Chapter 5
“Rise and shine sweety! Oh, and Happy New Year to ya!” Rainey said brightly as she pulled up the Venetian blinds in Toni’s room. Toni groaned, pulling a pillow over her head. Rainey plopped down beside her, taking the pillow away. “Buzz off Rain! I have a terrible headache.” Toni lied, turning over to lie down on her stomach. She wasn’t having a headache at all. She was having a terrific dream about someone and wanted to continue it. “Well, looks like someone’s totally loved-up today.” Rainey said, noticing the smile on Toni’s face. “Yup!” Toni said as she stretched herself. “Hmmm… well, I guess I’d be loved-up as well if it’s my first month anniversary with my boyfriend. Especially if he’s already downstairs waiting for me to get up.” Rainey said. Toni froze. She suddenly felt so guilty. The dream wasn’t about Mark at all. To top it all off, she forgot it was their anniversary. She couldn’t believe it! If she managed to forget the first month what about the first year? “Something wrong?” Rainey asked as Toni got up. “Nothing.” Toni stammered as she fixed the bed. “You sure?” Rainey asked, watching a very nervous looking Toni. Toni nodded as she headed for the bathroom, avoiding eye contact with her. “I hate it when she lies to me.” Rainey whispered, heading out of the room.
Mark looked at his watch. It was already 9 o’clock, and Toni was still asleep. “Well, she did party hard last night.” he thought as he looked around the flat that Rainey and Toni shared. They’ve been best friends since who knows when, and Rainey was also a great friend of Mark’s best friend, Rowan. He got to know Toni more because of that. He liked her when she just laughed about that incident that happened between them at the party, and he liked her more the more he got to know her. She didn’t even seem to care at all that he was in Westlife. It was funny how she listened to their records all the time, even if they were together. She’d play it quite loudly when they were going for a drive or just chilling out at her room. She loved the songs but she didn’t seem to love the group itself. In fact, Mark hasn’t even heard her say “I love you” yet. Maybe it was because he hasn’t said it himself either and she was just waiting for him.
Mark snapped out of his thoughts when Rainey came down the stairs. “She’ll be with you in a sec.” she said. “Thanks.” Mark called after her as she disappeared from view. He was once again left in his thoughts. Something bothered him terribly last night. It was something that he saw. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him. It surely couldn’t be. It could never happen. “Hey there blue eyed gorgeous!” someone said softly, snapping him out of his thoughts once more. He smiled, looking up at Toni. She was wearing black jeans, a white top and a wooly cardigan was tied around her waist. Her short dark brown hair was in the same way as usual, parted in the center. The right side was tucked away at the back of her ear while the left was perfectly curved inward, although the tips at the front were curving outward. It was her same usual get-up, plain and comfy, but she took his breath away. He got up and placed his arms around her, giving her a kiss. “Happy umm… ‘monthsary’!” he whispered in her ear. She giggled softly. “Same to you! Oh, thanks for the roses and the teddy bear by the way. What a surprise it was really. Did you go into my room or did you ask Rainey to put it in my closet?” she asked, looking up at him and into his baby blue eyes. Mark still held her in his arms, and he had no plans of letting go. “Well… I wanted to do it myself and I also wanted to see what you look like when you’re sleeping but Rain wouldn’t let me… I guess she thought I had umm… other evil plans on you!” Mark said, doing a mock devil laugh. Toni smiled, giggling softly. She was about to thank him once more but Mark shut her up by placing a soft and sweet kiss on her lips. “Mmmm…” she murmured as Mark pulled away. His eyebrow shot up, causing Toni to blush. “Liked that didn’t you?” he teased, making her blush even more. Mark laughed softly, seeing that he embarrassed her. “Come on! Let’s go!” Mark said, grabbing her hand. Shouting their goodbyes to Rainey, they closed the door behind them and stepped out into the warm sunny day of a new year.