Yesterday was quite frankly terrible. The last week has probably been the worst of 2007 for me so far, and just to make everything sting a little bit more, my boss decides to call me at home. I mean, of all things to happen when you are "sick" you don't want your boss to call you!

I'm not going to beat myself up about it - it's partly my fault because I called in sick..again. But, a combination of being emotionally drained and a severe lack of sleep is not something that boosts your morale, and it certainly isn't something to make you want to go into work...but my boos didn't see it like that.

He called me about half an hour after I rang in to let them know I wouldn't be coming in. I thought it was going to be my line manager, Frank, who I can deal with on most occasions - but it turned out to be the general area manager, Mr. M Hughes. That's all anyone knows him as "M"...maybe it's Marc, or Matthew or even Montgomery!?! We were never told the real name of our area manager...I suppose it's to maintain a certain level of respect. God knows why, he represents the most boring, unsuccessful paint set company in Britain today. Still, whatever floats his boat is none of my business.

Anyway, I knew that I had probably over stepped the mark when I heard him introduce himself over the phone to me. God, it was like, 10:30am, and I was just about to take a shower.
"Hello Annie. This is Mr. Hughes. I'm ringing today to discuss your employment with us here" Great. That's always something I want to talk about. "Quite frankly, we are not happy. You have been taking quite a lot of time off recently, albeit occasional time in lieu, and we have been noticed a weakness developing. You can understand that we can't have weak links in our chain, Annie. It disrupts everything for everyone. I'll be honest with you, I am not a bad manager. I am a good one. I have worked really hard to build a company based on practically nothing to try and create a future for me, my family and other people - like yourself. But, there's nothing more insulting, when I give an opportunity like this to someone; an opportunity to build a career for themselves, without needed any qualifications, and they throw back at me, as if to say they are above it or whatever. I am afraid you have slipped into this bracket, Annie, and there's only one thing I can do to solve this. I'm afraid I'm letting you go."

Great. Just perfect. After everything that I have gone through this week, I really didn't need that. Getting fired is one of the most demoralising things you can go through, and it's especially hard when your best friend is stuck in hospital. I didn't tell his this though. Who am I kidding, I hated that job and was rubbish at it anyway. It was a total nightmare. This may be the perfect opportunity to start my own career and build on my own dreams to paint and design and make a good living out of it - giving his company a run for their money - the I DID tell him!! :-)

Okay, I'll stop ranting now. It's 9:30am Friday morning, and it's the end of the week at last. Finally. Monday to Thursday saw me fleeting in and out of hospital and getting more worn into the ground over the attack of Will. Then Thursday morning I get fired. So, here we are - Friday - unemployed and still worrying about Will. And it's not as if I have a loving guy to cry on. The one person who could've fit that bill never called me back.

Nick was wonderful. We had such a good date. It went so well, we connected so perfectly...why didn't he call me? Why did he just vanish off the face of the earth? Sure, I could've called him, but there are rules. I don't want to seem desperate, do I? I mean, we have met once - the guy owes me nothings. Who am I to assume that he actually wants to meet me only to let me offload my problems onto him?
We all need a rock in times of crisis, and I don't have one. I can't contact my family because they oppose me living down here anyway, and will only give me the normal lecture - 'this sort of stuff always happens in London. We warned you at the start' - and then mum will go into her 'come back and live with us and we can introduce you to the Hamley's eldest son who is doing very well at his new job' blah blah blah...they are about as supportive as a paper crutches.

I don't know...

I need to talk to someone. I could turn to Sarah and Zoe, but they are too busy with their lives - they keep themselves distracted. I don't blame them. They have jobs, sexual partners, families. What do I have? My cat.

*sigh*

....

No! I am not going to let this beat me. I am going to make sure I get myself another job so I can still rent this flat (keeping me away from moving into my families house again) and I will try and focus on the positive side of Wills attack - the rate at which he is getting better, for one. The doctors don't think it will be long before he is out, which is great news. There's always a silver lining, right?
And as for love - well, that's still a question mark. I could be the daring kind of girl I have always wanted to be and just call Nick to arrange another date. Even if it just turns out to be a night of sex, I don't care. It'll keep me going for a few more weeks. If I can't get through to him, at least then I will be able to get some sort of closure and move on. Find someone else. A nice, respectable man that can look after his woman. Yeah, that sounds like heaven, right?

But it wouldn't be enough - I see Nick when I think of a man. The bastard has engulfed me. It wouldn't have mattered if he hadn't been so drop dead gorgeous...he deliberately makes it harder for me!

Well, that's when chocolate comes in to save the day *reaches for the stash*...

Well, do I call him? Do I try and get this ball rolling again after almost a month?

Sod it...

Things are slowing down. All around me...days seem to get slower and more spaced out. Time seems to linger and moments seem to elongate. I can't seem to figure out why I feel like this at the moment...I don't really feel like I'm quite here.

Maybe that's because I am so tired. I spent all evening at the hospital yesterday. Will was conscious and getting better. He was understandably exhausted and rather 'out of it' but on the whole, he was getting better...slowly.

As I arrived, I was taken in to his room. This was the first time I had seen him since it all happened - and I can't deny that I was shocked when I saw him. His face was a mess. his familiar brown eyes were puffed up and squashed behind serious swelling. His trademark button nose had been dis-jointed and seemed to bend to the right alot more than it usually did. His lips were dry and chapped and his high cheek bones were buried under bruising and cuts. Will had been ruined.

I walked up to the bed and he turned his head around to face me. There was a brief silence of about 3 minutes but actually felt 3 days, whilst he was trying to figure me out - I guess it's hard to see anything with your eyes so swelled up. Eventually, a distant smile appeared across his face and he uttered the words...
"Annie Ball. Here you are..."

My eyes filled up with tears. I just couldn't help but to feel shattered that I hadn't contacted Will for about 2 weeks after my date with Nick. He had been such a good friend, just waiting for me at the pub, but then...

I sat down and calmed down...2 things that I no doubt needed to do. The silence descended once again, much to my annoyance. I hated silence. It made me feel awkward and uneasy. So, in my usual manner, I decided to break it...I asked him who did this? Nothing. I asked him if he was in pain? Nothing. I said he was a clumsy bugger for letting himself get attacked...this provoked something! Finally.
"What? I'm a clumsy bugger? It wasn't my fault someone sprung me late at night, was it?"
No, but it was his fault that he was walking back home so late through the quiet streets of London. I mean, I had told him so many times to catch a taxi home, but he just insisted that walking was a better thing to do - greener, or more relaxing or whatever. But, nevertheless, if he had caught a taxi, then he wouldn't be here now.

"Thing is, I did catch a taxi, Annie. I got one from work to take me home, but as I rolled up to the park, I noticed the moon was out, and I just fancied walking the rest of the journey. You know how close I am to the park? I thought that if I just walked the last couple of yards, I would at least get to appreciate the nice evening. Turned out to be the dumbest thing I've ever done."

Will continued to talk me through what happened. It was really quite an ordeal. The way Will described it - it was almost like I was there.

"I got out of the cab and had 2 routes to my flat. Round the corner of the street, or through the park to bypass it. I chose the park. I shouldn't have done really, because there are no lights in the park, but nevertheless, it seemed like a good choice at the time. So, I made my way through the park. I kept walking and noticed that the ducks on the pond were making a hell of a noise. I stopped for a brief moment to listen to them and that's when it happened." My heart started to race. "I don't really remember much, but the stuff I do remember makes me want to scream. I know that I heard silence, then very fast running, and before I could turn around to see who was running, I felt a very heavy blow against my body as I was rugby tackled to the ground. This guy was massive. Well, not massive - but he was well built. Dressed in black, of course, and wearing a hood, he pinned me down by digging his heel into my neck. I couldn't move. As I was lying there, stunned, with this guys foot almost strangling me, I remember, he calmly looked around, still restraining me with his foot, to see what was around - I was desperate for someone to casually walk past...anyone. But noone did. After he was satisfied that the area was clear, he looked back down at me and smiled. He slowly removed his foot from neck, freeing me and letting me breath once again." Will showed me the mark on his neck that started just below his ear, right through his adam's apple and down to his collar bone. It looked so painful I wanted to cry. "I caught my breath. I would've got up and ran, but my first instincts were to breath again. By the time my brain was ready to process the idea of running, he had kicked me in the stomach. My breath left me again. Then, he repeated this. I think he kicked me in the ribs too. I can't be sure, but I know the pain I have in my ribs right now isn't just a coincidence. Annie, he broke 2 of my ribs through kicking them so hard...I remember how he did it too. That's the worse part. After kicking the breath out of me in my stomach and diaphragm, winding me helpless, he rolled me onto my back, and just stamped his heel onto my ribs. I think he was wearing steel plated heels, because every time he stamped down on me, I heard a metallic chinck. By this time, I was in too much pain to fight back. He straddled me, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me up towards his face. I can remember looking right into his eyes...but, before I got chance to sketch this guys face into my memory, he started punching me in the face. Really slow, hard punches...I remember him placing a clenched fist on my nose, slowly pulling back, and then smashing it into my nose, breaking it. That's why it's all bent now..." By this time, tears were streaming down my face..."And then, just when I thought I had nothing left in me, I got this...urge to stop him. This fire started to burn inside me. After the face punching, he dropped me to the ground and he stood up. He moved away from me and went really quiet. I couldn't see him. My eyes were practically closed up. But I knew he hadn't gone because I could still hear him breathing. I rolled over, and saw him standing a few feet away from me, just looking down at my beaten pulp of a body. Not even moving. Just breathing heavily. He was tired out, I could tell. So, I don't know what it was - probably adrenaline, but, I moved my arm and fumbled the ground for something. I found a rock. It was well sized and not too heavy. Perfect kind of weapon, or at least, I thought it was. I grabbed it and threw it at him. It smashed his wrist and he let out a cry of pain. I guess I shouldn't have done it. If I had just lay there, he might have left me alone. But, he didn't. He came up to me and smashed my legs with his heavy heels again. Then, he leant into my ear, and whispered 'You shouldn't have done that William.' I'll never forget those words. That's when it happened. He pulled out a knife. I started to realise that if I didn't try and stop him, I was going to be murdered. So, I started shouting. I screamed in fact. The guy above me told me to shut up. He kept kicking me, but it only made me scream louder. I noticed, in the corner of my eye, a bedroom light come on in one of the houses that over looked the park. I shouted louder and louder. I heard a door open. So did he. I think he then said 'You little prick. Why did you have to go and do that?'. A man's voice shouted 'what's going on over there? Hey, you!' and footsteps started running. My attacker looked up and obviously saw someone running at him...I think he must've panicked. I remember lifting up my foot and kicking him as hard as I can in between his legs...what other choice did I have? That hurt him bad - I could tell. The footsteps were getting closer. That's when he stabbed me in the leg...I screamed. I remember the pain. It was almost unbearable. Seriously...getting stabbed is something that you can't describe. I can remember the pain, but I can't remember how painful it was. That doesn't make sense, I know, but it's hard to explain. All I remember is feeling a surge of intense pain and then passing out. Then, I awoke in front of a bright light, lying in this bed. I don't know who found me or who scared off the attacker, but here I am. And that's that."

I hadn't noticed that an hour had passed. I had stopped crying, but my cheeks were tear stained. I needed to wash them. I asked Will he wanted me to get him anything, and he just asked for water. So, I went and poured him some, wiping my face clean at the same time. Just then, Sarah popped in with a box of chocolates. She sombre but positive and uplifting at the same time. Will changed when she arrived, putting on a brave face, but I knew he was feeling different. I knew it was fake.

He always acted his true self with me. I guess him and I just had a really close friendship - one that made us trust each other. We were honest with each other all the time. But, when Sarah or Zoe came on the scene, we both usually changed. We had to, otherwise, the girls wouldn't be able to fit into the dynamic. It doesn't matter how weird you think it sounds - it works for us four. Our dynamic is very good.

Just as I was about to go to the toilet, 2 men in suits arrived. They were inspectors from the police force, here to question Will. Strike whilst the iron is hot I guess. They asked us to leave, and then closed the door behind us. I guess Will was telling them what he had just told me.

Then I realised - there was one thing that Will hadn't told me at all...his attacked. He hadn't described him, or told me what he looked like or what he sounded like. He was only wearing a hood, according to Will, so he probably saw his attackers face. Why didn't Will mention that to me? Maybe he just wanted to tell me quickly...I don't know.

Well, if he did see the guys face, I hope it described it to those coppers so they can try and catch this bastard.

It's 9:30am at the moment, and my kettle has just boiled. I think I am calling in sick again from work. I can't go in...I just don't have the will power.

All I can think about is Will and what happened to him...what am I going to do?

I have been in hospital for the past day. Don't worry, not for myself, but for Will.

I hadn't spoken to him in ages. In fact, I hadn't spoken to him since my date with Nick at the start of the month. Just through being busy, and I guess, self obsessed, I never got around to calling him or arranging to meet up with him and the girls. I wish I had done now.

I rang his home 2 nights ago, and his sister picked up. I've always liked Charlotte. She's a very sweet girl - a female version of Will I suppose. I know that I could be great friends with Charlotte purely because I am great friends with Will, and the only difference would be her gender! She lives down south in Brighton though...a little too far for my liking. Damn geography.

But, anyway, she answered and I asked for Will. What she said after this made my heart beat freeze right inside my chest.

"Annie, I'm afraid Will isn't here right now. He's had to be taken to hospital. He was attacked and it's not looking good."

I could tell that she was holding back her tears...normally, I would've been doing the same, but I guess the shock was just too much. I guess I was numbed a little.

Charlotte continued to explain what had happened. Apparently, Will was walking home from work, when he was approached and attacked. He was beaten up very badly and left at the side of the road. How noone saw this, or stopped it, I'll never know, but Will works late, and sometimes, walks home past 10:30pm. Never a good idea round here.

I told him on numerous occasions not to walk around late at night. We all told him to get a taxi...but, Will was certain he was safe. I guess you never expect it to happen to you or your friends...until it does.

So, I was at the hospital for about 13 hours. I took work off (no biggy there) and met the girls at the hospital. Zoe couldn't contain herself. Sarah was very quiet. Wills parents were there as well. They had come down from Cheltenham (where Will grew up) to be with him. We were all very quiet. All night long.

Eventually the doctor came out and told us that he was in a stable condition. We were all relieved. He did, however, take his parents into another room and continued to speak. Obviously, this wasn't stuff his closest friends should be hearing...bastard. We saw, through the window, Will's mum start to cry...all three of us looked at each other in fear - what had the doctor just told them? We were desperate to find out.

Then, as the doctor left the room, 2 policemen appeared as if from nowhere and went in to speak to them! The forces were doing the rounds on this one. Again, they closed the door, and again, us 3 feared the worst...was this an intentional attack? had Will been hurt worse than we thought?

It went on for ages. The talking. The interviewing. The asking of questions...yup, the police spoke to us as well. They tried to get us on our own, but we all stated that if they wanted to talk to us, then they would need to talk to all 3 of us, as we all know and love Will equally.

"This is serious. Will was beaten up, yes. Very badly in fact. But, along with this, he was stabbed." I started to shake..."Don't worry. The stab wound was not all that serious. It was in the leg, but we have reason to believe that the blade was not intended for this target." None of us quite understood what was going on...Sarah asked the all important question to clear things up though.
"What do you mean?" I think that summed up how we were all feeling right then and there.
"The nature of the cut - the length, the depth and the direction - proves that the blade was aimed higher, but was intercepted and deflected, missing the original target, but unintentionally, being re-directed into his leg. We believe that the attacker was aiming the blade for Wills chest or stomach, but Will intervened and pushed the blade away, probably trying to knock it out of the attackers hand, but instead, loosing control and suffering the blade being forced into his leg."

I had to leave. I got up and began to reach for the door handle, but he stopped me. He needed me to answer questions, and as this was for Will, I had no choice. The description of what had happened to him was too much for me to hear. It was like something from a CSI episode or something.

He asked the routine questions - how long had we known Will? how close were we to him? did we know of any enemies he had made? Truth is, Will never made enemies. He was a very popular guy. That's why this is so baffling. Why would anyone want to hurt him? And, according to the policeman, it was an intentional attack...someone was out to get Will.

*sigh*

Well, the doctor told us to go home. We weren't any good there, and his parents wanted to spend some time by his bed. We weren't told if he was conscious or anything...we were just told to go home.

I opened my front door, threw my clothes off, and fell into bed. I was so tired and weak from the shock. I just drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Before I knew it, my alarm was going off and it was 8:30am. Damn. I forgot to turn it off. That's my normal time when I am working a 10am, like I should be doing today. But, after what happened yesterday, I just couldn't go in. I called up about half an hour ago and said I wasn't coming in. I explained the reason, but my boss was a total dick about it, and just ended up saying "You've been missing alot of time recently Annie. Remember, this paint won't sell itself." He happens to think that this is my dream job and that I actually give a monkeys for it. Well, I don't. I just agreed with him and got off the line asap.

So, now, I don't know. I'm still shaken up. I'm worried about Will. I hope he got through the night okay. I'm sat here in my dressing gown with a cup of tea and a danish pastry. I'll eat it up, take some Nurofen and get ready to go visit Will again. If his parents are still there, I will see if the Police have come up with anything else...

But, one thing that has been left lingering in my mind since last night - who was Wills attacker? And why were the after Will?

The past few weeks have been slightly...how do you say it? Turbulent. Lots of things have changed, lots of things have developed and one thing has died a horrible death.

First of all, why didn't anyone tell me that computers crashed? The reason I haven't been onto my precious blog is because my computer contracted a virus of some kind. Now, getting a cold once in a while is alright - you get to take a few days off work, pretend you're worse than you actually are and have loads of Tunes sweets! But that's me. A human. When did computers start catching virus's? This baffled me, so I called up the store that sold me the computer and they were all like "Oh, yes, you didn't buy any anti virus protection off us, and because you are buying it separately now, we can't give you a discount..."

30 pounds!!!! That is how much it cost me to buy this stupid software. Not to mention the further £25 for the guy to fix it. The computer business pays well! I'm in the wrong line of work!!

Anyway, I got my computer fixed about 4 hours before I was supposed to meet Nick. I was excited. Was this is? Could this be the start of a new relationship that would make me insanely happy forever? Or would this simply be another meeting of one normal, classy woman (me) and one boring as mud, freakish man? I was full of anticipation for the whole day...eventually, 5pm rolled around and started getting ready. I decided to go through my normal ritual of having a really relaxing hot bath. I shaved my legs, my arm pits, and washed my hair twice - using some conditioner, made from papaya extract thank you very much! I got out of the bath and scrutinised my body in the mirror before me. I could've sworn I never used to look this...rubbery. My skin looked, well, dull. No life. I looked at my bum - the same down there. Note to self - treat oneself to a luxury spa weekend with girlfriends.

I did my hair and make up. Not a bad job! My outfit took me longest of all. I couldn't decide what style to go for - casual, smart, classy, a tad slutty or sweet and innocent? I guess I've never been one to flaunt it before, but it has been known, on the odd occasion, for miss Annie Ball to display what god gave her!! But, something inside me told me that tonight was not one of those nights. Instead, I just decided to kick back in jeans and a faded tee-shirt. No worries.

By about 7:10 I was ready. Will came over at about twenty past and he told me I looked like something out of the Breakfast Club. What a lovely guy! I playfully punched him in the arm...only playfully though because I happen to love that film!

7:25 rolled around and it was time for us to go. We grabbed our coats and stepped out into the cold March evening. Will told me to walk ahead, and he'll follow me about 1 minute behind, just so we didn't arrive together.

When I got to the pub, I stepped in and looked a guy about my age sitting by himself at a table. He said he would be wearing a black shirt and to look out for green shoulder bag covered in badges that would be residing on the floor by his side. These were the only clues he gave me. Were they meant to help me find him? Yes. Did I? No...

I walked from one end of the pub to the other, and could see noone fitting this description. I checked out a couple of students laughing at their table, engulfed my smoke. I saw 3 women, about my age, all looking deadly serious as they hunched around their table, protecting their drinks and discussing something top secret. Weirdo's. The token old guy was drinking his token pint of Guinness in his token corner. It was only the fact that he wasn't wearing his token Wellington boots and anorak that ruined the image!

I walked up to the bar, deciding to buy myself a drink in the hope that Nick would show up late, saving myself from the utter rejection that is being stood up. I noticed will had already bought himself a pint and was happily sat on his by the door, reading the paper!

I ordered a rum and coke, and as I was waiting for it to be poured, I noticed a great big fat girl in the far reaches of the room. She was huge, no word of a lie. She actually made me feel good about myself, which never tends to happen these days. As I was about to pull my eyes away from the rolls that were playfully teasing her under her shirt (gross) I noticed something. A slight flicker of someone, sat behind her. I couldn't quite make it out, thanks to the planet that was sat in the way, but after my drink was ready, and I had paid, I moved over to investigate - discreetly at first.

Sure enough, at the table behind hippo-girl was a man with medium long chocolate brown hair. He was wearing a black shirt that was fitted against his body, and baggy, faded jeans. He was reading some kind of magazine, and with his sleeves carelessly rolled up, one hand over his drink and the other on the magazine, I could see two very strong looking forearms, decorated with some rather interesting bracelets followed by two massive, very powerful looking hands. I checked under his table for the green bag - I wanted to be sure. No green bag covered in badges, but a red one was present. It was certainly covered in badges, but not the ones I thought! I visualised lots of badges with novelty sayings and pictures of old school cartoons, but nothing of the sort. Instead, they were depicting what looked like different countries, and different parts of countries. Mountain ranges and forests and deserts. Very interesting.

I was looking at this guy for about 3 minutes before he looked up and locked in on my gaze. His face was hard and pointy - not in a bad way mind. Almost as if he had been statue in a past life. He looked like he had been hammered out of marble, but once he saw me, all the hardness seemed to vanish instantly, and instead, a gentle softness appeared in it's place. He was unshaven - that'll have to go. I don't like stubble. Does nothing but hurt!! (god, already I was thinking of ways to change him!) and he has piercing blue eyes - and I mean piercing.

Before I knew it, I was moving over to him. Was I stood on a conveyor belt, or was he some sort of Jedi Knight, pulling me in with the force? Goodness knows, but I was moving towards him.

"Hi, I'm Nick. Confirmed. Right there. This amazing piece of mankind before was the stranger that called me up at work and sent me a random email out of nowhere...this was him. I had imagined he would've ended up being some 40 something bald guy, just out to get a quick thrill...but no. Nothing of the sort. This guy was actually, dare I say it, cute?

I sat down and took a sip of my drink. His opening line to our first conversation was a strange one. "Rum and coke drinker, huh? Can't deny that I used to enjoy that. But then I decided that coke was bad for you. I just stick with the rum now."

What kind of thing do you say to that? Oh, so you're a drunk then? or Rum? Neat? You must have a liver of steel...no, none of those things. I just decided to hit him with the universally acceptable laugh.

And that's how it went. For about 3 and a half hours. We just sat and chatted about all kinds of things, but mostly about lives. And he has lived the most amazing one. He has travelled all over the world, mountain biking and hiking across forests and deserts, through valleys and mountains. All the badges signify places that he has been. He talked me through them all and I listened with fascination.

Of course, when it came to my life, I talked about sod all. I had been to this uni, got this mickey mouse degree and worked at this crappy little place and had no life outside of my flat. I hadn't travelled anywhere, apart from the annual family holiday to Cornwall...talk about lame.

It was rolling on for 11:30pm and last orders had been called. People were going home, and the room becoming more and more quiet. Our conversation was still alive though. I could listen to him to talk all night. But then I remembered Will. Shit! Will!! He had been sitting for HOURS in this pub, just in case anything had gone wrong for me. I bet he had gone home by now though. He was round the corner, on the other side of the pub, so I couldn't actually see him.

As we called it a night, we stood up and put our coats on. We exchanged the typical "It was nice meeting you" and "We should do it again sometime" before I watched him walk out. That was it. No kiss, no walking me back to my flat. He didn't even drop a flirtatious hint that he would be up for a one night stand...what was this? Had I actually met a nice man?

Oh, and the bag? He said it was green but it turned out to be red...turns out, he's colour blind. I was surprised that he told me that, but I guess it's not that important.

I walked around the bar and in the corner, sure enough, I saw Will. He had waited for me. The whole night. He was just texting someone on his phone I think. I walked up to him and asked him how he was. He was tired, and lets face it, slightly drunk! A whole night in a pub by yourself? That's going to happen.

I told him briefly that the night went really well and that Nick was amazing.
"Really? Great, well, I'm pleased for you. At least he didn't turn out to be the bald guy you were fearing."
That much was true. Nick was certainly not what I had been expecting.

We got up and I gave Will a hug and thanked him for being such a great friend. He waited all night for me and he didn't even mind. What a guy!

So that was my first ever date with Nick. It was crazy! Surreal and slightly unexpected, but in many ways, wonderful. Oh god, I sound desperate don't I? I bet I sound like I'm falling in love with him? Well, in all honesty, I'm not. I'm just glad to have finally met a nice guy.

At least, I thought he was a nice guy...

We met on Saturday the 10th. It's now been over 2 weeks and NOTHING! He said he would call me because that's what he liked to do, but he hasn't even dropped me a line. Not one. I mean, you would've thought that after such an awesome date, he would've called me once, even just to say "Annie, I want nothing more to do with you, you are boring old frump. That would be fine, just as long as he called...okay, forget that. It wouldn't be fine. If someone said that to me, even the milkman, I would want to cry for about a month!!

Well, it's 10am, and I am not working today. I worked all last night, answering phones to the morons who feel it necessary to call at midnight to find out about their paint order. Three words....GO TO BED!

*sigh*

I'm grumpy because he hasn't called. Why hasn't he called? I don't know. I am going to call Will. I haven't actually spoken to him since my date, so I think we need to catch up. I'm sure he would be interested to know that Nick doesn't keep his word...

It's been a while since I have written a blog. This is really because I have been very busy over the last week to even think about getting on the computer. Well, actually, that's a lie. I have been on the computer. I am afraid to admit that I have been sucked into the addiction that is YouTube, watching old re-runs of Harry Hill, Peter Kay and Jack Dee. I even found some Hollyoaks on there! It really is a fab website, full of videos. But, apart from that I havent really had the time to write a blog. But, I feel that after everything that has been kicking off recently, I should update you on the events!

First of all, my last blog talked about what I did last week with my friends, and how I ended up with Will (a good friend of mine) talking about this stranger who gave me his number. Will gave me some great advice that I decided to follow up, and the outcome of such a plan was highly unexpected and, quite frankly, a little crazy...here's what happened.

Last Friday morning I got out of bed, got ready for work, and headed off into the concrete jungle that stood before me. I arrived at work at 8:45am, sat down in front of my computer, and began answering calls. I took my lunch break on my own, read Heat and headed back to my desk after the hour had passed. I made small talk with Trevor, the weirdo IT guy, and then headed home, eventually arriving safely at 5:45pm. The day was mundane. I have nothing else to say about it. However, the evening...not so much.

I sunk into my sofa and watched some TV, spacing out to the pointless pictures that danced around the screen.

I jumped out of my skin right then and there, because my intercom went off. Someone was outside, wanting to come in. My heart started to race, and I began to panic. What if it were Nick outside? Maybe he did actually get my home address? I cautiously moved toward the intercom receiver by the front door. Before I had chance to decide whether I wanted to answer it, it buzzed again, making me jump...again! I did answer it, with a feeble sounding "who is it?" only to be met with the familiar sound of Will and Zoe's voices. Relief.

I buzzed them up, and within a couple of minutes, they were bounding through my front door with wine bottles and coats. Turns out that they were insanely bored at home - Will was getting fed up with watching the same re-runs of Star Trek, and Zoe's husband had gone out to the pub...again. So, before I knew it, we were sitting around my living room, knocking back Chardonnay and laughing about Will's ex girlfriend, Anita. Sometimes, when we get going, we can be real bitches (Will included!)

11pm rolled around and I started to get tired. It was Friday night, so I didn't to go to work, but still, I was longing for my bed. The alcohol in my body started to make a fool out of me and, before I knew it, I began telling my friends about Nick. Will, of course, was already clued up, but the girls weren't. So, I just blurted it out - the whole story, and before too long, the girls were encouraging me to send him a message. He had, after all, left me his email address.

So we piled around my computer screen, giggling like school kids and I we wrote him an email. I say we because we were all chipping in segments of words.

In the end, it transpired that, somehow, I had asked him out on a date tomorrow night. God knows how that happened. And about 2 minutes after I had pressed send, a reply gave shooting back.

Hey Annie. Tomorrow night sounds great. Shall we say, 8pm at the Queens Head?"

The Queens head? Funny that he should choose a pub that is LITERALLY 5 minutes away from my flat...everything just kept getting crazier, but my friends kept pushing me to play along. So I did. I accepted, and the date was confirmed.

And that was that...Saturday night I was to meet Nick at the pub to see just what kind of a man he really was.