"Dad ! I already told you to take out everything you have in your pockets before putting your clothes in the washing machine !" Angela screamed from the laundry room.
"Sorry !"
"It's not that complicated." she grumbled, throwing the clothes violently.
She grabbed another hoodie and searched the pockets. She frowned as she felt something crumple under her fingers.
"Gabrielle MÃ rquez." She read out loud. "Why Gaby's mail doing in my pocket-"
She purged the envelope and found a letter.
She started to read.
And the more her eyes read the letters, the bigger they got. She opened her mouth wide in shock.
She gasped.
Then got up quickly and banged her head against the shelf above the washing machine.
She groaned in pain and almost ran out of the room.
"Tim I need to use your-"
Paul rolled over on the couch and frowned. "Angela you're bleeding-"
"Where's Timothy ?" She asked quickly, pacing around the living room.
"He went to buy me some shaved foam why-" He stood up and opened his eyes wide as he saw drops of blood falling down his daughter's forehead. "That's a lot of blood. You don't want us to go to the hospital-"
"I'll walk." She announced as she took the door in hand.
"Walk where-"
The door slammed.
------------
"You had a crush on me ?" Angela asked, pointing to the letter she had in her other hand.
Lottie remains silent, and then she nodded. Her eyes roved over Angela's hand and the crumble paper in between her fingers.
"I still do."
"You have a crush on me ?" She asked in disbelief tilting her head to the side with frowning eyebrows
The blonde was at Lottie's doorstep, completely drenched from head to toe. The wound on her head no longer had any trace of blood from the water that had trickled into her hair.
"And you rejected me." Lottie mumbled as she clutched the front door in her hand. "Twice."
"Wha-" She looked behind her. "How twice ? You never-"
"You never agreed to be friends. Which to me sounds like a rejection." Lottie cut her off as if it was obvious.
"I didn't want to be your friend because I wanted to be more ! I have feelings for you and that's why-" Angela pushed the letter against her chest. "I couldn't be around you, because I knew I had more than just a crush on you."
Lottie looked down as she picked up the letter. "Oh, I wish I knew."
"I wish I knew that too." She smiled sadly. "Lottie what you wrote in that letter, that's so-- I never thought anyone could love me when I didn't even love myself at the time."
"I never thought you would like me back." She chuckled awkwardly as she took a step forward.
"I never thought you that you would like me in the first place." Angela replied by looking up at her.
The first drops of water made Lottie shiver as they touched her skin.
But she noticed how wet Angela's face was. Drops of water tumbled down her cheeks and with each blink of her eyelashes she made them splash.
She reached her hand to tuck the locks of her hair behind her ear. Water passing between her fingers. The palm of her hand rested along her jaw.
Angela's eyes staring intently into hers, the blue of her eyes darkening, her pupils dilating.
"Can I kiss you ?" Lottie whispered, stroking her lower lip with her thumb.
"Hm mm." Angela nodded slowly, already standing on her tiptoes to lean in.
Lottie leaned down and pressed her lips to Angela's in a soft kiss.
A victory horn sounded.
Angela chuckled as she parted from Lottie to rest her forehead against hers, wrapping her arms around her neck. "That's Alfred, right ?"
"Yeah." She smiled as she put her hands on her hips.
The blonde turned around and saw the driver salute her with his cap from the car.
"He has always been a fan of us." Lottie whispered as she trailed kisses down Angela's neck.
"I'm officially one too." She responded by waving her hand in an exciting way to Alfred.
-------------
After clearing things up with Lottie. Angela had gone home and had almost passed out on the couch.
And Timothy had been the one who had been the most alerted and brought her to the hospital.
And apparently she needed stitches. But the doctors had put her to sleep through anesthesia because she refused to have her head touched.
"She's not leaving with you !" Paul exclaimed, pointing menacingly at the woman. "I don't want the disaster of last time to happen."
"Because that's better ?" Gabrielle scoffed, placing her hands on her hips imposingly. "She has a concussion. And how did you even let her out like this ?"
"I haven't had time to catch up with her. And she's fine." He said, pointing to his sleeping daughter with both hands.
"Can you guys stop arguing ?" Timothy asked irritably from his hospital chair, phone in hand. "This is neither the place or the time."
Paul sighed before sitting down in his chair next to his son.
Gabrielle sat in the one at the other end of the bed with an empty seat for her husband.
A tall figure entered the room and Timothy opened his eyes wide when he recognized Lottie.
He waved her away with his hands.
She just made a confused expression looking left and right.
He began to fidget in his chair making his father frown.
"What's up with you-" He looked where his son was looking and frowned even more.
"Oh. Look who it is."
Gabrielle turned around and smiled.
Timothy slapped his forehead before sinking deeper into his chair hiding in his phone.
Paul cleared his throat sternly indicating the chair next to Gabrielle with his eyes.
Lottie sat down immediately. Shoulders clench as if Gabrielle's touch would burn her.
"G-Gaby ?" A small voice was heard.
"Hey." The woman stood up quickly to approach her daughter who was sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"I-I want to go home." Angela mumbled, opening her eyes slowly. "Where's Carlos ?"
Paul got up quickly. "She's still in a daze. She doesn't know what she's saying-"
"That sounds pretty clear to me." Gabrielle spat, turning her head in the man's direction. "She didn't even talk to you so you shut up-"
"Both of you." Timothy stood up with a grunt before pointing at the two parents with his phone. "Get out of this room immediately."
"-I beg you pardon-"
"-What-"
"She is sick. And all you know how to do is wrangle her like a doll." He slipped now pissed off. "Get out of here and leave those who really care about Angela alone."
When he saw that the two did not move. He grabbed his father by the shoulder of his coat. And motioned for Gabrielle to follow him out of the room sternly.
He turned one last time to Lottie who was sitting uncomfortably. "Take care of her while I fix this, please."
She nodded and the three walked out of the room.
You could still hear arguing noises coming from outside.
"I don't want you to see me like that." The blonde complained, turning her head. "Hospitals are killing all my beauty."
"Are you still high ?"
"I don't know. Is your head the Spotify logo ? Am I asking you about it-" Angela rolled her eyes.
"Well, you're still high." She chuckled as she pulled her chair closer and uncrossed Angela's arms gently to take her hand.
"You're perfect, even with a bandage around your head." She reassured her with a smile.
"Oh Lottie." Angela squeezed her hand back with a kind smile."You still look like the Spotify logo because I'm fucking missing Mariah Carey or every-"
"You can't listen to music with your concussion." Lottie cut her off her in a low voice.
"No music ?" Her eyes filled with tears and her lip began to quiver. "At all ?"
Lottie couldn't help but suppress her smile at Angela's cuteness when she was high.
"It's okay, it's okay-"
"It's not okay. It's not !" She wiped away her tears dramatically with a sniffle.
"Do you want a hug ?" Lottie offered, shaking her hand.
"Yeah."
-------------
"So when is she getting out of the hospital ?" Laura Lee asked leaning against her cause which was next to Lottie's.
"Hopefully by then, tomorrow." She smiled as she picked up her last books before closing her locker.
Music began to echo loudly in the hallways and the two friends turned their heads at the same time.
A crowd had gathered not far from Lottie's locker and phones had already come out in her direction.
She frowned in confusion at all the attention on her.
"And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die"
Angela stood out from the crowd with a huge sign in her hand accompanied by a bouquet of white roses.
"Do you want to be my girlfriend ?"
Was written in large letters next to a drawing of a double-decker bus crushing a mini Lottie and Angela together.
The taller girl approached with a smile.
Angela cleared her throat as soon as she got close enough. "Charlotte Matthews, would you be my girlfriend ?"
"Again..."
She pretended to think for a moment and the blonde hit her on the shoulder with the flowers.
"I mean yes of course !" Lottie rushed to say causing everyone to shout in encouragement.
Angela giggled and smiled hugely as she turned to point at Lottie behind her. "She said yes !"
Everyone applauded and even whistles echoed.
She pushed the sign and the flowers against Mia's chest.
Then took Lottie by the collar to crush her lips to hers. Lottie immediately responded to the kiss surrounding her waist with her arms to pull her closer.
"So, Jackie and Shauna, when is it your guys turn ?" Mari asked, rolling her eyes.
The two best friends exchanged a look before looking away, blushing furiously.
"Hey ! You !" A male nurse stormed into the school, pointing at the blonde. "You're not supposed to be here !"
Angela parted from Lottie with her eyes wide open. "Shit."
"What did you-"
"I gotta go !" Angela exlaimed as she started to run in the other direction.
A medical team arrived with a wheelchair.
"I just banged my head for god's sake!" She yelled from afar, rolling her eyes as she left the school.