Wilted

Rough Patch

     "She did what?!" Ann-Marit's voice pierced the sweet spring air like a bullet, attracting the attention of onlookers, which were staunchly ignored.
"I know, I know." Linnea sighed, pulling the rest of a candy bar from it's wrapper with her teeth, "She went through a pretty tough-"
"It doesn't matter!" Ann huffed, "if I were to spot a shard of glass on my roommate's floor, I would have committed a felony!"
     "Well, that's the difference between us, Ann…" she crunched a peanut between her teeth, "I don't exactly care to be arrested. Unlike that weird dude you've been seeing."
"Don't change the subject! You're one to call Øystein weird when you're enabling some nutjob!"
     "Fine!" Linnea slammed her book closed, leaving Ann-Marit and about half a Snickers behind as she got up, sick to death of all this nonsense. She had never missed term papers so much in her life.

     Orchid had barely been out of bed for at least a week, though it felt longer. The debris had been swept up and her bag discarded, but she hardly felt like a new person.
She didn't even flinch as the door creaked open.
     "Okay, Winnie Witch, get your ass up." Linnea announced, clicking off the Stevie Nicks song playing on the radio. "You're in here listening to my mom's music."
" 'm not a witch, anymore…" Orchid sobbed through the tear soaked sheets, "I never was one."
     A pang of guilt shot through Linnea's heart. The wonder in her eyes had been drained, a bright sky blue dulled to a dim grey. It hurt to watch, but the thought of doing nothing about it hurt even worse. "Whatever you are, Orchid. Laying in bed like this isn't gonna solve anything. You're coming into town with me and I won't take no for an answer."
It may not have been the ass chewing Ann-Marit had suggested, but it was the kindness that Orchid desperately needed right now.
-
     It was uncharacteristically warm, and the sun loomed high above them like a beautiful blazing flower, fueling the chatter outside from the happy pedestrians, lost in their own lives and conversations.
Before they had all seemed so beautiful and vibrant, but now they all morphed together in a funny, smiling blob, producing indistinguishable noises that filled Orchid's head with hazy static.
     "What's your size?" Linnea muttered, thumbing through a rack of clothes positioned outside a cozy looking thrift shop, "You look like an extra small, maybe a-" she interrupted herself, staring down at her obviously bothered friend. Have those bags under her eyes always been there?
"Here!" Linnea shoved a pile of white fabric in Orchid's arms, it was soft to the touch, and looked barely worn. "Go inside and ask to try this on. If it fits, I'll get it for you."

     The dressing room lights burned bright over her head as she pulled the garment over her head. It was a simple white dress with delicate bell sleeves, it showed more of her shoulders than she would have liked, but it was a cute little thing, and wouldn't have been out of place in a music festival in the 60's or 70's.
Orchid stepped out, examining herself in the mirror before Linnea grabbed her shoulders, startling her. "Aye!" She giggled, "Looks like someone threw out their Mom's old clothes! It's crazy, but it looks great on you! Something like that would make me look big as a horse."
"You think so?" Orchid cracked a smile, holding out her hands to let the sleeves billow, "I'm not really used to wearing so much white."
"It is a little samey, but…" Linnea grinned, pulling one of the many sashes out of a basket nearby. It was a faded tan, adorned with purple flowers and matching fringes on the side, the piece had been well loved, and held memories of a time forgotten, which seemed a lot for an old scarf. She wrapped it around Orchid's waist, the pop of color bringing a much needed touch of warmth. "There!"

     A pair of flat shoes and a secondhand leather bag left with Orchid, after Linnea was certain the clothes had -definitely- been washed.
"Linnea…" she said softly as they walked, "Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"No, I mean it, not a whole lot of people would be able to deal with me, especially like this. I'm really glad I met you."
Linnea swallowed hard, of all the things she expected Orchid to say, that wasn't one of them. "Yeah, I am too." She lazily threw an arm around the shorter girl, giving her shoulders a quick squeeze.
    
     "Wait…" Linnea paused, jogging up to the next building. The sound of a ruckus could be heard from the inside, two men were shouting, about to come to blows. Orchid quickly rushed up the window, peering inside.
     The windows were blurry, and the men inside were embroiled in a tussle, it was hard to make out any distinguishing features besides dark, curly hair and-
"Jørn!" Orchid yelled in shock, running through the door and grabbing a hold of his jacket, "What are you doing?!"
"Back off, Kid!" Jørn forcefully pushed her out of the way, before landing a right hook to Øystein's jaw, "Son of a bitch!"
     He recoiled from the punch, holding his face as he stumbled back, "He was a shitty, lazy singer, and if you love his ass so much, you can leave the band too!"
"You don't deserve to talk about him, Motherfucker! He was our friend!"
Øystein leaned back on the counter, a familiar face stared at the men as they fought, grinning like a rat who found the last bit of cheese.
"I don't have friends, and you shouldn't either! Now get the hell out, and never come back!"

     Linnea burst in, helping Orchid to her feet, her eyes wandering around the shop. It was small, dimly lit with a large black curtain behind the counter. "God, you took a spill there, girl, you okay?" She asked softly, before turning to Jørn with scorn in her voice, "And you! Why is it that whenever something goes wrong, it's always one of you hanging around!?"
     "Look, I'm sorry shoved you kid, but this Motherfucker…" he pointed at Øystein again, "Fuck, I can't, I'm gonna get a cigarette. I'll be outside." Jørn huffed as he shoved the door open, forcing his way outside.
Orchid rubbed her shoulder, absentmindedly walking over to the counter, her eyes focused on Øystein. "What did you say?"
"What's it to you?!"
"What. Did you say?" Her voice cracked, her face remaining as stoic as a statue.
     Øystein crossed his arms, looking down at her, "Really? The gremlin is gonna try and fight me now? Look at this!" He started to chuckle, but quickly stopped when Orchid was unaffected. "Look, don't be pissed off I trashed your little boyfriend. Now you can have him all to yourself if you can fight off Jørn for the privilege."
Orchid took a deep breath, her fists clenched so hard, angry red marks formed on her palms. She stayed silent as Øystein continued to gloat.
"Cut up his throat real good, shame he didn't finish the job!" He fished a knife from his pocket, humming as he mockingly slid it over his throat. "Hey maybe you two can have matching scars! Besties foreverrrr!" He held the knife up to her throat, close enough to make a threat, but not enough to actually be threatening.
     He stopped immediately when Orchid grabbed him, sinking her nails into the meat of his wrist. "Do it." Her voice started small, ramping up in anger, "Do it! You talk so much, I never see you do anything, Do it you son of a bitch, Send me right to hell!"
Øysten's mouth dropped open, following the clink of the knife on the floor. Orchid started to laugh as she slowly retracted her nails from his arm.
"You are a coward, and you never, ever deserved to speak on his name. If you ever do it again, I'll take your liver out and eat it in front of you!" She raised her voice to a yell, reaching back and punching in as hard as she could in his gut. It wasn't the hardest thing he had ever felt, but enough to get an audible 'oof' from the taller man.

     Orchid tilted the bowl of complimentary mints on the counter in her new bag before filing outside with Linnea, who at that point was shakingly excited. "Holy shit, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen you do! Ann's gonna be pissed but like…"
     "I don't even know where that came from!"
"The pits of hell, kid! That was awesome!" Jørn grinned, flicking his cig into the road, "Where did you even come from?"
Linnea spoke up, "I got her out of the dorm for a while, we were just out shopping."
"Were you doing anything, Jørn, you could join us!"
He thought for a minute, shrugging as he crossed his arms, Eh, I guess I don't have anything better to do."

-

(Author's note: So like, I have gushed a lot lately but my life has ~super sucked~ my partner just had surgery, and actually I might have literal Covid so like...
For reference I'm fully vaccinated so be careful out there y'all. Stay tuned, I'm finishing this shit, I promise)