reacted happily, hugging her friend back. 

"And you were right; finally!" Bianca chuckled and continued hugging her. "So clearly we were right about his behaviour on Friday?" she said as they let go. 

"Yeah but I don't think he knew, not consciously anyway," Heather nodded. This morning they had talked more about what made him realise that his relationship with Stephanie was over and the fight about him moving had just been the icing on the cake; underneath the surface, he hadn't felt it was right for a little while. 

"So, what's it like?" her friend asked curiously. "Is it the same or…?" 

"Better, so much better. Which is kind of weird because I don't think either of us have changed," she answered. 

"Well of course you have. You guys experienced uni in your own way, gained experience, and now feel comfortable with yourself. You've gone from teenagers to something slightly resembling an adult," Bianca explained, getting a thoughtful look; it made perfect sense to her. 

"Huh, maybe you're right. It kinda makes sense. It's just yesterday afternoon and last night was so great," Heather told her happily. 

"Great, I'm glad," her friend smiled as she rubbed her hand. "So exciting," she added, trying not to squeal again. 

"Yup," she sighed contently as she leant back now, surprised how much she missed him already. "So, what was your weekend like in the end?" the brunette asked. 

"So, so. Didn't do much. But there is something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Bianca started nervously, getting a puzzled look from her friend; they always talked about everything and there was no topic that either of them should feel nervous to discuss. 

"Okay, sure. Shoot." 

"Well ehm, you know how I befriended Jamie on Facebook when he came to our reunion?" Her friend nodded, still looking confused. "When you guys broke up, he contacted me about why and stuff. Don't worry, I only told him what you told him," she reassured her quickly. 

"Okay…" 

"Anyway, we've been chatting ever since, and he asked me out last week. I've kind of been dancing around the issue until I got a chance to talk to you," Bianca now blurted everything out. Her friend looked taken aback for a second and then broke into a smile. 

"Go for it," Heather told her. 

"What?" she asked surprised. 

"Go for it," she repeated. "He's a really nice guy and it was all me that caused us to break up. And you know, you both deserve it," she added now. 

"Really? Oh, thank you for not minding," Bianca said happily and hugged her friend tightly again. 

"Of course, I don't mind. Though next time tell me sooner," Heather assured her with a nudge. 

"I will. It was just... you were wallowing, and I didn't want to add to your stress." 

"Oh… right. Sorry about that by the way," she apologised; it couldn't have been easy for her friend to put up with her for the past weeks. 

"No, it's fine. You needed to do that and… it kinda worked out for the best," Bianca said with a happy shrug. 

"Good, alright. Wow, so we're both doing fine," Heather smiled. 

"Yeah," her friend nodded. "So, where is the boyfriend?" 

"He had to talk to his parents, explain it and everything. I'm seeing him tonight though," she answered. 

"Oh okay, cool. Do you have plans on Wednesday or Thursday?" Bianca asked now. 

"Not that I know of," she shrugged. 

"Good. I was thinking of going to see a movie at the Vue at Westwood, combine it with dinner or maybe an afternoon there," she explained. Heather nodded enthusiastically. 

"That sounds good. Who were you thinking of going with?" 

"You and Kevin obviously. Bailey will be working. The girls probably, maybe Mikey. Ehm, would it be weird if Jamie came along, if he's not working?" Bianca asked, trailing off towards the end. Her friend picked at the hem of her skirt as she thought of how to put this. 

"That's fine by me, if it's fine with him. Coz you know, I broke up with him…" Heather tried to say without sounding mean. 

"No, I know, I just wanted to ask you first so that when I talk to him I can say for definite that you're fine with it," her friend understood immediately. 

"Sure thing," she nodded. "Do you wanna go for a walk? The weather's really good and I could use some fresh air," she added now. 

"Yeah great. So could I," Bianca nodded. "We might even top up our tan," she chuckled as she got up. 

"Oh, I might have to change my top in that case. Hang on a sec," Heather said and ran up to her room. She was wearing a blue skirt with flowers and a normal T-shirt, so now she just needed to find a stringy top that would go with it. Eventually she found a light blue that she decided would work. "You'll need to rub my shoulder in though, I don't want my tattoo to burn," she called down as she rubbed in the butterfly on her ankle, as she was wearing Birkenstock sandals. 

"No problem," Bianca called back as she looked around the living room. She knew it almost as well as her own, she'd been here so often, and it didn't change that much. 

"Thanks!" Heather grabbed the smallest purse she had that would fit her phone, card and keys, and headed downstairs with the sun cream. Her friend quickly rubbed in the three stars on her shoulder. 

"Done." 

"Great, let's go," she grinned. 

"You know what, we should get ice cream on our way back," Bianca suggested as they headed out the door. 

"Oh definitely," Heather agreed with a laugh, looking forward to it already.