Eye of the Hurricane [Norminah]

i

Normani let out a breath of relief after finally moving everything up in her new apartment. As much as she wanted to go to sleep the moment her parents had left, she couldn't; it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and taking a nap at this time would mess up Normani's sleep schedule. So, Normani did what she always had done when she had free time; she grabbed her sketchbook and her pencil and headed outside.

It felt nostalgic to hold the notepad in her hands, even though it had only been a week since she had last drawn in it. This was the fifth sketchbook she'd bought in the last year— since the others had been filled up— but she grew attached to each one she got.

She stepped outside and allowed her feet to take her where they pleased. Although, she didn't really know why she trusted her feet; they always led her to the same place: Central Park.

Upon arrival, Normani strolled to the bench that she had claimed as her own for about a year now. She took a seat on the wooden bench and looked around the park, as she always did, in an attempt to find some inspiration. At that time, it was easier said than done, for Normani's head was still clouded from her "recent" breakup. What she considered recent was not quite what others saw it to be, meaning Dinah Jane Hansen could have reasonably moved on and found someone else in the time they'd been apart— not that she hadn't tried when they were together.

Normani gave up hope after a long while of trying to find something to draw. Right as she was going to close the notepad, she heard a familiar voice cast over her shoulder, and the artist felt her heart sink down to her stomach, knowing exactly who it was.

"You still come here?" asked the soft voice, speaking rather close to Normani's ear.

Normani, however, remained still, staring at the people in front of her, rather than the one behind her. "Why are you here, Dinah?"

"So now I can't go for a walk? This isn't your park, Mani. I don't have to ask per-" Dinah started, but was interrupted by an irritated Normani.

"No. Why are you here, talking to me? Don't you have one of your girlfriends to tend to?" she spat, turning in her chair to face her ex.

Dinah chuckled softly as she rounded the bench to sit next to Normani. "I guess I deserved that one, didn't I?"

Normani turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "You deserve a lot of things from me that you haven't gotten yet. Just sit here a little longer, and they'll come to you."

"Mani, I don't understand why you're still so angry with me? You never even told me what I did wrong." She placed a hand on Normani's bare thigh, but the girl quickly shook it off.

"We've had this talk before. Three months ago, remember?"

"I told you, I was drunk when it happened. I would never do that if I were-"

"What? Sober? 'Cause there were quite a few witnesses that could tell me differently," she spat before turning the other way, attempting to focus on everything except Dinah.

Neither of them spoke for a while, but Dinah finally mustered up the courage to speak. "Just-just let me make it up to you. You wanna go get some coffee or somethin'?"

Normani glared at her with dark eyes before turning back around.

"Please. I just- I just wanna make things right again. Half an hour, that's all I'm asking."

"Fine, you get thirty minutes. I'll be timing it," Normani stated as she stood up from the bench. "Let's go."

• • •

The two ended up in a small coffee shop, just north of the park. Normani was not interested in sitting down and having a civilized conversation with the girl who broke her heart, but she knew that if the roles were reversed, she would want Dinah to hear her out. Then again, the roles wouldn't be reversed because Normani wouldn't dare go and have sex with Dinah's best friend, no matter how "drunk" she was. But, after deciding to be the bigger person, she decided to listen to Dinah's sob story.

They had been sitting in the café for quite a while, and neither of them had spoken. Normani couldn't quite fathom why Dinah brought her there to sit in awkward silence when both of them could have been doing better things.

"Thank you," Dinah finally said, after five minutes of silence.

"For?"

"Letting me talk. I missed you, Mani."

Normani rolled her eyes at the younger girl's words, laughing a little at how much courage she had to sit there and lie to her face. "Dinah, if you're trying to get-"

"I'm not trying to get anything. I still  love you, Mani. What I did was a mistake. I shouldn't have gone to that stupid party without you, and I just wish I could take it all back. I want you back."

"Well, I guess we can't always get what we want, can we?" Normani retorted, looking over at Dinah.

Dinah bit her lip as she looked down at the table. "I just- I don't know what to do. What do I have to do to get you back, Mani? I'll do anything."

"It'll take a miracle, Dinah Jane. You really fucked up, and I don't know if I could ever forgive you." Normani's words made Dinah sink further into her chair— the outspoken girl now going silent. "I just have one question, D."

Dinah looked up, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah, what is it?" she asked eagerly.

The older girl sighed audibly before speaking. "Why Lauren? I mean, I think it would be easier to forgive you if it wasn't my best friend, but," she paused to take a deep breath, "you could have had any girl there. Why my best friend?"

The blonde froze in her seat, looking up at Normani. "I can't answer that question."

Normani nodded slowly, for she had heard enough to know that she was probably getting played at this point. "Cool."

"Uh, we should probably get going. I have to, uh, I have to get home by curfew."

"Yeah, okay," Mani replied as she stood from her chair. The two walked out of the small building and stopped at the entrance.

"I'll see you later, Mani," Dinah said with a hopeful smile, turning to her ex.

"Yeah. Bye, Dinah."

Then, they headed their separate ways, each of them with hope in their hearts for two completely different things— Dinah: hoping that they would meet again, and Normani: praying that she would never see Dinah again.