Kaden's Luna

I wake up on Wednesday morning to the sound of my incessant alarm. Grumbling under my breath, I roll over and search for my phone on the bedside table, my fingers finally curling around it. The screen light blinds me as I turn it on, making me groan as I remember I forgot to turn down the brightness last night.

I turn off my alarm before noticing a text from Kaden. He had told me that his flight to Toronto was around four in the morning and I see that he sent me a text at three twenty-five a.m.

Kaden: Boarding now. I miss you.

I smile giddily, turning to lay on my back. There are butterflies fluttering in my tummy and it suddenly makes me wonder if Kaden will always make me feel like a high school girl with a crush. I decide to text him back, knowing he has landed by now.

Luna: I miss you too! I hope you had a safe flight and good luck with the meeting.

I sigh and place my phone back on the table, knowing I must make the effort to get out of bed and go to college. Or...I could just skip. I think to myself and then immediately shake my head. I reluctantly get out of bed and make my way to my wardrobe, picking an outfit for today before heading to the bathroom.

I brush my teeth before taking a shower, drying my body and changing into my clothes. I have picked a stripy shirt, denim jeans and a jacket to wear over it should it get colder during the day. I start on my makeup, rushing it slightly since I have less time because the hot water felt so nice on my skin and it caused me to now run a bit late.

After I’m done, I make my way to the full-length mirror in my bedroom and take a seat on the furry carpet in front of it. Plugging in my straightener, I decide to tackle the wavy mop on my head, happy with my sleek, straight hair as the result.

As I grab my backpack and phone, I open the door to come face to face with Eva who was making her way down the hallway. I greet her with the same tired expression and small smile as we make our way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Having our breakfast, we are out the door in fifteen minutes.

Eva drives us to college, grumbling under her breath at a lady who accelerated a little too late when the light turned green. I chuckle at her grumpy expression, earning a light shove from her. Finally, we arrive and Eva parks her car in an available space.

We make our way into one of the buildings where most of our classes are held this semester, finding the lecture hall and greeting some friends on the way. I take a seat beside one of my good friends I had made in second year of this course, Isabella. She’s from Italy and is soft spoken but the loveliest person I have ever known.

“Hi, Luna.” She smiles gently, her warm brown eyes taking in the students who are filling up the seats quite quickly.

“Hey Isabella, how are you?” I turn to face her after placing my notebook and pens on the table.

We chat about how it’s been too long since we last met up so we decide to have lunch today and hang out. I agree and suggest seeing this movie playing at the cinema today, grinning when she nods eagerly and rambles about how she has been wanting to see it ever since it came out.

“Sorry, I got a bit too excited there.” She blushes mid-ramble, laughing. “But yes, when is it on?”

“No need to apologise!” I chuckle, noticing the lecturer walk in. “It’s starts at four thirty.”

“I’m definitely free.” She nods after checking her timetable on her phone.

“Great! We can head there after classes end and go for some food after or something?”

“Perfect!” She smiles widely, moving her bag for a student who was searching for a seat.

Before we can chat any more, the lecturer turns the microphone on and starts to speak. I quickly open my notebook and scribble the date at the top along with the topic we are focusing on today. This is one of the lectures that I really enjoy learning about so even if it was held at nine in the morning, I wouldn’t miss it.

The lecturer is a funny man also and it’s quite evident that he loves his job and is passionate about teaching students. About eight minutes into the lecture he cracks a joke, eliciting laughter from us. I sigh lightly as I write down some notes, placing a star beside the important ones so I know which to focus on more during study.

The class finishes an hour later and we move on to the next one, which is in another building. Isabella bids goodbye, saying she’ll text me later before we go into town. Eva loops her arm through mine as we make our way out of the building and across campus.

We enter a room that looks more like a classroom straight out of a high school. This is where our tutorial is being held today, which is being taught by a post-graduate student on how to complete assignments and helping us to understand the material taught in lectures.

The one hour flies by and at the end of the class, I walk out with a solution and tips on how best to answer our recent assignment. Eva gives me a side hug, telling me how she has another lecture on the other side of the building before rushing off.

I check my phone and draw up my timetable, confirming that I have a class in this building. I start making my way towards the hall, catching up to Maddox who merges in with the crowd of students up ahead. He greets me with a smile, taking a sip from his coffee cup.

“When are you going to be free?” He asks as we make our way down the steps of the lecture hall, slipping into two free seats.

“I finish at three but I’m meeting up with a friend to go see a movie at four-thirty. Why?”

“Just asking.” He smiles, drumming his fingers on the table.

“Okay.” I nod before turning to face the front, opening my notebook as I did so.

Just one more hour before I can finally get something to eat. I smirk to myself, finding it ridiculous about how I always thought about food when in lectures when really, I should be concentrating on the material.

I return to my place around seven fifteen, immediately curling up on the couch with a tired sigh. I take my shoes off before stretching my legs on the couch and grabbing a book and my laptop to get started on the assignment that is due next week.

But, no sooner have I done that, I hear the front door open and close before footsteps sound in the hallway, making their way into the kitchen before coming back to the sitting room’s door.

“Luna, just the girl I need!” Maddox grins as he makes his way into the room before looking around. “Is Eva home?”

I look up from the book I was flipping through to find the right chapter for my assignment. “Hey, Maddox. No, she’ll be back in an hour though.”

I pull back my legs and he takes a seat beside me on the couch, taking the book out of my hands and throwing it onto the coffee table. I chuckle in amusement, closing my laptop because I know I won’t be able to get work done with Maddox Parker around. I turn my body towards him slightly, noticing the nervous expression on his face.

“What’s the matter?” I ask in concern.

“Um...so during winter break, Eva and I talked a lot over the phone...almost every day. It gave me a little hope and I-I want to ask her out on a date, but I don’t know how.” He sighs loudly at the end, slumping against the couch.

I stare at him for a minute in complete silence before cheering excitedly. I grab his shoulders and shake him in my little moment of happiness, before apologising profusely. He has a big grin on his face as he watches me with amused eyes.

“Oh my god! I’m so excited!”

“I can see that.” He laughs before leaning forward. “Okay, how do you think I should ask her out? Straight up or give her something too?”

“I think it’ll be sweet if you give her something.”

I rattle off some suggestions off the top of my head, none seeming to please him. I sit back, thinking of how Eva would like to be asked out on a date based on her personality. She had once told me that a guy had asked her out in school right in front of everyone and how much she hated it. So grand gestures were definitely out of the question.

I’m brought out of my thoughts when Maddox speaks. “What about her favourite pizza? I can write the question under the lid?”

I pause, staring at him in amusement. “Did you get that off Google?”

“...yes. Don’t judge me!” He cries, lightly shoving me when I burst into a fit of laughter.

I agree with the idea because Eva loves this pizza from a place in town. Maddox asks me to come with him, saying we could grab a few groceries on the way home. I put on my coat by the door before finding my purse and following him out the front door.

Once we’re strapped in, he starts the car and drives out of the neighbourhood, merging in with the traffic on the main road. The place isn’t that far from here and we decide to go to the supermarket first. I notice Maddox drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as we wait by a stop light, making me bite my lip to stifle my laughter. I find it cute how nervous he is over asking Eva out on a date.

Eventually, we arrive and he parks in an available space right near the front. We make our way through the aisles and grab the produce we need before walking back to the checkouts.

Maddox veers off and I turn, frowning in confusion when he makes his way towards the bouquet of flowers. I watch as his hand hovers between the white and red roses before he picks up the red bunch.

“Roses?” I ask with a smile when he walks back to me, thinking how cute it was.

“Yeah, if she agrees.” He shrugs before his eyes widen in panic. “Why? Is this too much? Oh my god, I should put these back and –”

“No!” I burst into laughter, grabbing the bouquet of roses from his hands and placing it in the basket. “It’s so sweet, I’m sure Eva will love these!”

He sighs in relief before we join the queue. We pay for the groceries and flowers before exiting the supermarket and getting back into the car. Next, Maddox drives to our destination, which is the pizzeria. It is only a five-minute drive away and soon, we are parking right outside it.

Maddox and I walk in and order Eva’s favourite pizza for takeaway. At that moment, I receive a text from her saying that she is home and asking where we went. I reply saying that Maddox and I are out getting groceries, feeling excitement rise within me at what’s going to happen tonight.

After waiting around, our pizza is done and we make our way back to the car. The whole ride back to our place consists of me trying to calm him down as he tells me how nervous he is, wondering if she’ll say yes and how awkward it’ll be if she says no.

I highly doubt she’ll say no because Eva had mentioned that she was starting to like Maddox more than a friend over winter break. I kept it to myself and seeing the effort Maddox is putting in now, I knew it was the right decision.

We arrive at our neighbourhood and I get out of the car. Maddox and I have already planned that I will go in first and see if the coast is clear. If Eva is downstairs, then I will let Maddox know before hurrying upstairs so they can have some privacy.

I walk in and check the kitchen and sitting room to see no sign of Eva, a noise from upstairs alerting me that she is in her bedroom. I wave at Maddox to come inside, closing the door behind him. We make our way into the kitchen where he sets down the box and grabs a sharpie from the dining table.

I stand behind him as he opens the lid and writes on the cardboard, so when Eva opens it she’ll see: Will you go out with me? Yes = You can eat the pizza. No = Five backflips.

My eyes widen and a short burst of laughter escapes me, making him hush me. “Eva can’t do a backflip!”

“Exactly.” He grins mischievously before closing the box.

Handing him the bouquet of roses, I whisper good luck before pushing him towards the stairs. He takes a deep breath before smiling shakily at me and climbing the stairs. When I see him disappear, I go back into the kitchen and start putting away the groceries.

I really hope Eva says yes, knowing how much Maddox likes her. All of it started making me miss Kaden so I take a seat on the couch in the sitting room and pull out my phone. I see that I have a text from him which instantly makes me smile.

Kaden: Just finished with the first meeting, it went well. Let me know when you’re free, I want to FaceTime you.

Before I can reply, I hear a loud squeal from upstairs. I grin, assuming Eva had said yes. I turn back to my phone, knowing it will be a while before she comes downstairs since she has pizza. Deciding to try and video call him, I hope he’s free and I don’t end up disturbing him.

Thankfully, he picks up as soon as I have plugged my earphones in. I smile and wave, greeting him. His hair is wet and hanging down onto his forehead, blue eyes dark.

“Hey, baby.” He says, making me smile.

“Hi, Kaden.” I grin, watching as he pulls the duvet on top of his body. “Did you only have one meeting today?”

“No,” He shakes his head, brushing his hair back with his hand. “Three. I’m exhausted right now, two were one hour each and the other was two hours.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have asked you before video calling, we could have talked tomorrow.” I bite my lip, playing with the hem of my shirt.

“I wanted to talk to you before sleeping so it’s fine. Tomorrow’s meetings start late anyways.” He leans over and grabs the remote before turning off the television. “What did you do today?”

“I had some classes until three. I helped Maddox today too, he just asked Eva out on a date.” I grin, watching as he sits up in bed only for the blanket to fall to his waist making me stare it at his defined torso for a bit too long.

“What did she say?”

“She said yes! Maddox was so cute, he got her favourite pizza and wrote the question in the box along with a bouquet of roses.” I gush, slipping off my flats and resting my legs on the couch.

“Well, that definitely beats the way I asked you out.” He replies, a small smile on his lips.

“I liked the way you asked me out. It was unexpected.” I grin widely, hearing his low chuckle.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. How about we have a date night when I get back?” He asks, making me nod and agree enthusiastically.

After that we talked about anything and everything, wanting for this call to never end. When I had asked about Toronto, he had got out of bed and showed me the view from his balcony during our conversation. I managed to see the numerous lights from the tall skyscrapers.

Sometime later, I could tell that he was getting tired and I knew I needed to let him rest up. He refused though, shaking his head and telling me not to hang up. It made me laugh and I finally convinced him by promising that we would talk longer tomorrow.

He agrees, albeit reluctantly before we say goodnight. I wave at the camera, seeing him copy my action before I cut the call, his face disappearing from my screen. Sighing lightly, I smile down at his contact picture. It’s one that he had taken whilst I was asleep over at his house one day. My head is resting on his chest and he’s pressing a kiss to the top of my head whilst I sleep peacefully. When I had found it in my gallery, I immediately made it his contact picture.

Standing up from the couch, I hear Eva making her way down the stairs and before I could open the door, she does it for me. I laugh as she practically tackles me in a hug before leading me to the couch and telling me all about how Maddox had just asked her out.

“It was so sweet! He got me my pizza!” She grins brightly, making me smile.

“I’m so happy for you two! When’s the date?” I ask, chuckling at how her light green eyes are shining in excitement.

“Tomorrow! I’m excited but so nervous at the same time! You have to help me get ready.” She demands, making me nod eagerly.

“I wouldn’t miss it.” I state, wanting to return the favour from when she helped me get ready for my first date with Kaden.

“Talking about me girls?” Maddox asks with a roguish smile as he saunters in and squeezed between us on the small couch.

“No.” Eva blushes and I chuckle, nodding at Maddox just to tease her.

She slaps my shoulder before groaning when the both of us start to make fun of her. Although she knew it was all a bit of light hearted fun, she still pretended to be angry and grumble under her breath about how we’re such kids before stalking off to the kitchen.

Maddox and I don’t stop though. We follow her into the kitchen with him imitating her in a high-pitched, girly voice. I grin and walk over to the counter, hopping onto it and stealing Eva’s strawberries when she’s too busy telling Maddox off.

At this rate, if he continued he would either get something thrown at him or end up being chased by Eva throughout the house. And in the end, Eva always wins. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.