I couldn't tell if she loved it or absolutely hated it. One thing was for sure, though. She and her friends were very surprised. I don't think they were expecting this at all.

The only reaction I got, in addition to an undemonstrative and indifferent "Hm," was a lifted eyebrow as she looked in the mirror and analyzed my work as, well as a "Thanks for your time."

Then, she paid me and left.

I walked her to the door and thanked her for her business again. As soon as they left, I heard murmurs from her friends, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

What the heck? Why couldn't I read her? I was usually pretty good at knowing how my customers felt about the end result.

I shut the door and turned back towards the girls who were, of course, all standing behind me. They could tell I was deep in thought, going over the entire interaction I just had with Natalie. I was clearly perturbed. They looked confused as well.

"I wonder what she thought?" Lara was upbeat, probably trying to snap me out of my own thoughts.

"Well, I don't think she hated it, otherwise she would've probably said something." Mariana was characteristically optimistic.

"Well, don't you think she would've said something if she loved it?" Maddy looked frustrated too. "I mean, what's with that chick? It's like she didn't think it would turn out as amazing as it did. Like she was expecting you to flop."

"Yeah, but she looked surprised. I think she was pleasantly surprised. Why wouldn't she be? It looked exactly like the picture. Better, even!"

"Thanks, Elizabeth," I responded with a small smile. I was still wondering what was going through that girl's mind, but that made me feel a little better.

"Yeah, don't worry about it! It's probably the best hairstyle she ever got and she was just in shock." That made me smile more.

If it weren't for the girls, I probably would've spent the rest of the day going over each and every detail of the two hours that I spent working on Natalie's hair. But they wouldn't let me do that. They did a good job of keeping me busy.

I should've expected the next topic they would bring up.

"So, how was class with Elijah today?" Charlotte suggestively wiggled her eyebrows and nudged me with a teasing smile when I started to blush. "Huh?"

"Come on, you gotta at least give us something! How am I supposed to live vicariously through you if I don't have any details?" Elizabeth looked exasperated, almost like she was going into withdrawal after not hearing about Elijah for an entire afternoon.

"Alright, alright." I went to sit on the couch and the girls gathered around me excitedly like children getting ready to listen to a story.

  ↞↠  

As I recounted my entire morning, the girls couldn't contain themselves, especially when they found out Elijah was on the track team.

"Oh my gosh! I knew he looked familiar!" Charlotte shot up and started typing rapidly on her phone.

"What are you talking about?" I looked at Charlotte expectantly.

"You mean you haven't googled him yet?" Charlotte had a look of utter shock on her face.

"Now that I think about it, I'm surprised you guys didn't do that as soon as I told you his name." I looked at the girls with a smirk on my face as they all possessed looks of disappointment. In themselves.

Charlotte showed me a photo of Elijah mid-run, right before he won a big race.

"He's the school's track star!" Charlotte's eyes were wide and she was grinning ear-to-ear. "I can't believe I never put two and two together!" She was shaking her head in disbelief.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Elizabeth was sitting to my right on the couch. She held her left hand to her temple and squeezed her eyes shut as she gritted her jaw. "I can't believe I could've let you go out with a total creep! How could I not have looked into him?"

"Calm down, Elizabeth. It's okay." I was a little taken aback at how frustrated she was, but leave it to Elizabeth to exaggerate over nothing. "Elijah is the total opposite of a creep! Also, there's only so much you can gather from stalking someone online. Plus, it's nice to get to know someone the old-fashioned way."

The girls looked completely unaware of what I was getting at. Finally, I'm not the clueless one!

"I mean, talking to someone in-person."

"Ohhh!" Of course, they replied in unison.

Elizabeth was still mumbling to herself about how horrible of a best friend she was to practically "throw me to the wolves."

"Elizabeth, what are you talking about?" I was trying to speak in between laughs. "Elijah is amazing, he's not like other guys. Not in the least bit."

I bit my bottom lip and looked down at my legs, trying to hide my reddening cheeks, but I knew the girls already caught me by the way they were squealing.

"He's soooo amazing!" Maddy was imitating me, which only made me blush more.

"I know I've barely been out with him, but... Ugh! It's hard to explain! It's like I've known him for forever."

Before they could go on with their teasing, a single noise averted our attention and made my heart to stop.

Zzzzt

Six sets of eyes flew to my phone.

I beat Elizabeth to the punch and quickly snatched it off the coffee table. When I saw the notification, I smirked and glanced at the girls. They looked like they were about to pass out from the anticipation.

"Its just my mom. You can breathe now."

They all released a breath I don't think they realized they were holding in. Their disappointment was pronounced, which made me even more amused.

I rolled my eyes, still smiling to myself, and looked at the message as I sauntered to my room.

Hello Sweetie! I just wanted to check in. I don't want to bother you, so call me whenever you get the chance. I love you so much!

I pressed the call icon in the top right corner and plopped onto the bed. She picked up on the second ring.

"How's my college girl doing?"

"Great! Everything is amazing." I smiled to myself as the last word put a vivid image of a grinning Elijah in my mind. "I had 2 lectures so far. I'm really enjoying them. I don't start the work-study program for a few more days, so that should be fun. Oh! Guess what?"

"Did you meet a boy?"

My face flushed. I wasn't expecting her to say that. I guess I get my intuition from my mom. I don't know why, but I didn't feel like I was ready to talk about Elijah with her just yet.

"Actually, I was going to tell you that I decided to use my kit. I figured it would be useful to have some spare change, just in case."

I felt guilty. The only other time I lied to my mom was when Addison was up to no good.

"I knew you would get some use out of it! How are things going with that?"

My mind immediately jumped to Natalie and her sniggering posse.

"It's great! We were able to help a lot of people out today. There's a party tonight, so the girls and I worked together to create a makeshift styling station in the living room. It was actually pretty fun."

I could tell my mom was smiling by the uplifted tinge to her voice. "I'm glad everything is working out. Are you going to the party?" The hope in her question was evident.

"No, I'm pretty tired from class and working all afternoon. I think I'll just stay in with the girls. Maybe we'll order a pizza and watch a movie."

"Oh. Okay."

Her attempt at shielding her disappointment broke my heart. I knew she wanted me to break out of my shell and make tons of friends in college like I was never able to do in high school. She wanted this to be different. She wanted me to have the "perfect college experience" that she never got to enjoy.

"I promise I'll go to the next party, Mom. Cross my heart."

"Oh! I can't wait for you to tell me all about it afterward. My baby's first college party!"

"Mom, it would pretty much be my first party ever. The ones from primary school where my whole class had to come don't count. I barely even remember them, anyway."

"That's precisely why I want you to go. It would be a great opportunity to branch out, maybe meet a nice boy..."

"Mom! You're sounding just as boy crazy as Elizabeth!" That was a little bit of an exaggeration, but it still reminded me of my crazed roommate. That's a scary thought.

She laughed on the other end of the line. "I know, I know. I'm just kidding."

"Sure, Mom! Sure!" I have a very close relationship with my mom, but I always got bashful when it came to boys.

"Well, I'm going to let you go relax with the girls. I saw a commercial for a marathon of 'The Conjuring' franchise tonight. I know they're your favorite horror movies!"

"Ooh! That's perfect!"

"Just don't traumatize them, Sara. Some people can't sleep for days after they watch stuff like that."

"Sure, sure. I won't push them too far..."

My mind went back to all of the times the girls brought up my favorite topic of conversation these last few days. Note the sarcasm. This could be my chance to get some revenge.

"I'll talk to you soon, Mom. I love you!"

"Love you too, Sweetie! Goodnight!"

  ↞↠  

I took it upon myself to order the pizza for dinner. It was the least I could do after the girls worked so hard today to help me out. Also, I was already feeling bad for what I was about to do to them.

I knew none of them were big fans of horror movies like myself. This was going to be interesting.

  ↞↠  

After I ordered dinner, I was about to go back into the living room to wait for the delivery with the girls until I heard another notification alert on my phone.

That time, the pool of people who could've been texting me was a lot smaller. But, I had an idea of who it was...

Helllooo. I just finished practice. How was your day?

Hey! It was fine. Uneventful. How was practice?

...Kinda repetitive. I would've much rather spent the afternoon with you instead of a bunch of sweaty guys.

It's nice to know that my presence is more appealing than that of a group of sweaty guys!

...Haha! There's no contest. But seriously, I can't wait to see you again. I've been thinking about you all day.

I bit my bottom lip after reading his message. Even over text, he puts butterflies in my stomach.

I can't wait to see you too. Am I going to have to wait until our next class?

It was interesting how much courage I had over text.

...Not unless you want to go for a run again...

Nooo!!

...Haha! Don't worry! I wouldn't do that to you again, out of the kindness of my heart. Even though I did rather enjoy carrying you home.

I felt my face redden even more. Why does he have to be such a flirt? I mean, it's not that I don't enjoy it, but I don't think my heart can take much more of it.

...I'm just kidding, though. I wanted to ask you if you were free tomorrow afternoon.

As a matter of fact, I am. What do you have planned for us?

...You know how big a fan I am of surprises...

Ahhh, another surprise! I should've known.

...Haha! Just be ready by twelve. Wear something comfortable.

Okay. I'll see you then!

...Goodnight, Sara.

Goodnight, Mr. Chameleon Eyes.

Should I send that? Is it too flirty? Before I could hold my finger on backspace, I closed my eyes and pressed send.

...

For a minute, I watched Elijah type a response. My heart was racing. I wonder if he was blushing as much as I was?

...You do realize my heart flies every time I speak to you, right?

How was Elijah so open with his feelings? I felt like I was overthinking everything, but Elijah seemed to be great at saying what he thought without fussing over it.

...I have a surprise for my roommates and I need to run home so I don't miss it. It's a time-sensitive master plan!

Have fun with your surprise. I know how much you enjoy them!

...Oh, I will! I'll tell you about it when I see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, Sara.

Sleep well, Elijah.

  ↞↠  

I'm glad Elizabeth didn't walk by our room when I was blushing into my phone. Thank goodness she thought I was talking to my mother!

I decide it's best to take my mind off of Elijah to avoid more questions.

Next task of the night: convincing the girls to watch my favorite scary movies!

A devious smile crept onto my face as I slowly walked back into the living room, but I figured it would be better if I waited until the movies were about to start before revealing my plan. I brought up a different subject so I wouldn't give myself away.

"I ordered dinner and it should be here any second!"

I grabbed the remote and flipped to the right channel. We still had fifteen minutes before the marathon started and the girls had no idea of what they were in for!

After I sat on the couch, there was a knock at the door.

"Ooh! Foods' here! I'll get it!" Elizabeth jumped up and ran to the door. She took a little while to pay, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was more focused on tonight's entertainment. Well, to be honest, I had a feeling the girls' reactions would be more entertaining than the movies themselves.

I looked around as the girls innocently started taking their food.

Ooh, did I have plans for them!

****
Don't worry! This isn't the last you'll see of Natalie and it certainly isn't the last you'll see of Elijah!

I threw in some more flirting for you because I know how much you love it!!

What do you think their next surprise date is going to be like?

Just out of curiosity, do you like horror movies?

Please remember to VOTE and COMMENT if you enjoyed reading!! Thank you for your support!

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Well...