SHE pounded on the door to Griffin and Diego's apartment with as much force she had, for only a few seconds, because Griffin opened the door a few moments later, his body wrapped inside a blue and white bathroom robe. Mal assumed that he had just woke up and was headed to take a shower.
"What do you want in this hour?!" he exclaimed, wrapping the robe tighter around his waist to prevent it from falling off.
"I'll tell you what I fucking want."
She forced her way through the door, hitting his shoulder purposely in the process.
"Ow!" he groaned as he rubbed his merely injured shoulder.
"So," she began, standing in the center of the medium-sized living room, "Where's Diego?"
"Right here."
She turned to see her friend standing at one side of the doorframe that led to the bedroom they both shared.
"Oh. Well, I talked to Joshua yesterday."
Diego gave an uncomfortable glance towards Griffin, adjusting his standing position.
"Mal, I..." he began, but was quickly interrupted by Mal.
"You what? You betrayed me and stabbed me in the back? You exploited us and put my boyfriend's life in danger? You threatened someone else so you can get what you want? Pick one, because I don't know anymore."
She stared at both of them for a moment, her eyes glistening in disappointment.
"I'm so disappointed in both of you. Especially you, Diego. I didn't expect Griffin to betray me like that, and I certainly didn't expect it for you to help him either."
Diego stared at his shoes with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Mal. I wasn't thinking clearly, okay? I-"
She scoffed, "Weren't thinking clearly? You were the reason everyone bullied my friends at school! You were-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Griffin sneered at her at the mention of 'friends'.
"Oh grow up, Mal! They're not your friends, we are. We've always been. You and I, we were meant to be together. You're not supposed to be with him, because you're supposed to be with me! I'm done with you thinking that he actually loves you-"
She shook her head as a stray tear found its way through her disappointed face.
"No, you grow up, Griffin! I'm done with you thinking that we should be together. I'm done with you stabbing me in the back and then telling me that I need to be with you! I just need you to stop, Griffin. It's really not that hard."
"Oh, come on. Do you even know everything about him? He was in a freaking accident, for God's sake-"
She allowed a few more tears to stream down her face.
"You don't know what you're talking about! And yes, I know every little detail, because unlike you, we actually spend time with each other, because he's not too busy cheating on me, like you were!"
She sighed and wiped her tears away.
"I don't want us to be friends anymore, okay? I'm fucking done! Please leave Felix alone, or else nothing good would come out of it. I won't be so nice to you both next time."
She spun around towards the door, and hurried out of the apartment, her heels clicking on the mostly-ceramic floor.
They watched her disappear to the other side of the hallway, towards the apartment across from theirs.
"She cut us off for him, huh?" Griffin spat bitterly, "She cut us off for this barbie doll? I'm going to ruin his fucking pathetic little life! He's going to regret the day he came into this place-"
He was interrupted by the sight of Diego grabbing the keys to his car from the nearby counter.
"Where are you going?!"
"To get some fresh air. I need to be alone."
"What for?!" The other boy yelled, "Don't you see? She just chose him over us!"
"I shouldn't have done this with you, Griffin! I shouldn't have let you, or encouraged you in the first place. You bullied him, and made his life hell with him even doing doing anything to you, and I let you. This is not like me, and it's not what I stand for either. This is all my fault!" Diego yelled back, hurrying towards the door.
As soon as he walked out the door, Griffin turned towards the laptop in the nearby corner, which was lying on the couch, and walked towards it. Taking his seat, he opened the screen and began typing right away.
"I'll show these losers how it's done."
☂︎
Meanwhile, Mal stood in front of the apartment as she tried to wipe her tears away. She tried to force a smile while knocking on the door.
"It's open!"
She opened the wooden door to be met with the sight of her friends, staring down at their things with a mix of happiness and guilt.
"Mal, hey... How much did this cost? These are so expensive!" Chan began as he stared at the object in his hand. It was the newest iPhone 14, along with a SIM card, the charger and a transparent cover to protect it with style. They were delightful that they could now spend their free time on social media. Felix was grateful that he didn't have to wait until the next day to tell Mal about how he felt.
"Thank you so much!"
"We really don't know what to say..."
"Please," Mal started, trying to straighten her voice, "You don't have to say anything. I'm just... I'm happy you guys are by my side."
Felix noticed her tone almost immediately. He looked up at her, and took notice of the almost disappearing trail of tears forming two lines over her face.
"Baby, are you okay?" he stood up to give her a tight, reassuring hug.
"I'm okay, sunshine. Please don't worry about me."
He nodded hesitantly.
"How much did this cost?" Chan repeated one more time.
"I... Don't worry about it. It's just a small portion of how you guys were so nice to me, okay?"
Han stood up, his phone attached to his hand.
"So what do you think we should do next?"
Mal turned to Chan, trying to respect his leader role.
"What do you think, Chan?"
"How about Instagram accounts?"
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