While The Sun is Up

chapter one | i promise

Playlist for this chapter:

"And I hope you know, you never left my head." - Sorry by Sleeping With Sirens

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"Stells! Calm your tits down!" I tell her, voice almost drown by the din of happy students dismissed after the bell of the last class of the day and grasping her wrist before she's out of my reach.

She turns around revealing her full features to me, from the worry brown orbs to her amorous matt lips frowned across the face. I am positive down her under eyes lie 5 layers of full coverage concealer to hide the aftermath of her endless tears and midnight moping. "No Adeline, I can't calm my tits down. I'm firing. My mom is gonna flip her ass off if she goes back home to an almost wrecked living room. Oh lord, please kill me."

"Stella Ryder, you should–"

"No Adeline Wade." She holds her hand up, stopping me mid-sentence. "Ugh, I thought she won't be back home until tomorrow evening–"

"–breathe."

"–I'm so screwed. I think I'll be spending my second day of being single cleaning my mess to the melody of my mom's never-ending lecture about 'How to be responsible for your own good'. Sounds perfect."

This week may not be Stella's week.

Yesterday after school, she received an image on Whatsapp from an anonymous contact, of a very familiar guy with his mouth and hands all over this girl's face at a senior's party last week. I bet you all with my life that guy was her boyfriend, well ex-boyfriend James Allen. But of course, he had to deny it. Of course James had to sugar-coat himself from the havoc he thought wasn't going to come. Of course I had to ask Dean if she can join our ice cream date that night because James was too busy doing his "homework", he didn't have time to see her at all.

But Stella loved the foreshadowing. She's already seeing this ahead. She knew so much about his scandalous life that she's too afraid to believe it. 

Regardless of the amount of  love and pity I have for my best friend, I was the happiest person on earth when she called yesterday afternoon to vent about everything. You see, I can actually picture the two strangling each other on her sofa and then ten minutes later, she's already ravaging through the entire house-- TV remote and pillows flying around, plus all the possible actions you might encounter with if WW3 is bound to happen.

And that ugly red whack I saw marked on the terribly beautiful face during lunch today instantly made my day.

"Talk to her, she'll understand. I promise you."

"So easy for you to say."

"Just try."

She stomps on the corridor's floor so hard, that the sound grabs several passerby's attention. "No."

"You know what? Whatever you say. Just make sure to tie your shoe lace," I suggest, pointing my index finger on her untied adidas." Wouldn't it be a mayhem to have your ass flipped off at the school's parking lot before seeing your mom flip hers?" I wink and pat her on the shoulder, "Thank me later."

And I, Adeline Wade, earn the glare of the day.

I shrug. "Well, I love you and all Stells, but you always refuse every time I tell you to listen to your clever best friend. Your loss."

She bents down to tie them despite the mass of individual hastily moving around to wherever they're going. "Not today okay. I'll see you tomorrow I guess." She stands back up and sighs, also giving me the hug that's been my comfort for the past 8 years. "If I make it alive tonight."