Mad World

LAUREN.

michael smiled, taking his eyes off the road for half a second to glance at lauren, before returning to looking ahead. god, she was beautiful. he’d never seen someone so mesmerizing before in his life. “yeah, it’s an old one, but it runs well,” he said, hitting the side of his door as he referred to his car. “i think it’s like… sixties? with some renovations since then, of course.”

the way he looked at her was like she hung the stars and the moon and it made her heart flutter. “she does run nicely” she agreed “I’d love to take a look under her hood sometime, if that’s okay with you.” she gave him a soft smile “so, is this something you do for all the girls?” she laughed as she pushed her hair behind her ear “pick them up in a beautiful car, tell them they look pretty and take them to nice dinners.”

LAUREN.

“oh, thank god,” michael said, getting into the driver’s seat. “i’m really nervous, too. now that we’ve got that out there, i guess neither of us have to be nervous now, right?” he began driving, the top of his car down. he hoped that it wouldn’t mess up her hair to have the top down, but it made him look so much cooler to have a convertible and actually use it. plus, she’d look beautiful regardless.

She couldn’t contain the smile on her lips “that is such a relief. i thought i was the only one.” She bit down on her lip and nodded “yeah, I think we’re good now.” no matter what, Lauren would always have butterflies around him, it was inevitable. She let her eyes close for a moment as she felt the breeze on her face and she turned to Michael “okay, you’re already off to a good start with this car. fun fact, my dad and i like to work on old cars together. been doing it since I was a little girl.”

LAUREN.

michael, having almost forgotten about the flowers, awkwardly shoved them at her, before softening his grip and giving her a look that said ‘sorry, i don’t go on a lot of dates.’ “these are for you. alanna picked them out of the yard outside of our building and told me to give them to you.” he was nervous for several reasons. one, he didn’t often leave alanna with a sitter, so this was nerve-wracking. two, the blonde bombshell in front of him. he had to impress her. he couldn’t mess this up. “so, i figured we’d go to that new italian place for dinner, if that’s alright with you?” he asked, unlocking his car and opening the passenger side door for her.

Lauren smiled down at the flowers in his hand and then looked back at him, biting down on her lip gently. “They are beautiful, thank you. I’ll have to tell her thank you at school.” she took them from him and brought them to her nose to take a wiff. She nodded at his suggestion “yeah, that sounds great actually.” she said excitedly. She thanked him before sliding into the car. While she waited for him to get in she wiped her palms on her dress, why was she so nervous? Maybe it was because this was so random, maybe it was because there was no way a guy this attractive and cool would be interested in her. But more than anything she knew it was because there was something different about him, he was either going to make her the happiest person on earth or break her heart and she wasn’t sure which one just yet. “I’m really nervous.” she blurted out “i just wanted to get that out there.”

LAUREN.

“you’re right,” michael said with a sigh. “i do have better things to do. like have alanna help me pick out an outfit for our date tomorrow–just checking, it is a date, right?” he was sure that she could hear him smiling through the phone. he felt like he was in high school again, butterflies filling up his stomach and his cheeks aching from grinning.

Lauren’s heart skipped for a moment, hearing what better things he had to do. “I dont really think it’s all that fair that you get to have her help you pick out an outfit.” she bit down on her lip at his question “well i hope this is a date. So yes I’m saying it is.” she was beaming, even if nobody could see it. This hardly ever happened to her, she hardly knew the guy and yet she already felt this undeniable attraction.

LAUREN.

michael laughed. “would that really be so bad?” he said, walking through the house and checking on alanna. she was in her room, doing homework, so he went into his room and shut the door. “great. how does tomorrow night work for you? i can come pick you up around six.” he ran a hand through his hair, laying down on his bed. “well, i’m glad you don’t usually do this. i wouldn’t feel special if i was one of many.”

Her voice perked up at his question “no, i gusss that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Except I’m sure you have better things to do than to sit and talk to me.” she kicked her feet up on the sofa and laid down, looking up at the ceiling “that’s perfect. I’ll be looking forward to it.” a little giggle leaving her lips “oh no, you should feel very special.”

LAUREN.

“well, in the future, know that i would love to hear from you anytime… even if it’s right after we’ve seen each other.” he could hear the nerves in her voice, and wanted to be able to hold her hand and tell her it was okay, that there was no reason to feel nervous. “i’d love to get together and not talk about alanna. i mean, if she comes up in conversation, that’s fine but… dinner, maybe?” he said, the nerves creeping into his own voice now. “i want to spend more time with you, too.”

She smiled “don’t say that because then we might just be on the phone constantly.” she sat down and tried to calm herself, finding it easier the more they talked. “Yeah, dinner would be great.” she nodded even though he couldn’t see it. “You do? Well that’s a relief. I want to let you know that i usually don’t do this. I mean, this is a first for me, going out with my students guardian. Somethings different with you.”

“It seems like that is the safest bet for you.” Zoe said calling down a waitress to order her own shake. “So, tell me, what have you been up to?”

Lauren smiled over at the brunette “well patiently waiting for chirstmas break to roll around, i love my kids and all but they can sense the break is coming so they are all a little haywire.” she took another small slip “and you, miss king?” 

emmett wondered if their milkshakes were really that good the moment he noticed the girl basically chugging hers down. he nodded, a small chuckle leaving his lips. “what flavor is it?”

Lauren could see him watching her and she felt slightly embarrassed before answering his question “strawberry, it’s my favorite.” she took another small sip “i promise you won’t regret it!”

“There is a thing called brain freeze Lauren, you’re stepping in dangerous territory.” Zoe chuckled looking across at the blonde. “I might just join this bandwagon though, I haven’t had one of those in forever.” 

Lauren shrugged “you’re right. I’d rather not suffer the consequences of one.” she let a small laugh out, looking over at her friend. “They are so good. It’s totally worth it, Zo.”

LAUREN.

when the phone finally rang, michael didn’t answer it too quickly. he didn’t want to seem too eager. “hello?” he said, knowing fully well who it was. when he got confirmation, he smiled extremely wide. “lauren. it’s nice to hear your voice. i was getting a little worried you lost your phone… or lost my number… or weren’t interested in me… but i’m glad to hear i was wrong.” he was usually never this cocky or flirty, but he was oh so smitten with her. there was something that drew him towards her but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. “so, lauren, may i ask what this call is in regards to?”

hearing his voice, Lauren felt like putty, she had only heard it for the first time a few hours before but yet it already was one of her favorite sounds. “Trust me you were so wrong, i just figured I’d give you some tome.” she continued to pace around her living room, until she heard the next question and froze, why was she calling him exactly? “I uh...” she paused “I was hoping we could get together and talk about alanna, or not...talk about alanna.” she let out a quiet laugh “something inside of me is telling me that i want to spend more time with you.”

LAUREN.

michael smiled on his way out, and gave her a nod. “absolutely. i look forward to hearing from you.” he said it as though it was an expectation (which, of course, it was).

once he got home, business continued as usual. he made dinner for alanna, he wrote a little bit, but he couldn’t stop staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring.

Lauren couldn’t stop smiling after Michael had left, she hadn’t felt this giddy in a long time. She didn’t know what it was about him but she wanted to know more about him. She fought with herself to not call him right after he left “you can’t do that idiot” she mumbled to herself as she grabbed her things and left her classroom. Once at home she paced her living room with her phone in one hand and the sticky note in the other, she paused and typed the number in before bringing the phone to her ear, it felt like it rang for so long before she finally heard a voice on the other end “hi, Michael? it’s Ms Collier, Lauren...it’s Lauren.” she shook her head, knowing how stupid she sounded.