39

                                    

                                          
༻ Rose's POV ༺
I didn't know why I'd agreed to do this.
With every step, I could feel the dread curdling in my stomach until I thought I was going to throw up. I moved with the crowds, completely dissociated from my surroundings. I didn't look where I was going, didn't take note of who was around me, didn't even realise when I stepped outside. I just allowed the mass of people to move me along until I was suddenly at the car park entrance. 
People dispersed in different directions, leaving the crowds a little thinner. I slowed to a stop and scanned my surroundings, immediately finding Matt. He charged towards me as I darted left and a second later, his arms came around my waist and I was lifted from the floor.
"Hey!" I couldn't help but laugh as he spun me around, drawing the attention of a crowd of students nearby. I blushed at their attention, but I was getting more and more used to it, and, for the most part, people didn't seem to have an issue with me. In fact, one of the girls in the group smiled at me when I caught her eye.
"You're going the wrong way," Matt grumbled behind me. I could feel the vibrations from his voice against my back as well as the steady beat of his heart. I liked being this close to him.
"I'm going home," I told him, wriggling in his arms in an attempt to escape even though I knew it was futile. "I've changed my mind, I can't do this."
He only laughed before dumping me on my feet when we reached the car. He kept his arms tightly around me, but spun me around so we were face to face. "They're expecting you now, they'll be disappointed if you don't show up."
I pouted. "I feel like I'm going to throw up."
He laughed again, the warmth of his breath tickling my forehead before he swooped down and pressed his lips to mine. I smiled against them before parting them slightly, allowing him to deepen the kiss. He pulled my lower lip between his a little further and a shiver passed down my spine at the sensation. When he pulled away, I was a little breathless. 
"You're not supposed to want to kiss me when I say I'm going to throw up," I said with a laugh, "a normal person would be disgusted."
"Nothing you do could ever disgust me," he said, kissing me again. "Now come on," he shuffled us towards the passenger side door and I whined. 
"No, no," I said, clinging to him, "I can't do this."
"What's the worst that can happen?"
I frowned. "They could hate me."
He rolled his eyes. "Highly unlikely. But, so what if they do?"
"I want your family to like me, Matt."               
"And so do I," he said, "but if they don't like you, it doesn't matter to me. You'll still be my girlfriend, no matter how tonight goes."
I raised a brow. "So, you'd still like me even if your family didn't?"
"Yes," he said, so confidently I believed him. "Unless you try to kill one of them, you're good, okay? Nothing you can do will change how I feel about you."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Okay."
"Now get in the car," he instructed before pulling the door open, "before you change your mind."
With a grumble, I slid onto the seat and he shut the door behind me, rounded the front and then climbed in before locking us both inside. He'd barely pulled out of the car park before I felt a wave of nausea pass through me. "I feel sick," I mumbled, resting my head back against the head rest. "Is there anything specific I should know?"