❝I know it's hard for you to be friends with a girl without objectifying her - but lucky me, not everyone's you!❞
❝Oh yeah. 𝙁𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨. The lady goth protest too much.❞
❝𝘿𝙤𝙩𝙝, Gavin. Doth.❞
→ From Van Zandt family disappointment and Grade 8...
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𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 I enjoyed about dressing more like how I felt was that it was something I got to share with Ellie. We finally got to shop at the same clothing stores, which gave us even more time than before to talk about music and what books or CDs we should trade. After barely seeing her last year with everything happening, it was nice to spend time with my best friend. We had more in common than ever despite not being around each other for so long, almost like we functioned on the same wavelength even when we were apart.
Then...
Ashley Kerwin struck again.
Ashley, who chopped off her hair and came to school dressed all in black. Because of course she did.
And wait until you hear her poetry. She made Edgar Allan Poe seem subtle and restrained.
I couldn't even be edgy without her trying to out-edge me.
Anywho, when we met on the steps that Friday morning, Craig seemed giddier than usual.
"You okay there, buddy?" I asked with a laugh.
Craig smiled wide and held open the door so I could walk in first. That dork. "I am better than okay. In fact, I'm great."
"Uh huh." I eyed him. "What? Did someone drug your cereal this morning?"
"Ha, ha. You're hilarious."
"I know." I gave him a bright smile.
He looked back at me, and there was a pause there—like there always was—before he shook his head and looked down. "Um...so, I have to cancel this weekend."
"Oh." I deflated but tried to sound chipper. "Cool. No worries."
So, Craig was busy. Ellie was hanging with Ashley. Maybe I'd bug Sean. We were still friends, even if I was a little less 'the world sucks, down with the establishment' lately.
"It's just... Joey's gonna be out of town. And, you know I'd totally have you over, cause — I mean — you're the first person I thought of inviting, but..." Craig cleared his throat. "Joey said no chi—um, no girls."
"Okay, initial reaction, kind of offended. Not feeling the trust. It's not like you're gonna try and put the moves on me if I stayed over," I said as a joke and added a laugh at the end for effect, my face getting hot as I mulled over what I just said. Why did I ever allow myself to speak?
He laughed weakly. "Right."
"Hey, I'm gonna stop by the girls' bathroom before heading to my locker." The words formed so suddenly, I knew I'd have to commit to them. I just needed to hide my face for a few minutes and recover some of my dignity. "See you in class?"
"Yep, sounds good!" he replied eagerly, probably just as thankful to end this conversation.
We parted at the next intersecting hallway, and I stopped, turning around to see Spinner, Marco, and Jimmy in the distance. No girls meant he was more than likely headed to make plans with the boys. "Hey, Craig?"
