Heartbreaker

Chapter 13: Ignorant

News buzzed around the school about the newest "power" couple — Gold and Crystal.

"I heard they kissed at the dance!" Said one female, her tone tinged with jealousy.

"I heard that Gold actually loves her!" Gossiped another. The entire situation seemed toxic.

Now that Crystal was dating Gold, the exact opposite of what usually happened occurred. Girls swarmed her, asking questions and trying to get close to her. In their minds, if they couldn't have Gold, at least they could kiss up to his girlfriend.

When (Name) arrived, she felt many stares turn toward her, which she completely ignored. She knew that they knew about her fight with Crystal. She was back on the enemy radar. Now that it's all over, and Crystal is happy and what-not, it's time to really focus on studies. I made that promise to Silver to 'stop hanging out with them' once the plan succeeded.

Nasty remarks were thrown her way as she walked down the hallways, but (Name) didn't care anymore. She had simply grown oblivious to their jabs.

Gold and Crystal were standing not too far away, by a water fountain, smiling at one another and holding hands. They look so happy, (Name) mused. Gold was probably just shocked from admitting his feelings to Crystal. She frowned. Oh man, what are you doing? They aren't your friends anymore. It's none of your business. The (h/c)-haired girl huffed, turning away from the couple.

"Looks like Gold finally found his match!"

"Ha! And to think, we thought that he liked that loser new girl, (Name) Rocket." The girls were "whispering" non-too-quietly, and (Name) could hear them loud and clear.

"Oh, be quiet! She's right there!" They giggled again. (Name) only rolled her eyes at how petty they were acting; after all, just a week before, they had been trying to get her to join their group.

"U-Um... (Name)..." A shy voice called, and the female turned to see Jasmine, the girl she had run into last week.

"Oh, hello Jasmine," she greeted politely, nodding curtly. The small brunette flinched at the indifference in (Name)'s eyes.

"I-I'm sorry about h-how people are treating y-you," she stammered. "I s-saw..."

"If you don't want the same treatment, then I suggest you stay away from me," (Name) told her simply. "Also, I know you can talk without stuttering — you didn't stutter when you helped me up. Practice a little more." She opened a small smile, before walking away, wondering if maybe she had offended Jasmine. Oh well. Mother's right. Who needs friends?

A sense of dread filled her entire being when she realized: She would have to sit next to Crystal in Professor Elm's class.

But to her surprise, it really wasn't all that bad. The pigtailed female simply ignored her ex-friend, since she was constantly flirting with Gold who sat in front of her. (Name) did her work quietly, with no rude interruptions whatsoever. I think I'm actually fine with this.

The entire period, when Crystal wasn't looking, Gold would send distressed looks toward (Name), trying to catch her gaze, but it simply didn't work in his favor, as she was pouring all of her attention into the assignments.

"(Name)!" He hissed once, which caused her to look up, glance at him, and look back down. Nothing would work. Oh well, at least I'll see her later at the animal shelter today, right? Then I can explain myself and apologize.

But when Gold arrived at his grandparents' workplace, the girl he was looking for was nowhere to be found. He frowned. His phone beeped suddenly, and it was a text from Crystal. Hey, Babe, wanna come over to study? Even just reading the word made him feel uncomfortable. It was much worse when she actually said it.

Sure, he said back, although he really wanted to go home and look for (Name). The ebony-haired male quickly made a rain check with his grandparents, before taking his time to walk outside, eyes still scanning for the (h/c)-haired female.

(Name) hadn't even bothered to wait for Gold by the entrance like she always did, and went straight inside, after a 'Hello' to the elderly couple. The animals were as sweet as ever, but something seemed to be missing. As the dogs chased each other and tails around, while the cats sat in stony silence in the corner, (Name) had an all-too familiar feeling in her gut — loneliness.

I was wrong. She sighed. This place doesn't make me feel any less lonely. She glanced across the room, at where Gold would usually sit. Is it because he isn't here? Yeah. It is. (Name) wouldn't deny that. Although, I'm happy for him. I bet he and Crystal are having the time of their lives. Cocoa barked, running over to the female and jumping into her lap, as if it had heard her wish for company.

~~~

Studying. That was all (Name) thought about, talked about, and well, that's all she did. "No social life" was what would be described as her predicament.

College applications were at the top of her priority list, as she spent hours and hours at her desk, finishing her homework in a flash, before heading straight to her stack of forms.

Hours passed. Then days. Weeks.

The hard work kept her happy; it made her feel like she had something to fill the hole in her heart, where friends would belong.

Gold had tried many times to apologize, and (Name) had almost forgiven him. It was just such a shock to her, that he would spread a rumor just to get her attention. He was bad news indeed. (Name) was simply stubborn, a trait that she didn't really enjoy having. She didn't want to give into his (likely) meaningless begging, puppy-dog pouts, and high-pitched whining. It just didn't sit well with her, how he could turn a small situation into a huge deal, and expect her to forgive him. Hell, after we became friends, Gold didn't even tell me!

The (h/c)-haired female mostly avoided Gold, Crystal, the rest of their friend group, because she knew that getting involved with them would only cause more problems for her.

Focus, (Name). You've already had enough "fun" for the year. Her perfect grades trickled in a steady pace, which caused less conflict between (Name) and her mother. Sure, they had the occasional argument, but it had definitely calmed.

Wake up. Study. Go to school. Eat lunch. Study. Go to the animal shelter. Go home. Study. Eat dinner. Study. The cycle was endless, and repeated itself over and over.

Not that (Name) had a problem with it, in fact, she would dare say that life, at least for now, was good.

The days grew chilly, and leaves began to fall from the trees. The holidays were arriving. They were a time of happiness and cheer; the times where everyone would suddenly turn ten times more gracious than their normal, and everything just seemed... brighter.

(Name) even received a pleasant surprise, a few days before Thanksgiving.

"I'm going back to Kanto to visit your father during Thanksgiving," said Ariana, eyeing her two children carefully. "You better behave yourselves. (Name). Make sure Silver doesn't leave the house without you."

"Yes, ma'am." Once (Name) had finally gotten her act together, Ariana had started putting trust in her. It was a good feeling. The (h/c)-haired girl's hatred had dwindled, into a mere dislike. Then again, she knew, that she could never truly hate her mother. She was still her family.

On the day before Thanksgiving, (Name) waved goodbye to her mother as she boarded her friend's car. Hell, Ariana hadn't even knocked over anything for her daughter to clean up!

"Well, I guess it's just you and me, Silvy," the female said to her twin cheerfully, who only grunted, deeply immersed in his video game. "Sooo, what d'you wanna cook for Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Let's just go out to eat." His sister pouted.

"No! Silvy, it's Thanksgiving. Let's cook together, it'll be fun."

"No."

"We can invite Lyra over to help."

"She's busy with her own thing."

"Hmph. Fine then, grouch. I'll cook for myself and let you eat mom's nasty vitamin pills." Before Silver could retort, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Hibiki stood on the doorstep, holding a pie. The woman smiled, and waved at (Name). She nearly cringed; didn't she know that she wasn't friends with her son anymore?

Nonetheless, (Name) smiled back, and opened the door. "Hi, Mrs. Hibiki!"

"Hello! Happy Thanksgiving." Her copper eyes, identical to Gold's, twinkled merrily. "You and your brother are on your own during Thanksgiving this year?"

"Yeah, my mom just went back to Kanto to visit my dad." Mrs. Hibiki looked slightly confused, but went on.

"Well then, first of all, I'd love for you to have this pumpkin pie. Homemade." She winked, and the younger female accepted the pie with a grateful smile. "Secondly, how would you and your siblings like to come over to our place for Thanksgiving dinner?" (Name) nearly choked.

"Sorry, but I don't think that's a very good idea," she coughed out. "I don't know if you know, but Gold and I aren't exactly on the best terms right now." Mrs. Hibiki's eyebrows knitted together.

"Oh no! What happened?"

"Lots of things. You can ask him yourself."

"Well, I have noticed a change in him." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "He seems so sad all the time."

"That's weird. I thought he and Crystal were getting along just fine."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too! But Gold's energy seemed to totally dwindle once they started dating..."

"He's probably still getting used to it all. It's most likely weird for him, to be dating his best friend, after all."

"Yes, yes, I see." Mrs. Hibiki nodded. "But, I think a visit from you will do him good. I think he misses you." And I miss him too, but I'm not sure if I trust him... or if I ever will.

"Okay." The word escaped her mouth before she could stop it. "We'll be there." Mrs. Hibiki smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling.

"Fantastic! See you tomorrow night!" Her grin made (Name) feel so guilty, that she decided that she would keep her promise.

~~~

It was as awkward as (Name) had initially thought it to be.

It was a small gathering, just her, Silver, Gold, and his mother. But (Name)'s stomach dropped, when Mrs. Hibiki said, "Crystal will be here any moment."

Greaaaat. What kind of excuse can I make so I can hide in the bathroom all night? Maybe that I forgot to take some special medicine, so now I'll be gassy all night? No, (Name), stop. That's dumb. She glanced at Gold, and found that he was staring right back at her. She coughed and broke the awkward eye contact. Too late to chicken out now. It's time to face my problems. And fix them. The doorbell rang. Orrrr make them worse.

"Hi, Babe!" spoke Crystal's voice, and she jumped into Gold's arms and kissed him on the cheek. She scanned the room, and noticed the two Rocket siblings sitting at the table.

Silver was definitely not happy, since he didn't want his little sister to be involved with Gold and Crystal. But he had decided that Mrs. Hibiki was "nice enough", and he didn't want to cook himself, so reluctantly, he had come along.

"Why are they here?" Crystal asked loudly.

"My mom invited them," Gold mumbled. His girlfriend rolled her eyes, crossing her arms across her chest, before sticking her nose in the air, and flouncing toward the table, sitting as far as she could from the twins.

"Bitch," Silver muttered under his breath. (Name) punched his arm lightly, uttering that curse words were inappropriate on such an occasion, yet, she wholeheartedly agreed on the inside.
Crystal shot glares toward (Name) and Silver during the entire dinner, but made no comment towards them.

"What are you most thankful for, (Name)?" Mrs. Hibiki asked the girl. They were going around the table, and saying what they were most thankful for.

"My brother, Silvy." She grinned.

"And you, Silver?"

"My sister, (Name)." Crystal rolled her eyes rudely in the background.

"What about you, Crystal?" A lovesick expression took over her face.

"Goldy." She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, before glancing at (Name), and kissing him once more for good measure.

"How about you, Gold?" asked Mrs. Hibiki, ignoring Crystal's actions.

"My mother," he blurted. Crystal seemed offended at first, but quickly replaced it with a fake smile.

"Aww, how sweet," she cooed, pushing his dark hair away from his eyes. (Name) almost laughed, but held it in, making a strange noise that caused her to cough to cover it up.

Mrs. Hibiki's cooking was absolutely fantastic.It could almost rival Ariana's. (Name) ate so much food, that she lost count of how many platefuls she cleared. Crystal picked, even though it was obvious that she liked the food. Girl, just eat. Your boyfriend is next to you on his tenth turkey leg, and you haven't even finished one. Who is he to judge? The (h/c)-haired female sighed, clearing her thoughts. Again, noneeee of your business.

Toward the end of the night, (Name) excused herself to go to the bathroom, and Crystal cornered her, an angry look on her face.

"Look, hun," she announced, jabbing a finger into (Name)'s face. "I got to Gold first; what's up with you, trying to get him? You're so desperate." The female only smiled.

"Don't worry. I know he's yours," she told Crystal calmly. "Besides, it's not like he invited me over tonight. If you want to scream in someone's face, then it's Mrs. Hibiki. But if you dare do that, the animals will come in from the backyard and scratch your face off. They're very protective of their owners." The bluenette scoffed.

"You think I'm scared of you?" She raised a hand, about to slap (Name), but the other girl was too quick for her. (Name) reached up, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to the ground. Crystal hissed, trying to bring the female down with her, but she stood still, wrenching away from her.

"I can give you many reasons to be scared of me," (Name) snarled. "But all I want you to know, is, I'm not after Gold. Trust me, he's all yours. I'm not your enemy unless you want me to be, Crystal." The girl dusted herself off, before glancing at the bathroom. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to pee." Smiling triumphantly, (Name) marched into the room and slammed the door in Crystal's face.

Don't get mad. Don't get mad. Time to be the bigger person, (Name). Don't get mad. She successfully calmed herself down, but, not wanting to deal with Crystal's crazy tendencies and Gold's constant glances, as soon as she was done with her business, she waved at Mrs. Hibiki before dragging Silver out of the house. He had been playing a video game with Gold, and was whining loudly.

"I was about to beat him!" He cried, as (Name) pulled him into the driveway.

"Too bad, we're home now, and you can play."

"You don't underst — "

"Silvy, stop."