The sound of my phone ringing woke me from dream at 745am, I knew it would be Tess even before I looked at the screen.
"Why can't you just sleep past 9 like all normal teenagers?" I answer the phone
"I'll sleep when I'm dead Zoey" She tells me in her perky tone and I groan, "Anyway, you're awake now. Cassie, Declan and I will arrive in the city around 10, the snow will be cleared by then, where do you want to meet? We can do breakfast somewhere and then go look at dresses and the boys can go watch their stupid soccer game" She's in full plan making mode and I'm still half asleep.
"Meet here at Angus' and we will go from here" I suggest
"Alright I'll see you in a few hours" She says and hangs up on me and now I'm wide awake and just realising I am, once again alone in the giant bed.
I hate morning people, at least Angus doesn't wake me up to talk. I climb out of bed and start my search for Angus, most mornings I find him in the garden, drinking tea and reading but there's still snow on the ground and the air is freezing. I walk into the lounge room and see that the fire has been lit and is roaring, evidence that he's here. I reach the top of the stairs and am about to walk down them when I hear Angus, on the phone and he sounds pretty angry with whoever is on the other end.
"You gave her my fucking number, You told me for 2 years you didn't want to be in the middle, you didn't want to pick sides, you love us both and now she keeps calling me" He yells into the phone, then pauses to listen to other end but goes back to being angry
"I've moved on, she knows it because obviously you told her and that's the only reason she wants to talk and I love how it's always on her terms too, she doesn't give a shit what I've got going on right now. Do you realise I had 6 missed calls last night? Fucking 6, all from her!"
pauses to listen
"I know it's not your fault Annabelle, I know how she manipulates information out of people, I just wish you had warned me. I've got to go, Zoey will wake up soon. I'll call you Sunday, hope you're feeling better"
He ends the call and I can hear him making his way to the stairs. OK Zoey you can sit at the top of the stairs and admit you listened in to what seemed like a very private car or you can run back to the bedroom...Yeah, I ran. I made it to the bed before he was halfway up the stairs and was pretending to play on my phone when he came to lie beside me.
"Did I wake you" He asks, panicked look on his face
"No, Tess did, she called and wants to do breakfast at 10 before dress shopping" I wasn't lying either, "Is it OK that everyone meets here first" I ask
"Of course baby" He says kissing my cheek
"Are you ok?" I ask him concerned
"Yeah, I was talking to Annabelle, she's still not well" He tells me, leaving out the part about Steph calling him 6 times last night. I don't know if I should worry that he's hiding things or if he thinks he needs to protect me but I can't say anything because I shouldn't have been listening in.
"So we've got 2 hours before Hurricane Teresa hits, what do you want to do" He asks and I turn to face him, hoping he can read my mind, that he's not going to make me say it. "Use your words Zoey, if you want it you have to say it" He laughs, he knows this is torture to me too.
"You want it too though" I plead
"Of course i want to have sex with you, look at you, lying in my bed in your cute little PJs" He's loving this way too much
"Well you can" I tell him
"I can what Zoey?" he asks, laughing
"You can have...that, with me" I beg him
"that would be exactly?" He teases
"Angus can we have...sex" I whisper the word
"Now was that really so hard Princess?" He says as he reaches over me to grab protection out of the drawer
"I hate you" I tell him, laughing
"You love me" He says, confidently and I kiss him deeply. We made love for 45 minutes, slow, tender and passionate, afterwards we showered and waited for the others to arrive.
"Angus I have to tell you something and I don't want it to upset you or for you to take it personally" I say tentatively
"Zo, what's up? You can tell me anything" a worried look crosses his face
"I haven't told Tess that we are having...that we are...um" I'm beginning to panic and I can't say the word
"Zoey, I promise, I'm not going to force you to say the word right now, I'm not hurt that you're keeping it from Tess, I'm more concerned about why you feel you would have to" He says as he pulls me in for a hug
"I'm scared she's going to judge me. It's killing me not telling her because we tell each other everything, she told me when She and Declan started doing it " I explain
"Zoey you know we've done nothing wrong right?" He asks me
"I know and I'm probably being irrational and over thinking it, as per usual but I'm still scared to tell her. I told Cassie though and she was really supportive" I'm working myself up, I can feel it
"I'm glad Cassie was supportive and that you've got someone to talk to. I know I don't Tess as well as you but I've had many conversations with her, you always come up each time, she's your biggest fan, she adores you and I'd like to think she wouldn't make you feel bad or ashamed about this. You tell Tess when you're ready and if she does have a problem then she can deal with me" He reassures me and I do feel better
"You and Tess had conversation?" I'm now more curious about this
"Shit, ah, yeah, I didn't want to tell you this. The night after you first came to the gym, I called Tess, I wanted to know more about you and I knew if I called you I would just get awkward silence." He says, looking like he's been caught out
"I would have talked to you had you called" I protest
"Oh baby, who are you fooling here, you couldn't even tell me your own name" He says and we both laugh
"Well tell me what you talked about with Tess?" Im curious
"I asked her if you were seeing anyone, she told me that found it hard to talk to people you didn't know, she just had all these positive things to say about you, that you're the top 3 students in your year, that you would rather read books than go to parties, that you get bullied and she tries to stop it but they wait until she's not around. She loves you Zoey" He explains
"How did I not know this happened, I get why you didn't tell me but Tess can't keep a secret to save her life, she even tells me what she's got me for Christmas" I'm shocked
"I'm surprised she didn't tell you but she helped me a lot in the beginning, she told me to talk to you even when you go silent" He tells me
"I owe her so much" I say, kissing him on the cheek
"I owe her too" He says
Tess, Declan and Cassie knocked on the front door just after 10, Angus let them in and I ran up to Tess and hugged her tightly
"I love you Teresa Gertrude Green" I announce
"I love you too Zoey but don't ever call me that again" she replies, laughing, "Angus I need to ask you for a huge favour" She breaks free of our hug and bounces up to him, big perky smile plastered across her face
"Ask away" he tells her
"We have to do a weeks worth of work experience after our final exams and I was wondering if you take on work experience students?" She requests
"Let me guess, you've left it to the last minute to organise and now you're desperate for someone to just sign the paperwork and rush it through for you?" He asks her
"Pretty much" She says, smiling
"Can you type?" He asks
"Yes and I'm a fast learner too" She says and she's not lying either, Tess learns skills faster than anyone I know
"Well you're in luck, Annabelle is going on holidays in November and I could use a receptionist" He informs her
"Thank you Angus, you saved me, I've been so busy organising the formal that I totally forgot to organise work experience too" She explains as she hugs him
"It comes with conditions though" He tells her
"Which are?" she asks, worried look crossing her face, Tess is not good with conditions
"You arrive at work at 7am every morning and don't leave until 5pm, you take an hour for lunch and I get to call you Gertrude for the whole week" He says seriously
"I agree to your conditions" Tess says and we all look at each other surprised, "I'm desperate, they will fail me for the whole year if I don't find somewhere" She explains
"Tess, I'm fucking with you, I'll find something for you to do" Angus laughs at her
"Ugh, I hate you Angus" she says, laughing
"Well you're not the first Green sister to tell me you hate me this morning" He informs her and Tess' eyes go wide, she loves drama and he's just fed her a heaped spoonful in one sentence
"Why does Zoey hate you, what did you do?" She asks, skipping away away from him and over to my side
"I made her say a word she didn't want to say" He tells the group, laughing
"You made her say sex didn't you?" Tess says, getting worked up, "Angus she's not ready for it" Tess exclaims, which just spurs him on more
"She's not ready to say it or to have it?" He asks Tess
"Both" Tess yells at him, Cassie and I exchange looks, "If she can't say the word then she can't be having it" Tess explains to Angus
"Funnily enough that's what I said too" He says, laughing to himself, I can feel a fire burning inside of me and I know I'm going to erupt if this continues
"Good, so we are on the same page, she's not ready, don't bring it up with her again" Tess is fuming but she's not the only one, I've had enough.
"Stop talking about me as if I'm not in the room" I yell at both of them, Tess is used to seeing me go off, as rare as it is but I can see Angus is taken back by it, he's looking at me with caution but I'm not done yet. "Teresa he is clearly baiting you to get a rise out of you and you're just playing into his trap" I explain to her and then turn to Angus and point "And you, you're at 22 year old man, almost 23, grow up!" I yell at him, "I am not speaking to either one of you for the next 20 minutes, I am so disappointed in both of you", I set the timer on my phone and storm out to the elevator, leaving the room to clear itself.
Tess and I use the 20 minute embargo trick whenever we fight because we both know that it by 20 minutes we will be over whatever made either of us angry, after 20 minutes we hug it out and leave it in the past. Tess knows to steer clear though in those 20 minutes, that thats our detoxing time, even Cassie and Declan know the rules of the 20 minute space time, they've witnessed it often enough, they know they can talk to either one of us but not force us to talk to each other, Angus on the other hand doesn't know the rules and chases after me
"I'm sorry baby, I went too far, I'm so sorry" He pleads with me as I stare at the wall, ignoring him and fuming We all step in to the elevator and ride it down to the lobby, I break away from the group and walk alone to a cafe but I'm very aware that Angus is just a few steps behind me, as we round the corner he attempts to take a hold of my hand but I brush him away and pick up my pace. Behind me I hear Cassie run up to Angus and pull him back.
"Wait it out" I hear her tell Angus
"This is ridiculous" He yells but he also slows his pace and falls back with the rest of the group.
"It's what they do Angus, it's so they don't say something in the heat of the moment just to hurt the other person, it's just a detox period and she will be over it once the 20 minutes is up" Cassie explains to Angus.
The walk to the cafe takes 15 minutes, 2 minutes of waiting for the hostess to come greet us so that leaves me with 3 minutes of detox time, honestly I'm over what happened by the time we sit down, so I pull my phone out and stop the timer.
"I want bacon and eggs and a double shot coffee, Tess woke me up way too early this morning" I announce to the group
"You had to wake up early anyway Zoey, we have a important decisions to make today, like what colour dress are you thinking, I want to wear blue so you can't wear blue, we are not doing that twin match match thing that Mum force upon us when we were kids, you can wear any colour but blue" Tess raves on, this is what happens when you silence her for 20 minutes, she starts storing up conversations to have once we are good. Angus is still sitting in silence and I can't read his face, he's just sitting next to me, staring at the table. I reach over and take his hand, giving it a squeeze to let him know it's safe now, he looks at me and gives me a little smile.
"What colour do you think I should wear?" I try coaxing him out
"Red, you look stunning in red." He says softly, I lean over and kiss him
"I love you" I whisper to him
"I'm an arsehole" He whispers back and I can see the pain on his face
"It's all forgotten" I promise him, "We move forward now" I squeeze his hand again
"I love you baby, I don't ever want to hurt you, you know that right?" He is not letting it go.
"Angus, it was a fight but I'm over it, I know you wouldn't hurt me, I know you were just playing around but I just don't like when you two talk about me as if I'm not there. It's like Ive lost my own free will and you're both making decisions for me" I explain
"I'm sorry, I should know better" He says sadly, "do you wanna stay again tonight?" He asks cautiously
"Yes Please" I reply and he smiles, we are through the woods and clear.
Our breakfast arrives and we are all chatting away
"So is Gerti here the only one in need of placement for work experience?" Angus asks the group, while loving that he can stir Tess again
"I'm going to my uncle's mechanics, I help him out every summer so it just seemed like the logical choice" Declan tells us
"Ugh, I have to be a receptionist at Daddy's company, He wants me to get a leg up for when I take over the company" Cassie groans
"Still not accepting that you want to study fashion?" I ask her
"My father doesn't believe in fashions unless it's suits styles" She explains and we laugh
"What about you Zoey?" Angus ask, I think he secretly is hoping I'm in need of a placement too but I organised mine the moment it was announced to us weeks ago
"I'm going to be doing mine at the vets near us in Brindleton Bay" I tell him and he smiles at me
"You will be perfect there, they will be lucky to have you" he says, kissing my hand.
We finish our breakfast and make our way to the fashion district where we find the ultimate formal wear store, CAS formal. Tess, Cassie and myself make a beeline to the long dresses and Declan to the suits, Angus waits at the counter and start chatting to the cashier, an older woman, she dresses fancy and I can hear her upper class voice but he's chasing her and she's loving it, I'm glad he has someone to talk to, that he's not just standing there bored. The girls and I pick a few styles of dresses from the racks, Tess picks all blue dresses of course but Cassie and I have a selection of colours, we make our way to the change rooms, we try on a dress, come out of the change room and show it off to Angus and Posh Lady and they give us both positive and negative responses to each dress. I walk out in a floor length, satin, yellow dress. Posh lady loves the dress on me, I'm not so convinced by the colour, having pale skin the yellow is just washing me out but I love the style.
"Does it come in another colour?" Angus ask her, reading my face
"I have it in red too" She tells us, finding it in my size on the rack and handing it over, I make my way back into the change room and slip into the dress, I look in the mirror and I just feel that this is the dress for me. I unzip it and place it back on the hanger, change back into my casual clothes and take the dress to the counter where I see the others have also made their choices too.
"No good?" Asks Angus
"I pick this one, it looks amazing on" I tell him
"You're not going to show it off to me?" He sounds disappointed
"It's bad luck to see the dress before the formal" I'm being cheeky, I know but I want to see his first reaction to me in it on the night and I'm hoping he understands that.
"All good baby, I can wait" He reassures me.
Posh Lady, boxes up our dresses and Declan's suit and thanks us for shopping there.
"But we haven't paid" I remind her
"It's all been taken care of, enjoy your formal kids" She farewells us.
Out on the street I turn to Angus and ask him "Did you just pay for my dress?", he smiles that beautiful cheeky smile and says "Not just yours"
"Angus you can not do this, you will go broke" I exclaim
"I don't think that's likely Zoey" He tells me
"Well thank you, I appreciate it" I kiss him
"Thanks from us too Angus" Tess says to him, speaking for the group, "I'm not going to kiss you though" She lets him know and we all laugh
"You're welcome" He tells them all
We go back to the apartment and the boys get ready to go to their soccer match, I follow Angus into his bedroom where he changes into his Llama's jersey, he looks so cute as a fan. Zoey, stop thinking about him naked while your sister, her boyfriend and your best friend are sitting in the next room, I need a new train of thought
"Do you wanna leave you dress here Princess?" he asks me, breaking me out of my dirty thoughts
"Yeah, that would make sense coz I'll probably get my hair and make up done in the city and the formal is at Myshuno Meadows so it would be easier to get to from here" I say, climbing into his lap while he's trying to put his shoes on, I start kissing his neck and running my hands under his jersey.
"Zoey, as much as I'd love to do this right now, your sister is sitting just out there in the lounge room and I don't want to cause any more drama for the day." I can hear the panic in his voice, he doesn't want a repeat of this morning and neither do I, I climb off him and go join the others on the lounge. Angus retreats from his room moments later and announces that it's time for him and Declan to go to the game, he leans down and kisses me goodbye.
"I love you Princess" He whispers to me
"I love you too" I whisper back
I see Declan saying his goodbyes to Tess and I can't help but feel a bit sad for Cassie, she deserves someone special too.
The boys make their way down the stairs but stop halfway, "Order dinner baby and anything else you want, tell them to charge it to me" Angus shouts up the stairwell
"Ok" I shout back and then we hear the front door open and they're gone
"Zoey, dish" Cassie says as soon as we hear the elevator doors open
"About?" I ask her, pretending I don't know what she's asking
"About Angus" Tess joins in
"What do you want to know?" I ask them
"What he's like?" Cassie pushes
"He's very intelligent, he did a lot of the same advanced classes I do for year 12" I tell them
"But he didn't go to university?" Tess asks
"No, I did him why but we got distracted and he never answered me" I tell her, thinking about last night
"What distracted him" Tess asks, suspicious
"The storm, we were watching it get heavier and how it covered the buildings" I lie to her, no, it doesn't make me feel good but it's easier than a lecture
"Maybe he didn't want to go to uni" Cassie speaks up, saving me, "Maybe it just didn't interest him or maybe he found something else he loved doing, he owns the gym so I'd say he's pretty happy without a degree"
We pass the time while the boys are away talking and watching random old TV shows. I order pizza for dinner and Tess runs to the mini mart for alcohol. The boys come charging in around 4pm, cheering because the Llamas won today.
"I got pizza and Tess got you guys beer and vodka for us girls" I tell him as he picks me up and spins me around in the air. "I'm guessing the Llamas lost then" I joke
"We creamed them" He shouts, acting as if he too was out on the field, "Tonight we celebrate" he says placing me back on the ground and grabs two beers from the fridge, handing one to Declan.
"They celebrate a ball being kick around a field" Tess groans as she grabs 3 glasses and pours a rough shot in each, I fill the glasses with pineapple juice and we 3 girls each take one, getting wrapped up in a win that isn't ours to celebrate.
"Do you all want to stay over?" Angus offers after dinner and a few drinks in, "Ive got heaps of room, Imogen's bed is free and the lounge is pretty comfy"
Tess and Declan take up his offer but Cassie informs us that she's flying out early in the morning for Del Sol Valley, she calls her driver and gets picked up. Now it's down to the four of us, like a double date getting drunker as the night goes on.
"Angus?" Tess slurs his name
"Yes Gerti?" He asks, holding himself together better than the rest of us
"Why didn't you go to university? Zoey says you're really intelligent" She throws me under the bus just to get answers, I shoot her a look but she's too drunk to care
"I got expelled" He tells us, shameful look on his face, Declan, Tess and I sit there staring at him stunned by his admission.
"What did you do?" Declan eventually asks, almost in awe
"I was a bad kid and I would do a lot of stupid stuff, most of which I got caught for and eventually Mr Landgaarb had had enough and kicked me out right before the exams" He puts his head down in shame but I don't want him to feel embarrassed at all
"You're not that kid anymore Angus, you've grown up a lot, you run your own business now" I tell him, trying to comfort him.
"I know baby" He says, kissing me on the cheek, "I'm just not too proud of it"
"When we were 10 Zoey told me on Christmas Eve that Santa wasn't real, completely destroyed Christmas that year" Tess offers up as a comparison and I nod to confirm it, Angus and Declan burst out laughing
"That's pretty brutal" Angus says to me
"She broke my doll house so she had it coming" I inform him, "The point that we are making though is these things happened in the past, they don't define us, you can always change your future. If you want to ever go to uni then theres other ways than having to go back to school and if you don't want to go then that's ok too, be proud of your achievements Angus. I'm proud of you" I tell him and he smiles brightly at me
"Thank You Zoey, you build me every day" He says kissing me softly
The night gets late and we all head to bed, Tess and Declan go down stairs in Imogen's room. I climb into bed with Angus and he snuggles into me, I place my cold feet on his legs and he doesn't say a word, we fall asleep like this
"Why can't you just sleep past 9 like all normal teenagers?" I answer the phone
"I'll sleep when I'm dead Zoey" She tells me in her perky tone and I groan, "Anyway, you're awake now. Cassie, Declan and I will arrive in the city around 10, the snow will be cleared by then, where do you want to meet? We can do breakfast somewhere and then go look at dresses and the boys can go watch their stupid soccer game" She's in full plan making mode and I'm still half asleep.
"Meet here at Angus' and we will go from here" I suggest
"Alright I'll see you in a few hours" She says and hangs up on me and now I'm wide awake and just realising I am, once again alone in the giant bed.
I hate morning people, at least Angus doesn't wake me up to talk. I climb out of bed and start my search for Angus, most mornings I find him in the garden, drinking tea and reading but there's still snow on the ground and the air is freezing. I walk into the lounge room and see that the fire has been lit and is roaring, evidence that he's here. I reach the top of the stairs and am about to walk down them when I hear Angus, on the phone and he sounds pretty angry with whoever is on the other end.
"You gave her my fucking number, You told me for 2 years you didn't want to be in the middle, you didn't want to pick sides, you love us both and now she keeps calling me" He yells into the phone, then pauses to listen to other end but goes back to being angry
"I've moved on, she knows it because obviously you told her and that's the only reason she wants to talk and I love how it's always on her terms too, she doesn't give a shit what I've got going on right now. Do you realise I had 6 missed calls last night? Fucking 6, all from her!"
pauses to listen
"I know it's not your fault Annabelle, I know how she manipulates information out of people, I just wish you had warned me. I've got to go, Zoey will wake up soon. I'll call you Sunday, hope you're feeling better"
He ends the call and I can hear him making his way to the stairs. OK Zoey you can sit at the top of the stairs and admit you listened in to what seemed like a very private car or you can run back to the bedroom...Yeah, I ran. I made it to the bed before he was halfway up the stairs and was pretending to play on my phone when he came to lie beside me.
"Did I wake you" He asks, panicked look on his face
"No, Tess did, she called and wants to do breakfast at 10 before dress shopping" I wasn't lying either, "Is it OK that everyone meets here first" I ask
"Of course baby" He says kissing my cheek
"Are you ok?" I ask him concerned
"Yeah, I was talking to Annabelle, she's still not well" He tells me, leaving out the part about Steph calling him 6 times last night. I don't know if I should worry that he's hiding things or if he thinks he needs to protect me but I can't say anything because I shouldn't have been listening in.
"So we've got 2 hours before Hurricane Teresa hits, what do you want to do" He asks and I turn to face him, hoping he can read my mind, that he's not going to make me say it. "Use your words Zoey, if you want it you have to say it" He laughs, he knows this is torture to me too.
"You want it too though" I plead
"Of course i want to have sex with you, look at you, lying in my bed in your cute little PJs" He's loving this way too much
"Well you can" I tell him
"I can what Zoey?" he asks, laughing
"You can have...that, with me" I beg him
"that would be exactly?" He teases
"Angus can we have...sex" I whisper the word
"Now was that really so hard Princess?" He says as he reaches over me to grab protection out of the drawer
"I hate you" I tell him, laughing
"You love me" He says, confidently and I kiss him deeply. We made love for 45 minutes, slow, tender and passionate, afterwards we showered and waited for the others to arrive.
"Angus I have to tell you something and I don't want it to upset you or for you to take it personally" I say tentatively
"Zo, what's up? You can tell me anything" a worried look crosses his face
"I haven't told Tess that we are having...that we are...um" I'm beginning to panic and I can't say the word
"Zoey, I promise, I'm not going to force you to say the word right now, I'm not hurt that you're keeping it from Tess, I'm more concerned about why you feel you would have to" He says as he pulls me in for a hug
"I'm scared she's going to judge me. It's killing me not telling her because we tell each other everything, she told me when She and Declan started doing it " I explain
"Zoey you know we've done nothing wrong right?" He asks me
"I know and I'm probably being irrational and over thinking it, as per usual but I'm still scared to tell her. I told Cassie though and she was really supportive" I'm working myself up, I can feel it
"I'm glad Cassie was supportive and that you've got someone to talk to. I know I don't Tess as well as you but I've had many conversations with her, you always come up each time, she's your biggest fan, she adores you and I'd like to think she wouldn't make you feel bad or ashamed about this. You tell Tess when you're ready and if she does have a problem then she can deal with me" He reassures me and I do feel better
"You and Tess had conversation?" I'm now more curious about this
"Shit, ah, yeah, I didn't want to tell you this. The night after you first came to the gym, I called Tess, I wanted to know more about you and I knew if I called you I would just get awkward silence." He says, looking like he's been caught out
"I would have talked to you had you called" I protest
"Oh baby, who are you fooling here, you couldn't even tell me your own name" He says and we both laugh
"Well tell me what you talked about with Tess?" Im curious
"I asked her if you were seeing anyone, she told me that found it hard to talk to people you didn't know, she just had all these positive things to say about you, that you're the top 3 students in your year, that you would rather read books than go to parties, that you get bullied and she tries to stop it but they wait until she's not around. She loves you Zoey" He explains
"How did I not know this happened, I get why you didn't tell me but Tess can't keep a secret to save her life, she even tells me what she's got me for Christmas" I'm shocked
"I'm surprised she didn't tell you but she helped me a lot in the beginning, she told me to talk to you even when you go silent" He tells me
"I owe her so much" I say, kissing him on the cheek
"I owe her too" He says
Tess, Declan and Cassie knocked on the front door just after 10, Angus let them in and I ran up to Tess and hugged her tightly
"I love you Teresa Gertrude Green" I announce
"I love you too Zoey but don't ever call me that again" she replies, laughing, "Angus I need to ask you for a huge favour" She breaks free of our hug and bounces up to him, big perky smile plastered across her face
"Ask away" he tells her
"We have to do a weeks worth of work experience after our final exams and I was wondering if you take on work experience students?" She requests
"Let me guess, you've left it to the last minute to organise and now you're desperate for someone to just sign the paperwork and rush it through for you?" He asks her
"Pretty much" She says, smiling
"Can you type?" He asks
"Yes and I'm a fast learner too" She says and she's not lying either, Tess learns skills faster than anyone I know
"Well you're in luck, Annabelle is going on holidays in November and I could use a receptionist" He informs her
"Thank you Angus, you saved me, I've been so busy organising the formal that I totally forgot to organise work experience too" She explains as she hugs him
"It comes with conditions though" He tells her
"Which are?" she asks, worried look crossing her face, Tess is not good with conditions
"You arrive at work at 7am every morning and don't leave until 5pm, you take an hour for lunch and I get to call you Gertrude for the whole week" He says seriously
"I agree to your conditions" Tess says and we all look at each other surprised, "I'm desperate, they will fail me for the whole year if I don't find somewhere" She explains
"Tess, I'm fucking with you, I'll find something for you to do" Angus laughs at her
"Ugh, I hate you Angus" she says, laughing
"Well you're not the first Green sister to tell me you hate me this morning" He informs her and Tess' eyes go wide, she loves drama and he's just fed her a heaped spoonful in one sentence
"Why does Zoey hate you, what did you do?" She asks, skipping away away from him and over to my side
"I made her say a word she didn't want to say" He tells the group, laughing
"You made her say sex didn't you?" Tess says, getting worked up, "Angus she's not ready for it" Tess exclaims, which just spurs him on more
"She's not ready to say it or to have it?" He asks Tess
"Both" Tess yells at him, Cassie and I exchange looks, "If she can't say the word then she can't be having it" Tess explains to Angus
"Funnily enough that's what I said too" He says, laughing to himself, I can feel a fire burning inside of me and I know I'm going to erupt if this continues
"Good, so we are on the same page, she's not ready, don't bring it up with her again" Tess is fuming but she's not the only one, I've had enough.
"Stop talking about me as if I'm not in the room" I yell at both of them, Tess is used to seeing me go off, as rare as it is but I can see Angus is taken back by it, he's looking at me with caution but I'm not done yet. "Teresa he is clearly baiting you to get a rise out of you and you're just playing into his trap" I explain to her and then turn to Angus and point "And you, you're at 22 year old man, almost 23, grow up!" I yell at him, "I am not speaking to either one of you for the next 20 minutes, I am so disappointed in both of you", I set the timer on my phone and storm out to the elevator, leaving the room to clear itself.
Tess and I use the 20 minute embargo trick whenever we fight because we both know that it by 20 minutes we will be over whatever made either of us angry, after 20 minutes we hug it out and leave it in the past. Tess knows to steer clear though in those 20 minutes, that thats our detoxing time, even Cassie and Declan know the rules of the 20 minute space time, they've witnessed it often enough, they know they can talk to either one of us but not force us to talk to each other, Angus on the other hand doesn't know the rules and chases after me
"I'm sorry baby, I went too far, I'm so sorry" He pleads with me as I stare at the wall, ignoring him and fuming We all step in to the elevator and ride it down to the lobby, I break away from the group and walk alone to a cafe but I'm very aware that Angus is just a few steps behind me, as we round the corner he attempts to take a hold of my hand but I brush him away and pick up my pace. Behind me I hear Cassie run up to Angus and pull him back.
"Wait it out" I hear her tell Angus
"This is ridiculous" He yells but he also slows his pace and falls back with the rest of the group.
"It's what they do Angus, it's so they don't say something in the heat of the moment just to hurt the other person, it's just a detox period and she will be over it once the 20 minutes is up" Cassie explains to Angus.
The walk to the cafe takes 15 minutes, 2 minutes of waiting for the hostess to come greet us so that leaves me with 3 minutes of detox time, honestly I'm over what happened by the time we sit down, so I pull my phone out and stop the timer.
"I want bacon and eggs and a double shot coffee, Tess woke me up way too early this morning" I announce to the group
"You had to wake up early anyway Zoey, we have a important decisions to make today, like what colour dress are you thinking, I want to wear blue so you can't wear blue, we are not doing that twin match match thing that Mum force upon us when we were kids, you can wear any colour but blue" Tess raves on, this is what happens when you silence her for 20 minutes, she starts storing up conversations to have once we are good. Angus is still sitting in silence and I can't read his face, he's just sitting next to me, staring at the table. I reach over and take his hand, giving it a squeeze to let him know it's safe now, he looks at me and gives me a little smile.
"What colour do you think I should wear?" I try coaxing him out
"Red, you look stunning in red." He says softly, I lean over and kiss him
"I love you" I whisper to him
"I'm an arsehole" He whispers back and I can see the pain on his face
"It's all forgotten" I promise him, "We move forward now" I squeeze his hand again
"I love you baby, I don't ever want to hurt you, you know that right?" He is not letting it go.
"Angus, it was a fight but I'm over it, I know you wouldn't hurt me, I know you were just playing around but I just don't like when you two talk about me as if I'm not there. It's like Ive lost my own free will and you're both making decisions for me" I explain
"I'm sorry, I should know better" He says sadly, "do you wanna stay again tonight?" He asks cautiously
"Yes Please" I reply and he smiles, we are through the woods and clear.
Our breakfast arrives and we are all chatting away
"So is Gerti here the only one in need of placement for work experience?" Angus asks the group, while loving that he can stir Tess again
"I'm going to my uncle's mechanics, I help him out every summer so it just seemed like the logical choice" Declan tells us
"Ugh, I have to be a receptionist at Daddy's company, He wants me to get a leg up for when I take over the company" Cassie groans
"Still not accepting that you want to study fashion?" I ask her
"My father doesn't believe in fashions unless it's suits styles" She explains and we laugh
"What about you Zoey?" Angus ask, I think he secretly is hoping I'm in need of a placement too but I organised mine the moment it was announced to us weeks ago
"I'm going to be doing mine at the vets near us in Brindleton Bay" I tell him and he smiles at me
"You will be perfect there, they will be lucky to have you" he says, kissing my hand.
We finish our breakfast and make our way to the fashion district where we find the ultimate formal wear store, CAS formal. Tess, Cassie and myself make a beeline to the long dresses and Declan to the suits, Angus waits at the counter and start chatting to the cashier, an older woman, she dresses fancy and I can hear her upper class voice but he's chasing her and she's loving it, I'm glad he has someone to talk to, that he's not just standing there bored. The girls and I pick a few styles of dresses from the racks, Tess picks all blue dresses of course but Cassie and I have a selection of colours, we make our way to the change rooms, we try on a dress, come out of the change room and show it off to Angus and Posh Lady and they give us both positive and negative responses to each dress. I walk out in a floor length, satin, yellow dress. Posh lady loves the dress on me, I'm not so convinced by the colour, having pale skin the yellow is just washing me out but I love the style.
"Does it come in another colour?" Angus ask her, reading my face
"I have it in red too" She tells us, finding it in my size on the rack and handing it over, I make my way back into the change room and slip into the dress, I look in the mirror and I just feel that this is the dress for me. I unzip it and place it back on the hanger, change back into my casual clothes and take the dress to the counter where I see the others have also made their choices too.
"No good?" Asks Angus
"I pick this one, it looks amazing on" I tell him
"You're not going to show it off to me?" He sounds disappointed
"It's bad luck to see the dress before the formal" I'm being cheeky, I know but I want to see his first reaction to me in it on the night and I'm hoping he understands that.
"All good baby, I can wait" He reassures me.
Posh Lady, boxes up our dresses and Declan's suit and thanks us for shopping there.
"But we haven't paid" I remind her
"It's all been taken care of, enjoy your formal kids" She farewells us.
Out on the street I turn to Angus and ask him "Did you just pay for my dress?", he smiles that beautiful cheeky smile and says "Not just yours"
"Angus you can not do this, you will go broke" I exclaim
"I don't think that's likely Zoey" He tells me
"Well thank you, I appreciate it" I kiss him
"Thanks from us too Angus" Tess says to him, speaking for the group, "I'm not going to kiss you though" She lets him know and we all laugh
"You're welcome" He tells them all
We go back to the apartment and the boys get ready to go to their soccer match, I follow Angus into his bedroom where he changes into his Llama's jersey, he looks so cute as a fan. Zoey, stop thinking about him naked while your sister, her boyfriend and your best friend are sitting in the next room, I need a new train of thought
"Do you wanna leave you dress here Princess?" he asks me, breaking me out of my dirty thoughts
"Yeah, that would make sense coz I'll probably get my hair and make up done in the city and the formal is at Myshuno Meadows so it would be easier to get to from here" I say, climbing into his lap while he's trying to put his shoes on, I start kissing his neck and running my hands under his jersey.
"Zoey, as much as I'd love to do this right now, your sister is sitting just out there in the lounge room and I don't want to cause any more drama for the day." I can hear the panic in his voice, he doesn't want a repeat of this morning and neither do I, I climb off him and go join the others on the lounge. Angus retreats from his room moments later and announces that it's time for him and Declan to go to the game, he leans down and kisses me goodbye.
"I love you Princess" He whispers to me
"I love you too" I whisper back
I see Declan saying his goodbyes to Tess and I can't help but feel a bit sad for Cassie, she deserves someone special too.
The boys make their way down the stairs but stop halfway, "Order dinner baby and anything else you want, tell them to charge it to me" Angus shouts up the stairwell
"Ok" I shout back and then we hear the front door open and they're gone
"Zoey, dish" Cassie says as soon as we hear the elevator doors open
"About?" I ask her, pretending I don't know what she's asking
"About Angus" Tess joins in
"What do you want to know?" I ask them
"What he's like?" Cassie pushes
"He's very intelligent, he did a lot of the same advanced classes I do for year 12" I tell them
"But he didn't go to university?" Tess asks
"No, I did him why but we got distracted and he never answered me" I tell her, thinking about last night
"What distracted him" Tess asks, suspicious
"The storm, we were watching it get heavier and how it covered the buildings" I lie to her, no, it doesn't make me feel good but it's easier than a lecture
"Maybe he didn't want to go to uni" Cassie speaks up, saving me, "Maybe it just didn't interest him or maybe he found something else he loved doing, he owns the gym so I'd say he's pretty happy without a degree"
We pass the time while the boys are away talking and watching random old TV shows. I order pizza for dinner and Tess runs to the mini mart for alcohol. The boys come charging in around 4pm, cheering because the Llamas won today.
"I got pizza and Tess got you guys beer and vodka for us girls" I tell him as he picks me up and spins me around in the air. "I'm guessing the Llamas lost then" I joke
"We creamed them" He shouts, acting as if he too was out on the field, "Tonight we celebrate" he says placing me back on the ground and grabs two beers from the fridge, handing one to Declan.
"They celebrate a ball being kick around a field" Tess groans as she grabs 3 glasses and pours a rough shot in each, I fill the glasses with pineapple juice and we 3 girls each take one, getting wrapped up in a win that isn't ours to celebrate.
"Do you all want to stay over?" Angus offers after dinner and a few drinks in, "Ive got heaps of room, Imogen's bed is free and the lounge is pretty comfy"
Tess and Declan take up his offer but Cassie informs us that she's flying out early in the morning for Del Sol Valley, she calls her driver and gets picked up. Now it's down to the four of us, like a double date getting drunker as the night goes on.
"Angus?" Tess slurs his name
"Yes Gerti?" He asks, holding himself together better than the rest of us
"Why didn't you go to university? Zoey says you're really intelligent" She throws me under the bus just to get answers, I shoot her a look but she's too drunk to care
"I got expelled" He tells us, shameful look on his face, Declan, Tess and I sit there staring at him stunned by his admission.
"What did you do?" Declan eventually asks, almost in awe
"I was a bad kid and I would do a lot of stupid stuff, most of which I got caught for and eventually Mr Landgaarb had had enough and kicked me out right before the exams" He puts his head down in shame but I don't want him to feel embarrassed at all
"You're not that kid anymore Angus, you've grown up a lot, you run your own business now" I tell him, trying to comfort him.
"I know baby" He says, kissing me on the cheek, "I'm just not too proud of it"
"When we were 10 Zoey told me on Christmas Eve that Santa wasn't real, completely destroyed Christmas that year" Tess offers up as a comparison and I nod to confirm it, Angus and Declan burst out laughing
"That's pretty brutal" Angus says to me
"She broke my doll house so she had it coming" I inform him, "The point that we are making though is these things happened in the past, they don't define us, you can always change your future. If you want to ever go to uni then theres other ways than having to go back to school and if you don't want to go then that's ok too, be proud of your achievements Angus. I'm proud of you" I tell him and he smiles brightly at me
"Thank You Zoey, you build me every day" He says kissing me softly
The night gets late and we all head to bed, Tess and Declan go down stairs in Imogen's room. I climb into bed with Angus and he snuggles into me, I place my cold feet on his legs and he doesn't say a word, we fall asleep like this
