At work, I was sort of in a mood.
I felt grey.
Alvin noticed and didn't seem too bugged about it. He just let me be. I kept staring at the door, wondering when Hilary would walkthrough. If she'd be in her softball practice clothes. If she'd be sweaty or freshly showered. Maybe she'd bring her friends this time. Maybe she'd just go home because she was tired.
I was sweeping up the shop when the bell rang. I snapped my head up and looked to the door, but it wasn't Hilary my eyes met, it was Zoey. I sort of just froze in place like a deer in the headlights.
"Hey, hey, hey, look who it is. My old crime partner. Where you been stranger?" Alvin asked. He was sitting in a booth scrolling through Reddit.
It was a pretty slow day for us, Monday's are always slow.
"Uh, around."
"How's your sister?"
"Still single, and still never going to happen." She eyed him.
He slumped in his chair and pouted.
Zoey walked over to me, where I was still on pause and poked me in the forehead, snapping me out of my daze.
"Hey," I said.
"We need to talk." She said all serious and crime boss like.
"Uh, kind of busy." I quickly went back to sweeping.
"Really?" she looked around the empty shop.
I was about to defend myself when the doorbell rang again. My eyes quickly darted to the door where Hilary walked in. Zoey followed my line of sight.
"Well if it isn't my favorite shrimp."
"I'm not short." Hilary pouted.
Alvin chuckled.
Hilary saw me and quickly ran over to me to engulf me in a hug. She smelled freshly showered and was in the same clothes she was wearing earlier.
"Hey!" I giggled as she shook me around.
"I just missed you so much!" she squeezed tighter.
"Ugh, miss me less painfully. Also, we just saw each other a few hours ago."
"Feels like forever." She dragged out the last word before letting me go.
"Poppy we need to talk, now," Zoey said.
"Oh hey Zoey, what are you doing here?" Hilary asked.
"Zoey can it wait until after I get off? I get off in a couple of hours, just meet me at my house."
I saw Zoey clench her fist as Hilary cocked her head to the side like a cute little confused puppy.
"Fine," Zoey said through clenched teeth.
Then she turned on heel and stomped out of the shop.
"What was that about?" Hilary asked.
"Don't know." I lied.
"I hope she's okay."
"She's fine, anyways how was practice?"
"You know you never really realize just how out of shape you got until you have to run laps again."
"This is why I don't do sports." I went back to sweeping as Hilary made herself at home, hopping into a booth to sit down.
She giggled and then proceeded to give me a play by play of her practice.
She stayed and kept me company until the store closed. Alvin didn't mind so long as work got done and we weren't busy. As he was locking up I walked over to my bike and Hilary followed me.
"So uh... I wanted to ask you something." She shoved her hands in her pockets and bit her lip nervously.
"Shoot." I bent down to unlock my bike.
"Um, so, uh, um..."
"Just spit it out." I grabbed the lock and shoved it in my backpack.
"Well... I saw your work schedule in the back and noticed you were off on Saturday."
"Yep, the same day of your softball game."
"Yeah, and I was wondering if maybe you just wanted to hang out with me after the game? The game is at 12 but should be over by 5. Maybe you and I could go get something to eat for dinner afterward. If you want."
"Sure." I shrugged and got on my bike.
"Really?" her face lit up.
"Yeah, why not?"
"So it's a date then?"
I was about to push off and ride home when those words stopped me dead in my tracks.
A date!
"Did you say date?" I looked at her.
She nodded quickly her face turning redder by the second.
"Like a date, date."
"If you want, I mean we don't have to make it weird. Oh my god is this weird? Did I make it weird?" she covered her face with her hands then peeked at me through her fingers before letting out a cute squeak and covering her face again.
I opened and closed my mouth like a fish out of water.
"Oh my god just say yes or kiss or something," Alvin complained.
"Alvin!"
"What, just saying." He grumbled as he walked to his car.
Hilary peeked at me through her fingers again.
"I don't know what to say, you want to go on a date with me?" I gave her a skeptic look.
She nodded, not saying anything.
"Me? Like me. Like for real?"
"Is that weird?" she moved her hands.
"I don't know." I shrug, avoiding her gaze as I felt my face heat up.
"Does that mean you don't want to go on a date?" she stepped closer to me.
"No! I mean, gah! I just find it hard to believe that someone as perfect as you would like someone as not perfect as me."
"I think you're fine just the way you are." She smiled.
"You do?"
She nodded.
"T-thank you..."
"You don't have to answer me right now if you don't want. I can wait. I just... I think you're really cool and stuff."
"And stuff?"
She shrugged, the redness in her face spreading down to her neck.
"Oh my god watching this is like torture!" Alvin rolled down his car window.
"Go home you jerk!" I shouted at him.
Hilary laughed and then surprised me by pecking me on the lips this time before running to her car and jumping in.
"Now that's more like it, whoop!" he honked his horn before peeling out of the parking lot.
I've frozen again. My heart hammering in my chest.
She just kissed me.
Hilary King just kissed me.
Hilary quickly pulled out of the parking lot as well, leaving me alone.
I quickly got on my bike and rode on home. Because of Hilary, I had totally forgotten about the mess waiting for me after I got off work. I dropped my bike off on the side of my house and ran upstairs to my room where I nearly had a heart attack because as soon as I opened the door, Zoey was standing right there.
"Jesus, you scared the crap out of me." I push past her to get into my room.
"Your mom said I could wait here until you got home."
"So what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"Wes told me everything."
I felt my heart stop.
Everything?
"W-what do you mean?"
"That you are only pretending to be Hilary's friend because you don't want her to like me? What the hell Poppy?"
"No! it's not like that."
"Why would you do that? I thought you were my friend."
"I am your friend. I mean maybe I was pretending at first but it's not like that anymore."
"So what's it like then?"
"I don't know!"
"Why would you do something like that in the first place? Were you pretending to be my friend too?"
"No."
"Then what? Why did you do it?"
"Because I love you!" I shouted.
There was a long, agonizingly long, pause in the room. Her eyes got big and I felt all the color drain from my face.
"Oh my god, pretend I didn't just say that." I cover my face and turn away from her, the mortification setting in.
"What?" she says confused.
"Nothing, I said nothing, just forget everything I just said." I could feel my tears welling up.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that. No. God please no. Please tell me this isn't real, I did not just say that. I clench my eyes shut and hold in a whimper as best as I can but it's no use, tears fall.
"Poppy..."
"I don't know, I'm so confused. Ever since you talked about wanting to be kissed I've felt all weird inside. I didn't mean to fall in love with you, it just sort of happened okay." I sob.
"So... you were pretending to be Hilary's friend because—"
"Because I was jealous of her! I couldn't see why the heck you liked her more than me so I wanted to pretend to be her friend to ruin her! But guess what? She's freaking perfect and like literally impossible to hate, so you win okay!" I whirl around to face her.
"Why didn't you just tell me?"
"Because I was scared! I didn't want you to look at me the way you are looking at me right now."
"I'm not looking at you in any sort of way."
"Yes, you are! You are giving me that stupid Zoey look. The look you make when you are uncomfortable and want to get the heck out of here. What is so bad about me? Why can't you like me? Why would dating me be the worst thing in the world?"
"I-I don't know. I just don't like you like that. I mean you're you."
I felt like she had broken me all over again.
I had to hold myself because it hurt so much. Tears were falling fast now, so fast that my vision got blurry and no matter how many times I blinked the tears away more would take the place.
"Okay Zoey," I sat down on my bed and stared at the floor.
"Poppy I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"Just go. And by the way, Hilary never liked you. She likes me, she asked me out on a date."
"What!"
"I said yes."
"Poppy what the hell!?"
"Now you know how it feels. We aren't friends anymore, go home. Don't ever talk to me again."
"Fine! I'd never like you in a million years, not even if you paid me!" she shouted before running out of my room.
I cringed when I heard her slam the front door.
There was a light knock on my door. I expected my mom but was met with the eyes of my little sister.
"Go away." I sobbed.
She walked over to me and climbed on my bed to hug me.
"Leave me alone." I tried to pull away from her.
"I don't think there is anything wrong with you. She's just a big jerk, don't listen to her. You are the bestest big sister ever."
"Why are you being nice to me? I'm always mean to you." I looked at her.
"Even meanies need a hug every once in a while. My teacher says meanies are only mean because they are hurting inside and they just want someone to show them some love."
"Thanks, Georgia, I'm sorry I've been a jerk." I wiped my tears and hiccupped as I tried to calm down.
"It's okay Poppy, I still love you anyway, and you don't even have to pay me."
I giggled and wrapped her in my arms. She snuggled up into me and held me as I held her. I closed my eyes and tried to even out my breathing.
"It's okay if she doesn't love you, my teacher says when we don't get things we want, it's because fate has better things in store for us."
Fate.
Like Hilary said.
Fate brought us together.
"You really think so?" I pulled back to look my seven-year-old sister in the eyes.
She smiled and nodded.
I smiled too.
"Georgia, could you lay with me tonight, I don't want to be alone."
"Of course, but let me go get some sleeping buddies. Wait here." She quickly got up and ran to her room.
While she was gone I changed out of my work uniform and into some pajamas.
Georgia came back with a stuffed elephant, a baby doll, and her favorite little stuffed cheetah that my mom got her when she was just a baby.
"This is Eli," she sat the tubby elephant down. "Eli likes to lay in the middle. She's needy like that. Mostly I think it's because Eli likes to be warm. My teacher says elephants live in very hot climates."
"Oh, I see, nice to meet you, Eli." I grabbed the elephant.
"This is baby, baby doesn't mind sleeping where ever so long as she gets to lay on the bed. She gets sad when she's alone so I have to bring her. I think she scared of the dark."
"I see, then we should leave on the closet light."
"Good idea and this, of course, this is spots." She set the little cheetah down. "Spot is my best friend, he likes to sleep on my pillow. Spots can't go anywhere without me; he has anxiety and gets nervous when I leave him alone. Even when I just go to school, so I have to take him with me in my backpack. No way I could leave spots alone for one night."
"I totally understand. He can lay with us at the top."
She nodded and climbed into bed, situating her sleeping companions. I turned on the closet light and left my door open, laying in bed next to my sister, well her and Eli the elephant. Baby laid at the foot and spots laid by my head.
"What do your friends think of spot?" I asked as I pulled the covers over us.
"Spots is my only friend. The others don't understand. They call me names and are mean to me, but I know it's just cause they need love and hugs. I don't let them get to me, spots is the only friend I really need."
I felt sad at that.
"I don't know, I think Eli might beg to differ." I grabbed the elephant and made it kiss her.
She giggled and hugged it close before closing her eyes to sleep.
I snuggled up close to her and closed my eyes as well.
From now I think I'll be nicer to my sister.
You only get one family after all.