𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐨𝐫 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄 | 𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐭 | 𝐄𝐔𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀

[𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨]

...

Lucy woke up in her bed at home. She made a mental note to stop doing that- the whole blacking out and waking up thing. Someone was tapping on her door. The sun was setting. She had no idea what time it was. To be completely realistic, she didn't even really have a grasp on what day it was. She sat up and did a quick scan around her room to make sure she hadn't left any drugs lying around.

"Yeah?" she said.

"It's me."

It wasn't her mom's voice. She calmed down a bit. "Come in."

Rue stepped into the room. She looked awkward, but better than the last time Lucy had seen her. Way better. She sidestepped inside and closed the door behind her. Then she stood against it, wringing her hands. Lucy stared up at her. "Hey."

"Hey."

"What's up?"

Rue took a deep breath. "I just... I wanted to come by and tell you I'm sober now."

Lucy shifted on her bed and tried to fix her hair a little. She didn't really know what she was supposed to say. She went with, "That's great," and waited for Rue to say more.

Rue chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I just- I don't know." She looked down at her sneakers. "I wanted to come by, and I feel like I had a lot of things to say, and now I just... I don't know..."

"You look like you're doing a lot better," said Lucy. "Like- almost looks like your junkie ass is healthy."

Rue laughed, then straightened up. "I wanna say I'm sorry for all that shit I said at Fez's. I mean, I don't even remember half of it, but I know it was bad. The stuff about our friend group- I didn't mean that. You've always been my friend. And your mom... I don't... I mean..."

"I know," Lucy said. "People say shitty things in... that kind of situation. Trust me, if anyone's going to get it, it's me."

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, but... I'm still sorry."

"It's okay."

"And I mean- I don't know if I should be saying fuck you for doing all that shit with me, or I'm sorry for making your problem worse, or if I should be telling you to get help, or- I don't really know how to navigate..."

Lucy gave her a small smile. "Well, in that case, then fuck you, I'm sorry, and get help."

"Yeah, I guess we're... kind of even there."

"Yeah. Guess so."

She sighed. "I talked to Elliot."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." She looked even more uncomfortable now. "He told me you guys have been hanging out. And... that you got in a fight. And I know I said some shit about you guys at Fez's, but like- I don't know, he's torn up about it."

"Oh."

Lucy didn't know how she was supposed to feel about that either. She was pretty sure Rue was having the same problem. But she kept going. "I just wanted you to know that, like, all that shit between me, and Jules, and Elliot... that doesn't matter. He likes you a lot. I think you'd be good for each other."

"That's funny," Lucy said thoughtfully. "The whole fight was about how bad for each other we'd be."

"I think you have the potential to either sink or swim. And like- the extremes of either end." Rue chuckled. "But I also think he cares about you a lot. I mean, the way he was talking- It was weird. I don't know. I don't wanna get in the middle of it, but he said you're, like, the first girl he would take a relationship with seriously. Personally, I think you should take the leap. But I'm not you."

Lucy sat back on the mattress and frowned over at the shattered mirror. "Yeah," she said in a quiet voice. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem."

They lingered in awkward silence for another minute or so. "What now?" Lucy said at last. "I mean, I don't think..." She was surprised by how much it pained her to say it. "I don't really think it's a good idea for us to stay close. I think it would end badly."

"Yeah," Rue said, and she couldn't meet Lucy's eyes. "I talked to Elliot about this too. I think... somewhere down the line, we're gonna see each other again. And we're gonna talk, and it'll be really good. But for now, I just need- some space, I guess."

Lucy stood up. "I think that's a good idea. But hey, if you ever need anything, I'm there. Dead serious."

Finally, Rue looked Lucy in the eye. "Same goes for you."

Lucy stepped forward and hugged her. She held on for a minute, still completely unsure of what to feel or what to say. Then she stepped back. "Is tonight Lexi's play?"

"Yeah, I'm headed there in a few hours."

Lucy nodded slowly. "Okay. Then I guess I'll see you there."

"Yeah. I'll see you around, Luce."

...

Lucy managed to get her shit together in time for the play. She dressed up a bit, and sobered up just enough to still feel alright. When she got to the school auditorium and took a seat near the back, it was almost like the last few weeks had never happened. She liked the dim lighting and the white noise of people talking around her. For a few blissful seconds, it was like she wasn't even there.

Elliot hadn't been planning on going to the play, but he didn't have anything better to do that night, so he showed up. He saw her as soon as he walked in. She'd taken a seat near the back, the same way he always did, just in case he wanted to leave early. She'd worn a dress, and she was staring a bit blankly at the stage, lost in her own head. He paused for a second, then sat a few seats away from her, pretending he didn't notice she was there. He couldn't tell if she even noticed him.

He fidgeted in his seat. Rue was a few aisles up, and Jules a little ahead of that. There was a crushing feeling in his chest when he thought about how, if things were normal, if everything had gone right, the four of them would be sitting in a row together. He tapped his foot against the ground restlessly. Lucy looked in his direction. When she saw him, some emotion Elliot couldn't quite place flashed through her eyes. Then she turned and faced forward. He was burning up inside. He had to talk to her.

Lucy needed to talk to him. After what Rue had said, she'd started thinking. It was sink or swim, and honestly, at this point, she didn't care. She just didn't want to be sitting in a theater alone with nobody to make comments about the show to. She didn't want to walk home alone, and lay in her bed alone, and wake up the next morning alone. She was sick of doing everything alone. And Elliot... he made things better.

They exchanged another look. The corner of Lucy's mouth twitched, and Elliot couldn't tell if she was smiling or still angry. That was it, he had to talk to her. He started to get out of his seat. But then a group of friends took the seats between them, and the lights dimmed all at once, and that was it. The show was starting.