Flat 64

Chapter 13

I'm grateful that Drew doesn't start talking again yet, not wanting the embarrasment of whoever is at the door hearing me being berated. I hear as Marley unlocks the door and then shockingly Mike's voice makes it's way into the room. "Hey, um I was just with Lottie and she left some stuff in my car, do you mind if I..." He trails off, obviously asking to come in. "Yeah, she's just through there in the lounge." Marley replies. Mike walks in with a smile, which quickly turns into a shocked expression seeing the tense looks on everyone's faces. I'm sure the sight of me surrounded by guys is almost comical, considering I never went into detail about who I lived with, other than my brother. He clears his throat before speaking to me. "Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt you guys but you left this," he says quietly to me, reaching out holding my work clothes. I look down to my hands, and see that I only have my bag with me. "Ah s**t, Thank you. You didn't need to run them up though, you already did so much-" He shakes his head and runs a hand through his hair, back to looking calm as always. "No it's fine, I was interested to know how this place looked anyway, considering how much you talk about it." he says with a chuckle. "Oh wait, while you're here I'll just go change, then you can take these back with you." I say, gesturing to his clothes I'm still wearing. Before I can rush off to my room, he reached out to hold my wrist, turning me back around. I look at him with confusion, but he only smiles back to me. "Don't worry about it, I'm in abit of a rush so just bring them with you tomorrow, yeah ?" he says calmly. I nod at him, feeling awkward at how many eyes are on us right now. It must be an awfully compromising sight. Me coming home in a guy's clothing, then him walking in with mine... Jackson's face flicks into my mind. But I shake the thought off and avoid looking his way. "Anyways, I should head off. It was nice to meet you guys." he says to everyone sat on the sofa watching. In reality I know how awkward he really felt, none of them made an effort to even say hello, he's just too polite to say anything. Before he walks towards the door, he turns to look at me once more, "See you tomorrow. 6PM, Don't be late." He says before walking out. I hear the front door shut, and no one in the room breaks the silence, except for Marley who burst out laughing. "Go on Lottie. How was it, was he any good? He looks like the type to-" All of a sudden Jackson stands and walks out the room, It's the first time I had looked at him since getting home, and he looked tense. Very tense. Drew stands too, before walking out the room, after spitting out a "Shut up Marley" which only caused him to laugh at me more. Danny is looking around the room awkwardly, I can tell he wants to say something, but he keeps it to himself. I almost say how we are just friends, but ultimately I decide to keep my mouth shut. It's none of their business what I do in my free time, and explaining that he's just a friend that I randomly decided to have a sleepover with would just open a can of worms I do not want to get into. Questions about why I didn't come home is not something I need right now, if anything, everyone thinking I like Mike means I don't need to think of an excuse for last night. Walking off to my room, I hear Marley and Danny start to whisper agressively behind me, no doubt gossiping about the drama I've caused. Rolling my eyes, I slip into my room and head for a shower. I hesistate, remembering how cold it was last time. For the past 2 weeks I have been using the guy's shower, using the guilt of not wanting to get hypothermia against them, but when I turn it on steam begins to fill the room, and I release a sigh of relief. Drew must have fixed it while I was out today and I couldn't be more happy.

After a long and warm shower, I wrap a towel around me and walk back into my room, letting out a squeal in surprise when I see none other than Jackson sat against my head bored staring at me intently. I'm frozen in shock, watching as his eyes trail down my body, hovering over places that are covered by the towel. "Um, Jackson?" I whisper out, which seems to snap him out of his trance. He looks me in the eyes with an unreadable expression, and I feel extremely uncomfortable at the intrusion. I so desperately just wanted to relax and take my mind off of everything but him being in here has clearly ruined my plans for tonight. My awkwardness changes to frustration, but before I can say anything, he beats me to it.

"You're such a hypocrite." He bites out, not once looking away from me. "I...Excuse me, what?" I stutter out in disbelief, not at all expecting him to say that. He rolls his eyes at me before continuing. "Don't act dumb Lottie, you know why."

"N-no, I really don't" The stuttering doesn't stop, and I mentally face palm at how pathetic I must sound right now. He scoffs in response to me, but I can see how angry he looks, hurt too? I can't really tell. "You gave me so much s**t about what I've done in the past, but here you are, fobbing me off then 5 minutes later getting with some guy acting like nothing happened between us? Maybe you're more like me than you realise." He says to me in disgust.

"I'm the hypocrite?" I chuckle out, my frustration has reached its peak now, and his accusation that is entirely wrong has me ready to blow a fuse. "You're sat here acting like a wounded puppy over the idea that I might have been with that guy, yet that's exactly what you have done to every girl I've ever known you to be with. After all, you are well known to forget about girls so fast that no one in the flat even bothers to learn the girls name when you bring one home. They would be gone by morning and never back again. This is what you've always been like though, so after what happened between me and you, I didn't let myself believe that you would want anything to change between us, even if I..." I trail off accidentally, stopping myself before I say something too embarrassing. He seems to have caught what I said at the end, his expression changing slightly. He leans forward, changing his position for the first time since I caught him in my bed. "Even if you what?" He presses me, His voice sounds less salty now, and I can hear the curiosity in him. I open my mouth to reply, but I really don't know what to say. If I explain what I meant it will only end up with me being embarrassed over spilling my guts to a guy who doesn't feel the same. I shake my head, looking away from him, finding the door to my bedroom suddenly very interesting to look at. He sighs, before I hear shuffling on the bed and footsteps coming towards me. Using a gentle touch, he turns me to face him. His eyebrows are furrowed, frowning deeply. I take a moment to relish in the feeling of his hands on me, even though he's just holding my arms at my side. I feel a shiver rush through me, every time I am in his arms I seem to forget about the rest of the world. He raises a hand, before hesitantly placing a finger under my chin and raising my head slightly. We are in the middle of an intense staring contest, almost as if daring the other to look away first. Remembering his practically bipolar attitude and how quickly he has gone from angry and distant to touchy and gentle has me trying to look away from him, but he takes my face in his hands, forcing me to look at him.

"Tell me what you were going to say Charlotte. Even if you what..." He whispers at me gruffly.