Rivalry (GirlxGirl)

14. Giddy Grass

Third Person's POV :

"FRIENDS. LIKE—JUS—THE FUCK. Just 'Friends'....? Monica Williams, are you kidding me right now? You're fucking hopeless, bitch. "

"Tell me please, tell me that it is at least 'with benefits'. Please, I can't live with 'just friends' "

".... Err... Well, ummm.... Just friends seemed to be the most.... effective."

"Most effective, my ass. You, bitch you"— Sienna scolded,  pointing her index finger violently enough, that it could poke out someone's eye. Given, that someone, was poor Monica in this case, who instinctively retreated backwards, trying to save her eye and her crippling self-esteem at this point, and heard Sienna continue her rants —" are going to die single and it's not fucking our fault! "

"But.... I... " Monica tried to reason out, but was interrupted by the disappointed tone of Anastasia, who continued with a dejected sigh.

"Look, Mou, you are not grabbing the opportunity while it presents itself. It won't fly straight into your hand, girl. Now that you have it so close to you, I don't understand your deal, why aren't you seizing it? It's pointless! "

"I never thou—"

" You never thought she'd give it a chance, did you? Girl, you don't think about the what ifs and maybes in love. Just go and, like, do your thing. I don't understand how someone can be so smart and so dense at the same time.... " It was Angelina who reprimanded Monica this time.

Clearly all her were extremely disappointed with her actions. They felt as if she had let them down and were going off about it since the very moment Monica narrated the entire café 'truce' and the friendship proposal. The three girls had drafted an entire infallible plan to get their dear friend and her arch nemesis together. Oh, what a beautifully steamy enemies-to-lovers tale it would create, the had thought. And suddenly, one day, all those preparations go in vain!?

This is unacceptable, preposterous, they refuse to comply!

Finally! After months of partner-hunting, they had painfully managed to find someone who was marginally compatible with hopeless-anti-romantic-Monica. But it's her, who ruins it all—pouring cold water all over her dear friends' dreams, ambitions, desires.  She had literally friend-zoned Emily. It was a point of no return. In no way, would Emily Rhodes ever take the initiative to maybe shift the bars to something more than friends. That girl loved boundaries and would never overstep those. And Monica well she—as her friends believed now, was set at digging her own grave, determinedly. She wouldn't budge either. So, the million-doller question is, NOW WHAT?

As Sienna heaved a defeated sigh, Angelina helplessly rested her head on Sienna's shoulder shutting her eyes in disappointment and exasperation, while Anastasia grieved holding her head in her hands.

Monica cleared her throat. No response. She coughed again, signalling that it was now, her turn to explain herself but her friends seemed to be too caught up in their own distress. Ultimately after a pregnant pause they all sat up, straight, prepared for Monica's justification.

"Go ahead, what do you have to say?" Anastasia encouraged, huffing.

Monica sighed, looking down at her lap, fiddling with her fingers. She felt disappointed in herself for letting her friends down. Her expressions held the intensity of a child being forced to apologize for something, they had done unintentionally. Head held low, she began in a barely coherent tone, unable to meet her comrades' eyes.

".... Guys, I never saw it the way y'all did. I mean her and I? It seems like a very far fetched idea. We.... we practically hate each other. But we are in a project together, and I figured that it would be best to have some extent of cooperation and"—Monica paused for a sigh before continuing—" trust between us. It never occurred to me, that there were any chances of us, you know.....We barely tolerate each other. So I felt that a truce or understanding would be the best way to go about with it. Moreover, I've never thought of her as anything more than a peer. " She ended, sighing again, and finally mustered up the courage to meet their eyes, due to lack of any response.