Urgh, could I have been more cliché? That sounded like something Cal Weston would say. What a loser.
I opened my mouth to apologise for saying something so lame but the driver suddenly announced that we were home, and I felt my stomach drop.
‘You OK?’ Ethan asked. ‘You’ve gone pale.’
‘I don’t want to go in.’ I sighed. ‘It’s been such a fun evening, I don’t want to be home.’
‘And thus, Cinderella returned from the ball,’ Ethan said dramatically, making me laugh. He flashed me a warm smile. ‘You’ll be all right.’
I nodded and was about to undo my seat belt when he put his hand gently on my arm.
‘Speaking of which, you don’t have a date to the Christmas Ball, do you?’
RUB IT IN WHY DON’T YOU. Brilliant. He clearly thinks I’m this totally undateable weird little loser, who hides under tables and says lame things like ‘be yourself?’. How embarrassing.
‘Nope. I don’t.’
‘Want to go?’
‘I have to go,’ I replied, looking at him in confusion. ‘It’s my party. Well, my mum’s.’
‘I mean, together,’ he said slowly, as though talking to a dim-witted monkey. ‘Everyone seems to be going with a date this year and I don’t have one – I was just wondering if you wanted to go together?’
‘W-w-what?’ I croaked, my mouth suddenly very dry.
‘You’re really going to make me explain it for a third time?’ he asked, raising his eyebrows.
‘No, no, course not,’ I said quickly, shaking my head. ‘That . . . er . . . that would be great.’
‘Cool. Don’t look so scared. We’re friends, right?’
‘Right. Yes. That’s right. Friends. Great, friends. I mean, “great, we’re friends”, not “great friends” because you know, obviously, we haven’t known each other that long so it would be impossible to begreatfriends, rather than just . . . friends.’
OH MY GOD STOP TALKING.
‘Anyway,’ I continued, ‘what I mean is . . . yes. Friends.’
‘Good. Would be pretty cool to go to the Hotel Royale Ball with a Royale.’ He smiled, making my knees go weak. I moved to get out of the car but forgot to undo my seat belt. I was jerked backwards, prompting Ethan to burst out laughing.
Sure. I had to choose THAT MOMENT in front of a boy with THAT JAW who had just asked me on a DATE to completely forget the basic knowledge that a seat belt straps you into a seat. Thank goodness there were no reporters lurking around the hotel.
No one can ever know that happened.
I quickly unclipped the seat belt and clambered out on to the pavement.
‘Hey,’ he said, leaning over the back seat on to his elbow to peer up at me. ‘It was really nice talking to you. There aren’t many people I feel I can open up to. And I’ve never met anyone so adept with a seat belt before.’
‘If you’re not careful, I might be the one who starts writing mean comments on your vlogs.’
He grinned. ‘See you around, Flick.’
I shut the door and the car drove off, leaving me standing outside the main door. I was about to be in big trouble but I couldn’t stop smiling.
‘Evening, Miss Royale,’ the doorman said, as I walked up the steps. ‘Good night?’
‘The best,’ I replied, before going through the revolving door where Mum was waiting for me.
OMG OMG OMG OMG
