Apology (a mcduke One Shot)

one-shot

Heather Duke waited in the cafeteria, sitting at a table. Quite a few students had said hi to her, some even sat down and spoke with her for a bit. She was glad no one ignored or belittled her, she had thankfully retained her position as a "heather", even though she had been suspended for a week. But now she was alone, and school had been out for 20 minutes. The campus was pretty damn empty, and there was still no sign of Heather Macnamara. She had promised that morning to meet her in the cafeteria after school to talk about what had happened before Heather had been suspended, when she had tried to kill herself. Of course, that promise was an unenthusiastic "sure" over a phone call that lasted all of 30 seconds. Heather sighed, checked her watch, and decided to walk out. If Heather didn't wanna talk, fine. That was her problem.
Heather sighed. It would be her problem, too. She had held onto the stupid guilt for so long, it weighed her down like a steel ball on a chain.
She walked out of the cafeteria, towards the school's parking lot, and reached into her zebra print tote bag for her car keys. When she looked up after grabbing them, she froze.
There she was.
Heather Macnamara, leaning against the railing of the steps leading to the parking lot. Her back was to Heather. She was hunched over, but was still ridiculously, and beautifully, tall. One of her knees was bent, the toe of her shoe touching the ground.
The short Heather breathed in. No one else was around, just a few kids meandering around the parking lot. She was right there. She just had to say two words. Maybe that's all it would take. Maybe things could be back to normal.
Heather stepped forward, and tapped her on the back. The tall girl turned around, her face full of shock, then a strange look Heather couldn't describe. It was like disgust and relief. Her eyelids fell a litte, and her mouth had a slight frown.
"Hi, Heather." Said the tall girl, before turning back to leaning on the railing.
"Heather..." The shorter girl said lightly. She stood next to her. She breathed in. Two. Words. Her breath shook.
"I'm sorry."
The blonde Heather sighed, her head lowering. She looked at Heather, her brown eyes wide. She looked devastated.
"Do you think that'll really undo everything?" She sounded as if she might cry.
Heather panicked. Fuck. Fuck, fuck fuck. She felt like her throat was closing up.
Heather breathed in, her lip trembled, and she looked down again. "I tried to kill myself, Heather. You didn't take me seriously."
Heather sighed. Where was she going to go with this? "I've thought about it since I was gone. I wasn't acting like myself. I was trying to fit a role that wasn't mine. I'm sorry about what I told you, Heather."
"Then what role is yours, Heather?" Heather turned completely to face Heather. Her eyes grew wide again, and her voice was loud, but she didn't yell. "What made you think you could say those awful things to me?"
Heather furrowed her brow and clenched her teeth inside her mouth. She looked up, into Heather's eyes. She paused. "Because I thought I could be Heather."
Heather blinked. "Heather would never say any of those things to me."
"Exactly!" Heather said firmly. "She wouldn't to you, but she sure as hell did to me!" Heather breathed in, and every memory, every word Heather had ever said to her came back. All that needless taunting, showing how little Heather really cared about her. It swarmed around in her head like a wasp's nest. "Heather never gave a shit about me! And then she died, and what was I supposed to do? Sit around and wait for you to take her place, and let myself get kicked around even more? Hell no!"
Heather stepped back. "You think I'd do that to you, Heather?"
Heather sighed, and relaxed her stance. "I sure as hell did it to you."
The tall blonde stared at her. There was a hint of pity in her beautiful brown eyes. Heather sighed again, and looked up at her.
"I'm just sorry, okay? I'm lonely, and you were all I really had when Heather was still here, and I gave it up for glory. I don't even know if I really want it anymore. I don't fucking know."
Heather blinked. The shorter Heather laughed.
"I guess this is how Heather felt."
Heather kneeled down and looked the shorter girl in the eyes.
"I...I don't know how to feel right now." Her voice was light, and she looked away from the short girl. "I guess I just want the old Heather back. The old you."
"Well, the old me couldn't stand her ground around Heather and vomited at school three times a day."
Heather blinked. "You've lost your urge to purge?"
"Not really."
"Oh."
The two girls stood in silence for a few moments. A freshman walked down the steps, unaware of their presence.
"Heather?" Heather's brown eyes grew wide again.
"Yes?"
"I forgive you."
Heather grabbed her hand tight, and stared deep and hard into her eyes. "You don't have to."
"I want to."
Heather's eyes widened.
"You really were a great friend, I want that back."
"Was I?"
"Yeah, really."
The shorter girl smiled, and the taller stood up.
"Heather, wanna go back to my place?"
The short Heather was shocked. She was ready to get back on terms that quickly? She looked at the other girl's face. The blonde smiled, looking as welcoming as she did the first day they met. Heather smiled back
"Sure, Heather."
"We'll settle this over a movie or something."
The shorter Heather chucked. "Whatever you say. I'll drive you."
"Thanks, Heather."