Song of the chapter: Nervous by Shawn Mendes *you'll know when I intended it for*

The rest of my Tuesday night goes past in a blur of chocolate and long sisterly talks, a lengthy reminiscing session of the old and simple times direly needed in this time of sudden change and growth.

When Wednesday morning arrives, I awake to the sight of Lexi's bags all packed up and ready to go beside the door as she waits to say goodbye and go back home. She hasn't told me how or when she is planning on telling Mason, Dad or Baba about the pregnancy but I just assume that she'll be doing it promptly once she arrives back home, so I remind her that I'm always there for her if she ever needs me.

We keep our farewells quite short, the both of us still not the most awake since it isn't even seven in the morning yet. After a few words and warm embraces are exchanged, Lexi makes her way out, claiming that she'll be fine to make her way around without me, so I go ahead and start getting ready for work.

As the mayhem of our lives continues to send our lives spinning with chaos, the fast pace of it all throws us into December, the month seemingly arriving out of nowhere despite it feeling as though the year had only just begun. With this time of year came the increasing degree of chill; the type that kept you yearning to remain within the warmth of your bed under a blanket and which never seemed to decrease no matter how many layers you wear.

I had always been one to enjoy the heat, usually found outside basking in the raw warmth of the sun on a scorching hot day while others locked themselves away in their air-conditioned rooms. I think that was one of the things I truly loved about Australia- it was so magnificently warm there during the warmer season but never too cold during winter. Australia's coldest winter days were like a typical autumn here. The fact that there was no snow there, except in some mountain regions, also helped satiate my desire for warmth, with snow being beautiful to me but also so incredibly cold and irritating at times.

Reminiscing of my days living in Australia makes the reality of the current cold more devastating, the frosted windows which appear before me making matters worse. As soon as the temperature dropped to make way for winter I couldn't ever seem to wear enough layers. It wasn't that I was someone who was always cold, I just extremely enjoyed a state of incredible warmth.

This made it harder to dress myself when winter would arrive, finding myself going through so many pieces of clothing which would have to be washed more often if I wanted to have something to wear. It is only halfway through the week so I still have some clothes to choose from, my supply not yet diminished.

I turn on the heating as I flick through my wardrobe, hoping it will be warm enough in my room by the time I have to get changed, as there was nothing worse then having to get changed when it is cold. Thankfully, it is toasty enough in my room, with the heating on full blast and my door closed, that when I need to get changed out of my incredibly warm and fluffy sheep-patterned pyjamas its manageable.

Although I would love to be able to wear my pyjama set to work, this particular set being my favourite, I don't think it'd be entirely appropriate. I check that Charlie is still sleeping and that I've turned my back to him, not wanting for him to see me in my underwear even if he is a dog, before I swiftly slip into my outfit. I've chosen a blouse, grey toned coat and scarf with slim fitted black pants and short heeled shoes, an outfit I hope will keep me warm and stylish enough.

To be safe, I slip on a long sleeved plain cotton top under my blouse with the fabric and shade of my blouse being able to hide any sight of the additional layer beneath it. I'm aware that it might make me appear slightly larger if I were to take off my coat, the blouse fitting tighter with the additional layer, but I know that there is probably not much of a chance that I'll be taking off my coat. Plus, I really couldn't care less if someone thought I looked a bit "thicker" than usual.

I had grown up with a bit of curves at times in life, my weight fluctuating, and had happily embraced them by this point. I knew that I had a bit of a larger chest and love handles than some other girls, knew that I had some cellulite and stretch marks, but I had well and truly passed the point of caring about it. That was at least what I liked to believe, but it also wasn't like anyone was really seeing much of my body.

At the end of the day, I was healthy by the book and I felt that I was healthy, so wasn't that the most important thing?

Equipped with a peculiar yet sudden surge of confidence, I flaunt my way out of my apartment door and begin my trip to work. Once I arrive at work and reach my little corner of the office, the calendar reminds me that I've only just reached the half way mark of this week and the curse of the "hump day" sinks in, myself already desperate for the weekend since this recent weekend wasn't exactly ideal.

I open up my emails only to find one waiting from Monique letting me know that she'll be coming in to the office a little bit later than usual. Nonetheless, this extra time I'm provided with to prepare for her appearance simply allows her to request for a coffee from a little cafe in the city that she'd heard "marvellous things about".

I take this new task as an opportunity for myself to leave the chaos of the office and possibly get myself a little treat too. I'm not really much of a coffee drinker but after these last few days with Lexi I was mentally exhausted and my body was begging for the extra energy boost, no matter how little I would usually want this particular source of caffeine.

Regardless of my exhaustion, I'm still not too big on coffee so I decide that I'll cheat a bit and have a mocha so I can sneak in some chocolate flavour to treat on too. I know that having something chocolatey isn't the best idea at this time in the morning but I truly couldn't care less. It's just this once and I'll eat something a bit more healthy later on to make up for it.

I complete a few tasks before I head off to this cafe that people are apparently "raving about", not wanting to leave too early to get there so that the coffee ends up cold for Monique by the time she arrives. I ask Chloe if she wants to come along and it just so happens that she's free enough to come along so I gain some company and we make our way out of the office.

When I tell her which cafe we're going to she claims she's heard of it and knows how to get there so I follow her lead and save myself the need to do a few searches on my phone for directions. We find the cafe soon enough, Chloe's directions proving to be correct, and sure enough, like every other trendy or popular cafe, it is completely full.

A line stretches from the raw wooden counters of the hip cafe to all the way out the door and I instantly groan at the long wait that we have before us. Thankfully, I hadn't left this coffee trip too late otherwise I'd be returning to the office either late or without Monique's requested coffee. I'm also grateful for Chloe's company, which keeps me sane and entertained during the long wait.

After quite some time filled with the noises of an overly loud and energetic group of people who surround us as they chit-chat, we finally reach the counter where I order a mocha and two lattes along with some little treats such as a chocolate croissant, a bagel and a blueberry muffin to share between us.

Okay, so it may not be quite so healthy like I had promised myself but it all looked so devilishly scrumptious that I couldn't turn it down.

Once I've ordered, Chloe and I move aside to wait once again with another group of people. We get to talking about our holiday plans and are soon deep into a discussion about where the best vacation spots were when we are interrupted by the sound of a male voice calling out my name in an unsure manner .

I look to the counter but there aren't even any males standing there so I know that it must not have come from a staff member. Having figured out that it wasn't coming from the staff, I turn around to see who it was that had called out my name. I check all around me but don't seem to find the source.

Just as I am about to turn back to Chloe to ask if she knew who the voice belonged to, I catch sight of a familiar face lost in a sea of suits and business-wear waiting for their orders.

He smiles when he sees that I've finally found him amongst all these people, the kind of smile that I instantly associate with him due to the cheeky little way he slightly upturns one side of his lips almost in a smirk, and waves to me from where he stands a few metres away.

He appears to be alone so he takes the sight of me as an opportunity to freely make his way through the groups of people over to where Chloe and I now stand. It takes a bit of pushing through, which he somehow manages to do in an effortless and swift way whilst I would have been awkward and slow, but he finally reaches us and stands before me, making me wonder if I'm making this all up in my head.

I had truly convinced myself that I would probably never see Theodore Harrington ever again and the thought had filled me with some strange emotions I couldn't understand. Yet now he stood before me, as perfectly composed as ever in his black suit and with his hair styled in the smooth comb over he usually has, as opposed to the naturally tousled structure of his hair which I had caught a glimpse of on Saturday morning.

"Ella, fancy seeing you here." he says to me so casually while I seem to have been rendered speechless.

I quickly swallow the pool of saliva which had swiftly filled my mouth throughout my shock and push away the surprise to become a proper functioning and socialising person. I had really thought I could just throw away any ability to be around Theo which I had built up but here I was in dire need of it.

"Uh.. yeah.. um I'm just here getting some coffee for my boss," I reply. Real cool, Ella. A+ for the stuttering and the explanation he really wouldn't care about. "It's good to see you. Your face looks better." I add.

As soon as the words leave my mouth I instantly regret them, my subconscious screaming and outstretching its arms out in an attempt to somehow grab them back. I was going fine, being a civil and polite person with my "good to see you" but I just had to add that little comment at the end as my attempt to make a joke.

That little smirk he already had seems to be growing by the second, especially as I try to recover myself rather horribly by saying "oh that sounded weird. I didn't mean you had a bad face. You don't have a bad face. Your face is nice. Not that it matters. Now I'm just calling your face nice which is weird."

Each word I utter seems to just be making this worse, the humour now showing clearly on his features as he bites his lower lip to hold back the laughter and raises his eyebrows with wonder.

I take a deep breath and say, "Anyways, what I meant was that your face is looking fine considering that I slapped you and that it was looking a bit sore before", summarising what I had intended to say all along but had strung along with a whole lot of other weird things.

"I figured as much," he responds, making it clear that my rambling and embarrassment was all for nothing, "But it's good to know that you think my face is nice." he adds, just to tease me.

Once that is all clarified between Theo and myself, and I'm left to deal with my embarrassment, the voice to my side reminds me that Chloe had been standing there all along and witnessed that disaster of mine. Theo has this irritating ability to make me forget my surroundings and Chloe was the victim of this effect this time around, with me honestly forgetting that she was right there. God, I'm a horrible person.

"You slapped him?" she chimes in, her expression not hiding the shock of hearing this new information. Chloe saw him as the hot successful guy who had come into the office and who I had a bit of a complicated meeting with, she knew nothing of how this complication had escalated this last weekend.

"Uh yeah, I did," I reluctantly answer her in a hush manner directed to my side, "Anyways Chloe, this is Theo. Theo, this is my friend Chloe. We work together." I explain, finally getting around to the necessary introductions I had completely neglected.

"A pleasure to meet you Chloe." Theo says as he outstretches his hand to meet hers in a handshake, ever the charming and sociable fellow. Chloe was already mesmerised by him through just a few photos but these interactions with him were already sending her in overdrive, the heart eyes practically appearing in her face as she swooned over his presence and words.

"The pleasure is all mine." she replies, her face growing more pink by the second as she attempts to minimise the way she is staring at him in awe. Yet somehow she's still composing herself better than I did.

The effect he has on people is obvious, he would surely be able to notice it, so I wonder how he feels about it all. Surely his ego would be so inflated by now with all these people gawking over him and being bewildered.

He turns back to me once these greetings are done, catching me as I clearly observe him with deep concentration in my attempt to analyse him. "As for my face, yes, its feeling a lot better. A bit of ice after you left my place helped to fix it up quickly but I don't know if my ego will be quite so easily repaired." he remarks, making me blush further as he teases and Chloe also turns to look at me with eyes wide with shock.

"I think it'll be okay," I respond, deciding that maybe I could do a bit of teasing too. I didn't want Theo to think that he could just appear and make me his vulnerable little puppet. If we were to be "friends", as he suggested, then I definitely couldn't continue like this.

"Let's hope so," he quips, "I might have to think of something you can make it up with, like you so kindly offered. That's what friends do, right?"

At this point I know that he's completely aware of how odd I find this proposed friendship that I had naively agreed too, considering that I can't control myself around him and was clearly affected by him. He's only teasing more now that I've shown him the full extent of my rambling and awkwardness.

"Uh... right... I guess so." I mumble. My mind begins to wonder what he could possibly want me to do to make it up to him, sending my thoughts in overdrive and my skin heating up. I thought it wasn't possible but I was now regretting that extra layer now as Theo's influence has me burning up and blushing with bashfulness.

He's enjoying this so much, I can tell. He has that devilishly handsome smirk of his on full display now, his immaculately structured teeth subtly biting into his bottom lip in a torturously perfect way. His eyes seemed to be practically sparkling with amusement as his impact on me is put on show for him.

"I think that's you," he randomly tells me, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I have no idea what he is talking about and this must be clearly written across my features because he elaborates, "I think your order is ready".

I take my attention away from Theo to look to the counter where, sure enough, I find the trendy barista waving to me and calling out "Ellen!". Didn't realise Ella was such a hard name to catch on to. I guess even places like this had fallen victim to the cursed ability of barista's understanding of names.

"Yeah, I guess so," I say, turning back to Theo to find him watching me as I attempted to catch up with things, "We better be off then."

"I suppose so," he replies. "It was nice meeting you Chloe," he says, wiping off his smirk to give her a warm smile, "And it was lovely seeing you Ella. I hope to see you again soon."

His eyes seem so concentrated on me yet his smile still manages to reach them in a way that has me entranced. "Uh, yeah, me too," I reply, fiddling with my hair and moving a strand back behind my ear as I attempt to control myself through the little distraction bashfully.

"See you around." he says as we make our way to the counter.

"See you Theo." I respond as I turn to look back at him one last time and find him watching me walk away.

I quickly grab our order and rush out of the claustrophobic cafe, dragging Chloe along with me. I don't dare look back at Theo another time lest I be caught.

Once we get outside and away from the crowd I let out a sigh of relief and slow down my pace.

""See you Theo"," Chloe teases, leading me to playfully slap her arm once I pass over some of our order to her and free a hand, "I still can't believe you know that fine specimen. Or that you call him Theo. Or that you slapped him!" she remarks as though she is reading the latest tabloids and learning all the new juicy gossip.

"Shhh," I jokingly respond, wanting to forget about everything I just did and said in there.

"When and why did you slap that beautiful face?" she enquires.

"That is a very long story." I tell her, not wanting to get into it right now and hesitant to discuss the whole Lexi situation.

"Well when you're free, I've got plenty of time to hear it." she tells me.

We're continuing our walk through the city back to the office when she suddenly turns to me and says "Ella, I'm a bit hurt you haven't caught me up with all the latest gossip. I think I'll have to find some way for you to make it up to me. That's what friends do, right?" she continues to tease, leading me to flipping her off as she uncontrollably cackles all the whole way back. 

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Finally updated! Sorry for all this lagging but uni is finally over and I have three months off now so hopefully I'll have plenty of time to update now.

Really enjoyed writing this chapter. Living for Chloe's teasing and crushing over Theo this chapter. You might be a little confused or not even have noticed but I changed Chloe's name from Stella to Chloe because I literally only just realised that it might be a little confusing with their names being so similar and rhyming. Oops. Sorry to complicate things but hopefully this will make things a little simpler. 

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, especially with the song playing throughout. If the first few lines of this song aren't Ella in this chapter then I must be crazy. 

Remember to vote/comment/share :) 

TheFictionDreamer

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