Avery Randolph looked like a typical, small town girl. Smart, pretty, soft. She was anything but, proven by going on joyrides on weekends, smoking pot and drinking when she had the chance.
But her domain is challenged when new girl Ginny Miller move...
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AVERY MADE IT TO the carnival an hour before face painting was over, carrying lots of stuffed toys in a wooden cart she'd borrowed from Gavin. He and the blonde were handing them out to kids, both dressed in red. A small brunette girl, with clear blue eyes, came up to them, her mom holding her hand. "Hi," greeted Avery, before letting the girl take a look. She pointed to a lion and Avery handed it to her. "Y'know, lions are supposed to be brave animals, right?" she remarked. "And have you been brave this year?"
The girl nodded. Avery smiled. "Well, then I'm sure that this little guy is going to make you very happy. And he's going to take really good care of you, too." The girl hugged the lion to her chest, smiling shyly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, sweetheart. And merry Christmas."
The mom smiled thankfully at Avery, who returned it with saccharine, before turning to the next kid. Gavin had a boy in his arms, blonde with brown eyes, who picked out a goat.
The two kids, the girl and the boy, walked with their moms toward Santa on the stage. A Capricorn and a Leo. History repeating itself.
Avery couldn't help but frown a bit, as her eyes caught Marcus'. His brown eyes met her blue, as the two kids passed him with their moms, goat and lion toys in their hands. She knew he could see what she was thinking.
Marcus stepped back a bit, his eyes catching the animals. A goat and a lion. He could only hope that once the kids got older, they wouldn't date, because it was like they were reversed copies of himself and Avery. The boy with blonde locks and deep brown eyes, the girl with brown hair and sharp, yet soft blue eyes.
He could feel the booze flowing through his blood, making his cheeks warm, as he spotted how close Avery and Gavin were standing. They were talking again, he and Marcus were not. They probably wouldn't, not for a long time. But on the other hand, people who graduated from Wellsbury didn't get married straight after. The concept seemed archaic. And it was.
Marcus was the first to break eye contact, as he noticed how Gavin looked between them.
On the opposite side of the room, Avery turned toward Gavin. "You okay?" His tone was kind, but when she met his eyes, there was poorly hidden jealousy hiding in them. She nodded. "Yeah."
It wasn't like she owed him a better answer, because he wasn't her boyfriend. He wasn't her anything, except her friend that she'd kissed. Not out of pity, but out of empathy. She'd read somewhere that kissing made you hold your breath. And yes, maybe she should have told Gavin to breathe with her, at the hospital, rather than letting him kiss her. But she'd been out of ideas. And he had kissed her first! She didn't know why she didn't just push him away. Maybe because she had liked the contact, she'd fooled herself into thinking she was kissing Marcus instead. She hadn't meant to. Now, she was screwed, severely.
Gavin was her friend; nothing more, nothing less. Just her friend.
"He's staring."
She knew he meant Marcus. Avery lightly shrugged. "Let him. I know I'm pretty." She was good at that, avoiding. But she was bad at letting go, something she'd inherited from her dad, who'd inherited it from his parents and so on. Gavin chuckled and when she glanced over she saw the jealousy again.
Avery brushed a lock behind her ear, as Gavin's fingers gently grabbed her chin. He tilted her head towards her, letting his lips meet hers. It barely lasted two seconds, before she tore herself away, weaving around the crowd as she fled the room, abandoning Gavin and the kids that stood in line for another toy. Abandoning Marcus, whose heart felt like it shattered into a million pieces.
OUTSIDE, AVERY COULDN'T HELP the tears, as she vaped, trying to brush them away and spare her makeup. "Hey."
The blonde turned around, to see Marcus, who frowned when he saw her teary face. "What's wrong?" He walked closer, handing her a packet of tissue that he carried around, out of habit. She took one, dapping underneath her eyes, as she kept sniffling. "I know you saw that kiss, Marcus. You don't have to pretend."
He swallowed, reaching out for the vape. It was a new one, sour apples. "Yeah, I saw. I also saw you run off."
Avery sat down on the bench, dapping at her cheeks again, as Marcus took at hit of the sour, flavored smoke. "We kissed, once, when his dad was in the hospital, but that was it. And. . . we talked outside our house, at yours and Max' birthday. But we haven't kissed since and. . . I just-" Avery scoffed. "I guess I wasn't ready. I'm still not. And I know he's jealous that we dated. I could see it in his eyes."
Marcus nodded, reaching out for the vape and inhaling, holding it in his lungs, before blowing it out. "Yeah, I saw that, too. He hasn't liked me since Alex died, I think."
"Which is such bullshit, because we were all friends. Well, you and I dated, but we were still friends and now. . . it's just all gone." Avery frowned, sniffling as she took the vape back, breathing it in and letting it flow through her nose and mouth at the same time. "Do you think it would be different, if Alex hadn't died?"
Marcus' question left her a bit stunned. "Maybe, I don't know."
Avery's blue eyes danced over the face of the boy next to her. "I got you something for Christmas," mumbled the brunet. She chuckled. "Of course you did. But I did, too." Marcus chuckled. "We know each other all too well."
"I can't believe you still misquote Taylor Swift. It's like, like I didn't force you enough to listen to her." Marcus groaned at Avery's words, causing her to giggle. "The pure torture!"
"Aw, come on! She's great! You're just too much of a sourpuss to really appreciate it."
"Maybe I am."
Marcus smiled as he inhaled some more smoke.
Avery got up, stretching her hand out behind her. "What?" asked Marcus. "Let me drive you home. We're both tired and now, we're neighbours." Marcus nodded and let her guide him to her Vespa that Paul had let her drive again. "I thought you took your dad's car?"
"Nope, he just let me borrow it for the toys. Can't exactly haul 350 stuffed animals on a Vespa, can ya?"
"No, you can't."
Both of them got on and it didn't take long to go home. Marcus handed the helmet back and then looked at her. "Do you - do you wanna come inside?"
Avery smiled. "Sure, just let me park this at the house. And then I'll be right there."
