𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗜 𝘀𝗮𝘄
𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗼
And that's when you start asking yourself why
You cry, they don't
Every single night.
Birmingham, September 2022
Making friends at Saint Chad had been very hard, if not impossible. At some point, Delilah even stopped trying and considered lucky to have at least Peyton and Wyatt. The majority part of students were just a bunch of rich kids, too snobby for even saying a miserable 'hello'; while the other part was just too focused on studying, to not loose their scholarships, to barely raise their heads from their books and look people around them.
It had been a week since her arrival, and between classes and everything, Delilah still managed to keep an eye on her sister's former best friends, waiting for a misstep or something that could break their facade of good girls, but nothing. By now she managed to learn their classes and some of their movements. Sometimes they even crossed paths, causing each one of the four girls to send Delilah glances; not bad ones, just weird ones.
It was still early days, thou; but she felt very frustrated by the fact that none wanted to mention what happened that night. None talked, none remembered, what a coincidence. Only Peyton seemed to be more willing to speak, but she still had to catch the perfect moment to speak about the subject.
Election Day was approaching soon, and everyone at university was hurrying to try to candidate; although there were everywhere already big poster with Abigail Edwards's face. 'For a better community', the sponsor said. Delilah weakly smiled at the thought that Rachel planned to be part of that, she remembered her sister mentioned something about being part of Abigail's party.
A text message from Wyatt distracted her from her lesson; the boy saying to meet him and Peyton at the university cafeteria once her morning lessons were over. To her luck, the three of them had a similar schedules, and break was just one hour away.
So she just waited, while taking notes and checking the time almost every five minutes. When finally it was time to leave, the blonde hushed to recollect all her things and rush out the class before getting stuck in the crowd of students.
Making her way to the cafeteria, she spotted just the person she was looking forward to meet more.
Abigail Edwards.
She was alone, reading something on her phone, her books under her arms. Now it was the perfect moment to approach her, casually. Delilah stuffed her phone out of her denim jacket pocket, ending up reading something herself, her blue eyes fixed on the screen showing an old conversation as she pretended to type a reply back. Still by chance, walking so absent-mindedly, she ended up bumping into the princess of Saint Chad, who staggered but managed not to fall backwards, unlike her books, which all fell to the ground with a thud.
"Oh my god!" Delilah said, bringing her hand to cover her mouth, putting on her best act. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean..."
"It's okay!" Abigail Edwards replied, bending down to pick up her books, an action Delilah copied, helping her collecting everything. "I should have looked where I was walking too!" The red haired girl chuckled. Her blue eyes finally laid on the blonde girl in front of her and, for a brief second, it was like she saw a ghost.
Delilah chuckled too, handing the girl the last book. "These phones!" She giggled. "Again, I am very sorry!"
Abigail cleared her throat, forcing herself to act in the most possible natural way, reserving the blonde a smile. "No problems, none of us got hurt, so it's all good!" She spoke. "Are you new here? Although we're not exactly few students here, I've never seen you around!"
"Uhm, yes. Moved from Liverpool this year!" Delilah replied, feeling extremely thankful for those drama lessons her parents made her attend in middle school. At time she thought they were pointless, as she never dreamed of becoming an actress, but right now she felt lucky she did took them, and hell, she did not loose her skills. "Heard education was better here, so I decided to give it a shot." She shrugged.
Abigail nodded, looking quite surprised. "We have the best teachers and classes here, so you made a great choice!" She smiled again. "This is why this university is élite. Oh, what bad manners, I'm Abigail Edwards! It's so nice to meet you!"
"Daisy Bishop, my pleasure!" Delilah returned the smile, cordially shaking her hand. "Uhm, I am heading to the cafeteria with some friends, you can join if you want!"
"That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid I have to pass. I'm heading to the library for an essay." The red haired girl replied, not hiding a hint of disappointment in her voice. "But we can definitely grab a coffee or a tea any other time!" She opened her bag and let out what looked like to be a business card. "Here's my number, feel free to text me anytime, even if you need the smallest thing! I'd like very much to feel you welcome at our university!"
At that point, Delilah couldn't tell if her kindness was real or was just because of her re-election; either way, her plan to get closer to the group was now working. If I get Abigail, I get everyone she thought as she accepted her business card and smiled. "Thank you!"
Abigail nodded, a smile always plastered on her face which looked like made of porcelain. "I should get going now, so I guess I see you around soon?"
"Yes, sure!" Delilah nodded. "Have a nice day, Abigail!"
"Have a nice day too, Daisy!" The red haired giggled, taking her phone out once she was nowhere near Delilah. She stopped by the nearest bathroom and took a deep breath.
It's not her she kept telling, knowing exactly that that girl couldn't be Rachel. But why did she look like her? That had to be just a coincidence, right? Unlocking her phone, she quickly wrote a text message to her friends. She remembered them mentioning something about that new girl, but Abigail didn't pay too much attention, until now, until he saw her that close.
𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮: 𝘈𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘭
𝘛𝘰: 𝘓𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭, 𝘌𝘺𝘳𝘦𝘮, 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘪𝘢
𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵.
—
Although it was peak time, with most of the students on their break looking for a quick snack while waiting for their next class, the cafeteria was, fortunately, not all that full. There was enough space to move around and even free tables. Delilah searched for her friends to the crowd, spotting them near the counter, reading the menu of the day on the blackboard. She quickly approached them, even pushing someone along the way for the hurry.
That was not nice of her, but it was not like she particularly cared about; especially when right now she was also hungry.
"Look who made it! Hello my little Daisy!" Peyton chuckled at the sight of her taller blonde friend, opening her arms to leave her a quick side hug. "How is you day going so far?"
"Like I could stab someone if I don't eat something!" Delilah grumbled as she adjusted her own bag on her shoulder. "Hello everyone, by the way!" She then quickly red the menu. "Are we ready to order or..." She really hoped in a positive answer, at that point she was really almost starving.
At her questions, Wyatt laughed and nodded. "Actually we already ordered, we were waiting for you!" He cleared his throat. "Then we're reaching two friends of us who are waiting on the outside."
Delilah narrowed an eyebrow at him. "So does this place also have nice people expect us?"
Wyatt and Peyton both laughed. "I took it as you still had to connect with anyone here!" The girl commented between laughters. "But I've got you sis, I really do! They are only a bunch of rich assholes!"
"You're rich too." Wyatt pointed out, causing Peyton to shoot him a killer glance.
"My parents are rich, I am almost broke." She corrected him. With her decision to apply for a scholarship at Saint Chad, Peyton had also to renounce to her parents' money, as the Sutton family was against her decision to attend that university. The two dreamed for their daughter something more prestigious, like Oxford or even Harvard, since they made Peyton apply for a scholarship also in the States. In the end, the girl made her own decision and faced the consequences afterwards. Did she regret that? Absolutely not. "They still think this place is scandalous."
"It's not exactly frequented by pure angels..." Delilah couldn't help but comment, causing once again her two friends to laugh. "My parents were also against me coming here, leaving my old university and shit, but at the end of the day, our lives and our choices."
A brunette customer interrupted their conversation by handing both Wyatt and Peyton their orders, before leaving without even asking anything to Delilah; making the blonde girl commented 'rude' at her direction. The girl sighed. "Okay, I'm just going to order, hoping for a nicer service." She looked at her friends. "Any suggestions on what to take and what to avoid?"
Wyatt shrugged. "I'd avoid tuna sandwiches. They use the canned one of who knows how many centuries." There was pure disgust in his voice. "But, other than that, everything else is fine. It's not a five stars restaurant, but their food did not kill anyone for now."
Delilah simply nodded. "I don't even like tuna." She commented. "Do you guys wait or..."
"Oh, we will be waiting on the outside, okay?" Peyton nodded. "Just outside the entrance!"
"Cool." The blonde commented, waving a hand at her friends before walking closer to the counter, ready to order. From behind there was a boy, quite tall and with dark hair; he seemed to be writing what Delilah thought was an inventory. The girl cleared her throat, hoping to finally catch his attention and get her food. "Sorry? Can I order or not?" At that point, she couldn't care less about good manners or how unfriendly she sounded in that moment.
"Sure!" The boy replied, his voice quite familiar to Delilah, recognising him the second he turned at her direction. If Delilah was surprised, that poor boy was literally shocked at her sight, so shocked that he almost dropped the notebook in his hands. "Delilah?" He called, but that was not really a question.
The blonde bought a finger to her lips, mentioning him to shut up. "Don't yell!" She rolled her blue eyes. "Hi to you too, by the way. Very nice seeing you again, Tristan!"
Tristan Saunders had to rub his dark eyes to understand that it was not his mind playing a trick on him. "What are you doing here?"
"Not starving would be the main reason now." Delilah sarcastically commented. "But, you've always been a smart boy, Tristan; you'll figure out what I am doing here."
She had no doubt about that, not that it was that hard thou. She and Tristan had known each other for years, ever since that early December evening of four years ago, when Rachel announced at dinner that she'd found a boyfriend. So it was that an hour later, Tristan found himself knocking on their door, bringing with him a wine, whose brand Delilah couldn't remember, and a box of Swiss chocolate. Needless to say, the boy made a good impression, with his gentle ways worthy of a true lord, despite his childhood spent in the suburbs of Bradford; before moving to Leicester two years earlier, to his maternal aunt's home after his parents were arrested for drug dealing.
He and Rachel have never been apart since, they had big plans for the future. Going to Saint Chad and graduating was one of them. Too bad those dreams turned into a nightmare, starting with their broke up a year after starting university. It was Rachel who broke up first, claiming they were so young and still had a lot to experience; from what she knew, they managed to stay somewhat friends.
Honestly Delilah even forgot about his presence there, as she thought he probably dropped for a cheaper university after her sister's death.
Tristan took a deep breath. "De..."
"It's Daisy." She corrected him before he could finish. "And I don't think this location is appropriate for such a conversation." She pointed out. Too many people, too many ears.
Tristan nodded, taking a deep breath. "Just be careful, okay? You don't know what you're getting into." He said in a lower voice, for then putting on a smile and acting like the perfect freshly month awarded customer. "The usual scones with salmon and sour cream?"
It was in that moment that Delilah could swear she felt her eyes lighting in joy. "You know me very well!" She laughed, leaving five pounds on the counter and grabbing the appetising scone the boy was handing her. "Uhm, see you around, Tristan!"
The boy nodded. "Sure thing. Let's keep in touch."
After a small and rather awkward greeting, Delilah joined her two friends outside. After a small chat, she followed them towards the stands of a football field, where some boys were playing what was supposed to be a friendly match or a training session, but everything seemed anything but friendly. There was such competitive tension in the air that it could have been cut with a knife, mixed with a strong sense of masculinity.
"Lunch with a view." Delilah commented, taking her seat on Peyton's left. She would have been a big liar if she didn't admit that those sweaty guys in shorts and jerseys now attached to the muscular abs were, truly, a good view for her eyes. Beauty must be another requirement to be accepted here, she thought as she took a small bite of her food.
"They show abs because it's the only thing they have." Wyatt snapped, probably with a hint of jealousy in his voice.
Peyton rolled her dark eyes at her friend. "Some of them are actually humanly nice." She pointed out, bringing a chip to her mouth. She looked around and waved her hand in the air. "Oh, they're coming!"
Wyatt, who was about to reply at her last sentence, turned into the direction where Peyton was pointing. Delilah, on the other hand, was too busy watching a fight happening on the field between two boys, one very tall blonde and a shorter curly haired boy, to even notice the two male figures approaching them. She was not aware of their presence until Peyton lightly shook her shoulders, finally making her stop watching the fight which had turned quite amusing. "What? Ken preppy boy was having the upper hand!"
That caused Peyton to chuckle. "Our friends came over." She said, causing Delilah to narrow her eyebrows and look at the two boys standing at their side. "Guys, she's Daisy, the pretty girl I talked you about!" The dark skinned girl said, a little bit too excited. "Daisy, our bad boy here is Eric and pretty boy is Gary, they're both single if you mind! See guys? Told you she's drop dead gorgeous!"
Delilah moved her blue eyes back to Peyton. "Are you playing Tinder with us now?" She shook her head in amusement. "Nice to meet you boys!"
The two boys shared a look before both saying at the same time. "Pleasure is ours." And they sat down with them; while Delilah carefully observed them. Those two boys were the total opposite; Eric was full covered in tattoos, with dark hair and eyes despite the fair skin complexion, and with his grey sweatpants did not give the vibes of someone who gave a fuck about manners; Gary, on his side, looked like he came straight out of a photo shoot at Buckingham Palace, his sand blonde hair perfectly styled, a little touch of redness on his fair cheeks. For a brief second, his light green eyes met Delilah's, causing the boy to show her a little smile.
They started talking, but Delilah did not found too fond in really listening what they were saying; her mind flying to memory of her sister. Did these guys know her? Did she sit often where she was sitting now? She remembered when Rachel called her every night, saying how much she enjoyed watching boys playing football, with some of them challenging to score a goal to impress her despite knowing she was taken.
Memories of how much Rachel wanted her to attend her same university, to stay close and appreciate college life together, like they did all their lives. Maybe, just maybe, things would have gone differently if Delilah did come to Saint Chad before, or maybe not. She couldn't know and now it was too late to find out.
"Daisy?" Wyatt snapped two fingers in front of her eyes, to catch her attention. "Are you with us?" He let out a chuckle.
"Kinda, yes." The blonde girl replied, pushing away from her eyes a lock of hair. "Uhm, what were you guys saying?"
At her question, Eric smiled, there was a proud expression on his face. "I'm officially running for student President." He explained, quickly giving a high five to Gary by his side. "Time to dethrone Miss Abigail Edwards."
Peyton chuckled. "Sounds like a beginning of a revolution."
Eric nodded. "It is my friend." He looked over Delilah again. "Are you one of us?"
That question caught the blonde girl by surprise. Could she trust them enough? She didn't know, so she simply shrugged. "I'll keep my options open." She replied. "I do not know her that well as you guys, to decide if love or hate her." That was not a complete lie, thou. She only knew of Abigail through what her sister said about her -and also from Peyton and Wyatt-, and, plus, getting on her bad side was not in her plans. Delilah needed Abigail and she had to get on her best side
"Say less!" Gary giggled, blinking at her direction and quickly changing the subject.
Delilah nodded, now finally listening what the group was saying.
—
"How long should we still wait?" There was nervousness in Abigail's voice as she rose from her chair and began pacing the table where two of her friends were sitting, in a remote corner of the library, out of sight from the rest of students. "Do any of you have any idea of where she's?"
Laurel and Eylem shared a quick look and both shook their heads, with the Turkish girl talking. "No?" She said in an obvious tone. "Maybe her class took longer."
"Or maybe she didn't cheek her phone." Laurel suggested, playing with her dark chocolate hair. "Or..." She gulped, not knowing how to say her next words. "Or we should cheek her room..."
Abigail shoot her two friends a glance. "Don't be ridiculous!" She was about to say something else, when finally Mariia showed up.
The blonde pulled a chair towards her, dropped her designer bag on the table with a thud and finally sat down. A big pair or black sunglasses on and it was almost entirely obvious that she had just finished spraying herself with perfume. "Have you already started to freak out, Abigail?" She teased, causing Eylem to chuckle.
Abigail, on her side, was not in the mood. "When I say it's urgent, I mean it." She could feel her friend rolling her eyes from behind her sunglasses. "Why are you wearing those, by the way?"
Mariia sighed. "Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers of." She didn't need to say anything more, her three friends already understood.
"So, what did you wanted to tell us?" Laurel finally asked, pushing her hair behind her shoulders. "Your message somewhat sounded serious."
"Have you seen the new girl?" Abigail asked, lowering her tone and sitting down in the empty place between Eylem and Laurel. "The pretty blonde girl who just moved from Liverpool?"
Her three friends all nodded. "Yes. So?" Eylem raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with her?"
Abigail shot her a glance. "Are you messing up? That girl is almost identical to Rachel!" She forced herself to not yell, but it was hard; plus she knew her friends thought the same as her. "I do not know, maybe I'm just paranoid, but I have a weird feeling about it."
"Abby..." Laurel spoke. "Yes, she does look alike Rachel, but it must be just a coincidence!"
The red haired hidden her face into her hands and sighed. "Yeah, maybe you're right, but I told you what I feel." She took a deep breath and looked at her friends. "I met her, not long ago. I gave her my phone number, maybe it's for the best if we try to get closer to her... Just in case..."
"We what?" Eylem half yelled, causing few people around to shoot them a glance. The Turkish girl rolled her light green eyes at them. "Are you listening to yourself right now? Did you have a thriller films marathon tonight? This is totally nonsense!"
Abigail sighed again, shaking her head. "I have this paranoia right now, okay? I just want to shake it off and continue with my life; but for now we keep an eye on her. Okay?"
After a couple of seconds, the three friends looked at each other and nodded, even though they didn't seem entirely convinced. "Okay, cool. Thanks girl!" Abigail told with a relief.
What they did not know, was that they were focusing on the wrong person and another one was spying them from afar.
—
Besties, I've got a news for y'all.
I made a playlist on Spotify, so you can read with listening to music. Very cool, innit. Here's the link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4dMOQIg4MWniDY4U3YLmyu?si=ktfn7jXhR7WNNPHdHsSyNw&pt=4e7cc38fb6864f56e1f89c9ac5ba4ef5
Spoiler: if you're a Swiftie, you'll love it.
Enjoy. Bye.
- Світлана