Early Bird | ✓

14 | penguin

Lizzy rose her head from its resting location on the car's seat, regarding Teagan skeptically.  "If he doesn't care, then why did he fight Lucas for you tonight?"

Teagan wasn't sure how to answer such a question so she didn't; instead, she pulled into Lizzy's driveway, her whole house foreboding because of its lifelessness and the shadows lurking in every corner.  Lizzy pushed herself from the seat and thanked Teagan for the ride and the fun—Lizzy was positive that fun wasn't the right word for it but her mind was rolling at turtle speed and she was too exhausted to think of another adjective—night.  "Please text me when you get home," Lizzy beseeched Teagan.  "I want to make sure you made it home safely."

Teagan rolled her eyes, which were renewed afresh with unshed tears.  She needed some alone time to allow her bubbling emotions to roam free, a wild animal imprisoned in its cage.  Lizzy understood that Teagan required some space in order to sort out all that had occurred tonight.  "Love you, T."  Lizzy blew her a kiss.  Teagan swiftly returned the favor, a weak and watery smile gracing her face.

"See you, Liz.  Oh, and by the way, do you think you could text me Reece's number?  He's really nice and I think we could be good friends."

Lizzy nodded and waved before retreating to her heaven, her cozy cave, almost falling asleep as soon as she curled herself under her favorite turquoise blanket.

❁

The next morning, unfortunately, was a work day for Lizzy; however, a day full of flowers, leaves, petals, and stems sounded quite appealing compared to the chaos of the night before.  Even so, her alarm clock resounded in her ear way too early in the morning and Lizzy started off her Saturday with a mood as tart as Lemonheads.  Sunshine peeked through her window blinds, caressing her hair and skin with its warmth.  Lizzy decided that she needed some new blinds, nevertheless—ones that blocked every single sunray and leaving her in pitch-black like her heart and soul.

Her mother wouldn't let her catch another wink of sleep and risk being late to Once and Floral; she pounded on the door as loud as she could and yelled through the wood (very inconsiderately in Lizzy's eyes).  "Rise and shine, Lizzy!  You have to get yourself to Once and Floral before 9:00."  Lizzy groaned, a piercing headache beating in her skull, her muscles sore and various bruises sprinkled on her skin from her momentous yet tragic decision to interfere with Lucas and Mateo's physical conflict.

"Lizzy, I'm serious," her mother persisted when she detected no sign of life emerging from the other side of the door besides the infuriated groans that took flight from Lizzy's lips.

"Okay, okay, okay, I'm awake."  Lizzy sat up on her bed and stretched, forcing some sort of vivacity into her system from what little amount of energy she still contained.  She slung her arms into the sunlight, hoping by some miracle photosynthesis could occur on her skin and she could obtain some liveliness that way.  She had no such luck, however, thanks to biology and science.  Despite her love of plants, she couldn't transform into one.

Yet, in her dreams where anything could be possible, Lizzy owned a heart of a daisy—pure, genuine, halcyon.  A young frolicking child in a field of flora was where she belonged.

After Lizzy dressed herself and prepared herself for work, she checked her phone, which contained a few messages from JJ who was insanely curious about how the party transpired.  He had texted her in the very early hours of that morning while Lizzy was still fast asleep.  She figured he'd finally learn about how much she treasured her sleep but he was just too enthused and couldn't wait to ask.

So the party?  How'd it go?

I hope it went better than my party experiences lmao.