Chapter 2: Grover

Rain drops started to fall and the young man sitting by the window of a local restaurant,sighed audibly. He rose his arm and checked the Louis Vuitton wristwatch that adorned his wrist. It was almost nine pm and his date had not arrived, despite her promise to meet him on time,an hour and thirty minutes ago. He bit his lip as he ran his long fingers through his ridiculously long blonde hair.

He had wanted to get a haircut but his date thought he looked amazing with long locks and he figured that his haircut could wait since she had seemed infatuated with it. Honestly,he hated having such long hair. It was always a hassle, taking care of it and he planned to get a haircut,as soon as possible. He had just needed to endure it for his date whom he realized, might not even be meeting him anytime soon.

He figured that he had to call her to make sure that she wasn't caught up with anything important or worse, having a problem to deal with,that might be keeping her busy. She picked his call after the fourth ring and sounded breathless as she responded,

"Hello?",

"Um...hey Veronica,it's me." He informed and just in case she didn't remember who was on the phone with her,he added,"Grover... Grover Denzel.",

"The blonde guy with pretty long hair from AP class?",

"The one and only." He replied dryly, feeling a bit hurt that she had to think to remember him but he shoved down that feeling,"You said that you were going to be here for our date but that was like an hour and thirty minutes ago.".

"Oh my gosh, Grover!" She suddenly exclaimed and he heard the recognition in her voice. He was happy that she actually remembered him but she wasn't done talking,"I'm so sorry Grover,I got tied up with a lot of things...",

"Nah, it's okay." Grover assured her but deeply,he knew that he wasn't actually okay with it. He had just dipped his hands into his savings and had booked them a table at this restaurant, which took quite a deal of money. Not to mention, the wine and outfit that he had paid for to make himself look presentable to her.

"I'm sure whatever it is that you are dealing with,is much more important than a silly date." He guessed and he heard the hesitation in her voice when she replied with a sharp pitch,

"Absolutely...um... yeah,I was sooo busy.".

He frowned and wanted to find out what she was hiding when he heard the deep voice in the background,

"Baby?,who the hell are you talking to? Come back to bed.". Then there were sounds of rustling and hushed whispers before Veronica's voice came back to the phone,

"I'm so sorry." She apologized and cut the line before Grover could think of what to say.

He was stunned but he wasn't quite surprised that Veronica had blown off their date to meet some other guy. It always seemed to like that for him whenever it came down to girls. They always see him as a fleeting attraction, nothing more and most of the girls that he had been with,had wanted nothing more intimate or serious with him.

This wasn't the first time that a girl had stood him up but for some reason,he had the decency to believe that Veronica was different. Turns out,she was exactly like the rest of the girls that didn't want much from him and he figured that by now,he should be used to it. Most guys would love to be in his shoes, being wanted only for his body and nothing more,but Grover wasn't wired that way. He wished to fall in love. He believed that it was one of the ways that one could find happiness - the others being: genuine friendships and contentment.

It was time to get out of here and stop wishing that he wasn't always left in these kinds of situations. He called the attention of the waitress. She was a twentish brunette and her smile was polite as she approached him,

"Can I help you,sir?" She enquired and Grover pushed his glasses back in place,on the bridge of his nose,

"Can I have the bill?",

"Of course." She smiled patronizingly and excused herself to get the bill for him. He sighed as he waited for her and downed the last of his bottled water that he had ordered earlier, while waiting for Veronica. He was taking the wine home,at least he knew that it won't go to waste.

"Here's your bill,sir." The waitress returned and handed him the slip, holding a card reader in her hand. He quickly retrieved his credit card and gave it to her. She swiped it across the reader before returning the card to him,

"Thank you,sir. Have a good night.".

He allowed himself a smile as he reached for his pockets, taking out two fifties and handing them over to her as a tip, which earned him a huge grin from her,

"Thank you so much,sir.".

He shrugged and took his wine along with him,as he made it to the door. Once outside, the rain was only pattering gently but that didn't mean that he wanted to walk under it.

He called an Uber and the closest one, arrived in fifteen minutes while he waited on the veranda of the restaurant. He quickly got in and with the instructions to his place already given to the driver,he relaxed and the vehicle joined the traffic on the road.

Grover watched the rain tap lightly against the windshield and smiled gently as he took in the beautiful scenery of Blue lake town at night. It wasn't much, afterall it was a pretty small town but it's inhabitants took care of their home,in a way that made their little town look more like a downsized city. Lights from every building illuminated the darkness that surrounded them and many people could still be seen, going about their business as if they hadn't noticed that it was night already.

The Uber halted on the outskirts of town where the college was located a few miles, away from the off-campus accomodations. Blue lake college was built close to the Blue lake, from where the town got it's name and since the main campus could not house more than two hostels for students,an off-campus accomodation center was built and that was where Grover was staying.

He alighted from the vehicle and made for his building, taking two steps at a time and was hardly out of breath when he got to the third floor. He could have taken the elevator but he always argued that what good was it to have long legs and not use them.

The door to his apartment was open and he was grateful that his roommate had not left for the party that she had been preparing to go for. He made his way inside and dropped the wine on the kitchen counter before heading towards her room. Her door was slightly ajar when he got there and when he peeped in,he could see her facing her mirror.

She was using a pair of tweezers on her eyelashes and Grover grimaced as he watched her use it,

"I still don't understand the basics of women's fashion and trends. When I do,I should have a reward." He remarked and she dropped the tweezers on the ground as she turned to face him, quickly.

He grinned and went in further to pick up the tweezers in his hands, studying it for awhile before handing it back to her,

"I believe you were trying to blind yourself with this, right?" He teased and she rolled her eyes as she swiped off the tweezers from his hands and turned back to the mirror, inspecting the work done on her eyes,

"And I could have actually blinded myself with the way,you snuck up on me." She accused,

"You and I both know that you would continue loving me, even if that did happen .",

"That would only be possible,if and only if you let me blind you too.".

Grover smiled warmly at her reflection in the mirror as he went to stand behind her and she smiled back at him in the same manner.

Her name is Heather Miller and she had been Grover's childhood friend,ever since he had stood up for her in fifth grade when she was being bullied for believing in supernatural beings and other things, considered as hocus-pocus. He got wedgies for that , for the rest of the semester but it was worth it, knowing that he could walk home with her everyday and hang out with her whenever they were both free.

She was of an average height and quite curvaceous. Her honey blonde hair was wavy and cascaded all over her shoulders. She had added purple highlights for the party that she was preparing for and her chestnut brown eyes spotted a smoky eye makeup. Her cheeks had a light pink colouring while her rosebud lips were of a striking shade of fuchsia. She was wearing a thigh-length plum dress that hugged her curves,too well and a pair of her black heels sat by her feet.

"You are home early." Heather noted as she matted her lips once again before standing up to twirl in front of him,"How do I look?",

"Like a sex worker on the streets of Las Vegas." He replied and she pouted as she put her hands on her waist,"What? It is true!",

"You don't have to be so... specific about it." She complained but didn't show that she was offended by his words as as she turned to inspect her makeup again.

"I'm sorry." Grover genuinely apologized,"I'm just saying that you look too approachable. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm a saint for not jumping you, right now.",

"You are such sweet dummy." Heather giggled and laced her arms around his neck, careful not to rub her face against his as she leaned in for a hug,"You really didn't have to apologize.",

"I know." He replied with a smirk and she drew apart from him, punching him not so lightly on his shoulder,

"Asshole.".

He chuckled and took off his jacket as he settled his weight on her bed while she gathered her things,

"So...how was your date?" She asked and Grover shrugged as he lay on his back,

"The usual.".

At that, Heather turned to him and narrowed her eyes at him,

"What happened this time?" She asked,as if fearing the worst and Grover smiled bitterly as he interlaced his fingers behind his head,

"She stood me up and when I called her,I heard some guy asking her to get back to bed with him." He spieled off offhandedly,"I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up for this one but what happened, has happened and there is no way that I can undo it.".

Heather came to sit by his feet and placed her hand on his leg,

"This is all my fault." She sighed and Grover shook his head,

"No,it wasn't. I was foolish enough to think that Veronica liked me a lot and I'm paying the price of that.",

"Dude,you would never had asked her out if I didn't urge you, day after day to do so." She reminded him,

"Still...it's not your fault." He replied and sat up,"I have bad luck with women and I should get used to it by now.".

Then he laid back down on the bed while Heather continued to stare at him with concern in her eyes. He hated seeing that look. He hated it when people pitied him and even though he knew that Heather couldn't help but feel worried for him,it still made him feel like less of a man. So, to stop himself from loosing his temper at the pity look on her face,he decided to get rid of her from the apartment.

"Don't you have a party to be at?" He queried and got off the bed, hoping to make it to his room but Heather stopped him with a hand around his wrist,

"I think we both that you are way more important than a stoner's party.",

"Wait,it's a stoner's party?" He diverged, trying to change the topic but Heather was having none of that,

"Nigel's hosting the party. Other than that, it's just a normal party." Then she turned his face to look at her,"Stop changing the topic,you know that never works on me.",

"Unfortunately" He rolled his eyes and she smiled sadly.

Grover looked down to meet her eyes and tipped her chin gently,

"I'm fine. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. Veronica isn't just right for me and as you know,I tend to come back up very easily.",

"True" she giggled and stared at him intensely,"At least, come with me to the party.".

Grover sighed and put his hands away from her but she held on,

"Come on,it would be a perfect distraction from tonight.",

"I already have a perfect distraction." He replied and pointed towards the open door,"The wine that I bought for my date is still sitting on the kitchen counter and honestly,my bed would be more than happy to welcome me than a room filled promiscuous young adults.",

"Let me just make it up to you." She insisted,"For making you go ahead and ask her out. I would feel a whole lot better.",

"It's always about you, isn't it?" He muttered bitterly and almost bit his tongue when he realized that she had heard him.

Her eyes became downcast as she kept her head down in hurt and Grover felt his heart twist. He didn't mean to hurt her,he was just so used to doing things because of her that he rarely found opportunities to do things for himself.

He left England because of her and when he got into trouble,he didn't go back home. He stayed back in the States because of her. He was in the same college as her because he wanted to make her happy. Everything just seemed to revolve around her.

Then he reminded himself that Heather never asked him to do those things, just because she wanted to and she had always given him options to back out if he wanted. The thing was that Heather was his family. She mattered to him more than anyone else had and his being with her was because he loved her like his own flesh and blood.

"I'm sorry, Heather." He apologized, taking her hand,"I didn't mean to talk to you like that.",

"No, you're right." She replied, trying her best not to cry so as not to ruin her makeup,"If you don't want to go then I have no business, making you to.".

Grover felt like a goddamn asshole. Heather was only trying to look out for him and taking him along to a party,was her available option. She could have decided to stay in with him but that would mean, standing her night's date up and he knew how that felt.

Besides,he wouldn't live with himself if he made her miss out on one of her favorite things in life, because of him. Parties were the heart and soul of Heather Miller and if she wanted to take him along,then so be it.

"Put on your heels or we would be even later than late." He ordered gently and went to put on his jacket,

"We?" She asked, stunned and he smiled softly as he replied sarcastically,

"No,the Avengers.".

She chuckled before giving him a questioning look,

"Are you sure that you want to go?",

"Don't make me change my mind.",

"Oh, okay!" Heather beamed and rushed to put on her heels.

He took her car keys from her dresser and dangled it in front of her,

"I'm driving." He announced and added teasingly,"Can't let those deathly nails that you fixed, control the wheels. You might lead us straight to our death.",

"Looks who's talking." She laughed as she took her purse in her hands,"That mop of a hair badly needs a haircut,are you sure it won't obstruct your view of the road?",

"It's that bad, isn't it?" Grover grimaced as he fingered his hair but Heather giggled as she ruffled it a bit,

"It's not that bad to come out tonight with me but when we get back, I'm so cutting that mop off your head.",

"Deal." He agreed.

Then she sauntered out of the room, towards the main door with Grover following behind. He smiled warmly at the way she carried herself and felt happy with his decision to go with her. As long as Heather was happy,he was happy.

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What do you think about our main characters? Do they speak to you? Because, honestly Heather speaks volumes to me. *giggles*

Would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter.