EXILE,
nine
THE SOFT LAUGHTER had relaxed her, almost immediately. It almost felt perfect once she entered the apartment, a blanket and a small pillow in her arms. The smile on her face was hard to ignore. So bright that it was illuminating the dimly lit apartment living room. She didn't know why she was so happy, but it felt nice. Nice knowing that she was with the rest of the friend group.
Well, besides Ethan Landry.
Eden Miller didn't know why Ethan wasn't at the apartment, but for some reason, she felt relieved. Maybe because she didn't want to see his face after what he had said about both Cale and her, or because she missed him too much.
So it was safe to say that Eden felt nothing but relief.
Currently, the Miller girl sat on Tara Carpenter's bed, watching as her close friend fixed her hair. Tara looked at Eden through the mirror, raising her eyebrows at Eden.
"What?" Eden giggled, laying on her stomach, chin in her hands. "Seriously, what's wrong, Tara?" Eden asked.
Tara shook her head. "It's nothing." She laughed, tucking her loose strands of hair behind her ears. "Well, maybe I have a question." Tara admitted.
Eden raised her eyebrows. "Okay, tell me."
"I— I think I like Chad." Tara admitted, noticing how Eden immediately sat up with a sly grin.
"Tara, the whole group knows, besides you two." Eden laughed quietly, crossing her legs into a comfortable position. Then, she rocked back and fourth, a large smile on her face. "I think you two would look cute together." Eden stated, watching as Tara's cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink.
The Carpenter girl softly smiled. "Thanks, Eden."
"Yeah, you lovesick idiot." Eden smirked.
Tara snatched a pillow from her bed, before aiming at Eden's head. The Miller girl fell on her back, giggling once she got back up. "Game on, Carpenter. Game on."
"Yeah, bring it on, Miller." Tara smiled, throwing another pillow at Eden. "Stop!" She giggled once Eden chucked the pillow at her head.
Tara fell onto the bed, her head beside Eden's feet due to the girl laying the opposite way. Eden's brunette locks were tousled while Tara's raven colored hair was still in perfect waves, a barely noticeable braid along her head.
Eden adjusted her wool sweater, a classic shade of beige. "I missed this." Eden admitted, glancing at Tara. "I missed my best friend."
"Oh, Eden." Tara sat up, throwing her arms around Eden's body. "I'm so sorry. I should've been there for you after Woodsboro, but I just distanced myself. I— I'm so sorry." Tara muttered into Eden's shoulder.
Clearly, Tara was talking about how distant she had been from Eden after the Woodsboro massacres. Instead of being there for Eden, she had completely forgotten about the Miller girl. She barely spoke to Eden when the group hung out, would often tune out Eden's voice, and even ignored her.
They both didn't know why they had became so distant. Tara and Eden were always best friends in Woodsboro. Eden had visited Tara every hour while Tara was hospitalized. Eden had protected Tara from Amber. Eden had been Tara's best friend. Not Amber, not Chad, not Mindy. No, it was Eden.
Then, Tara had lost her best friend. And she regrets it every single day.
"It's okay." Eden whispered, smiling softly. "I missed my best friend, too." Eden admitted, bringing her knees to her chest. "I promise, this time nothing will pull us apart. We'll get through this together, T."
"I know, E."
The two girls furrowed their eyebrows when somebody knocked on the door to the apartment. "Do you think it's Ethan?" Tara asked Eden, noticing how the girl slightly tensed up.
"I don't know." Eden replied, getting off of Tara's bed. "I'll go check. You can finish getting ready." Eden offered, fixing her hair.
"Okay, sounds good." Tara softly smiled, applying more layers of mascara to her eyelashes.
Eden sighed while she wandered towards the door. Her dark eyes rolled to the back of her head once her wrist latched around the doorknob, pulling on the metal knob. Once she opened the door, she came face-to-face with Chad, the boy wearing a large smile.
"Chadwick,"
"Edith,"
"Not my name. Nice try, though." Eden sarcastically smiled, noticing how Chad's smile grew larger (if that was even possible).
Chad messed up Eden's hair. "Is everybody here?"
"By everybody, do you mean Tara?" Eden raised her eyebrows. "I know you both like each other." Eden shrugged carelessly, wandering into the kitchen.
The Meeks-Martin boy's blood traveled to his cheeks, making him shake his head rapidly. "Oh, stop, Eden." Chad remarked, continuing to avoid Eden's gaze.
"What? I'm not lying—" Eden cut herself off when she began to giggle uncontrollably. "Sorry, it's just really—" She continued to laugh, hiding her face from Chad.
Chad rolled his eyes. "It really isn't that hilarious."
"Nope, it's just how red you are."
"What! I'm not red." Chad shook his head, widening his eyes once Eden left him standing there. "Hey, Eden, wait!" Chad followed after Eden, trying to grasp her attention. "Edith!"
Eden slowly turned around, blinking at Chad. "What? I'm just saying, you were really red. And I mean it when I say—"
"Yeah, I get it." Chad interrupted. "Wait, where's Cale?"
The Miller girl widened her eyes. "Uh oh," She said, turning her head in the direction of Quinn Bailey's bedroom. "Don't tell me my brother and Quinn—" Eden gagged, shaking her head rapidly.
"Yeah, go get some, Cale!"
Eden shook her head. "Please, never say that again." Eden remarked, face paling out of disgust. "There's no way Cale and Quinn are—"
The Miller girl stopped speaking when her phone buzzed. The vibration sent chills down Eden's spine, the hair on the back of her neck sticking up. Her happy demeanor was ruined when she checked her phone.
Unknown
Having fun at Sam's, Eden?
Eden's breath hitched once she read the message. They knew where she was. They knew what she was doing. They are watching her every move.
"What's wrong, E?" Chad questioned, noticing how Eden shoved her phone into her pocket.
The Miller girl looked up at Chad. "It's nothing." Eden replied, smiling at Chad. "I promise,"
"Well, you can talk to me if you need to, Eden."
"I know." Eden softly spoke. "Uh, I'm going to go talk to Anika." Eden informed her friend, fiddling with her rings. "Anika, hi!" Eden greeted, gracefully falling onto the couch.
Anika put down her book, smiling at Eden. "Edie, hi!" She greeted. "How are you?" Anika asked Eden, drumming her fingers against the book cover of hard-cover book.
"Well, look." Eden pulled out her phone, showing Anika the recent text messages she had received. "I don't know what to do, Anika."
Anika skimmed over the messages, taking her bottom lip into her mouth once she finishing reading the haunting messages. "Eden, they're still texting you?" Anika gaped, anxiously shaking her head.
Eden set her phone aside. "I know, it's bad." She told Anika. "It's just— I don't know who's sending the messages."
"Well, have they said anything that might give their identity away?" Anika suggested, watching as Eden unlocked her phone.
Then she paused. Just because of one message.
Ethan
Hey, can we talk?
The Kayoko girl shrugged her shoulders, before picking up her book once again. "I'm not going anywhere, Edie. Go talk to your boyfriend." Anika ordered, laughing as Eden scurried away.
Once Eden made it into the bathroom, she dialed Ethan's number, waiting for the other line to connect. Finally, Eden could hear his voice. Ethan's. "Eden," He spoke, voice barely audible.
"Ethan, hey." Eden replied, picking at the skin around her fingers. "Uh, what's up?" She asked, chewing on her bottom lip.
"Nothing, I just wanted to say I won't be able to make it tonight." Ethan told Eden, waiting for a response.
Eden slightly relaxed. "If you don't mind me asking, why?" She interrogated, raising her eyebrows.
"Econ."
The Miller girl sighed. "Oh, okay. Also, I was wondering if you and I could possibly talk about earlier—" Eden tried.
"I have to go."
Then, the line went dead. Eden wasn't able to hear Ethan's voice, nor his breathing. She was just holding her phone to ear, like a complete idiot. She just stood there, lips parted as she frowned.
Give him space, Eden.
So, Eden made her way back to the couch, looking at Anika with a heartbroken expression. She didn't know why she was letting, of all people, Ethan Landry, break her heart. Eden knows that she can date lots of better people, but it's like she's attached to Ethan. She's never felt his way with anybody else. Just Ethan.
"Eden, are you okay?" Anika asked, frowning at her close friend. "What's wrong?"
"I fucking messed up, Anika." Eden quietly spoke, resting her head against Anika's shoulder. "I'm a fucking idiot."
"No, you aren't. If anybody's the idiot, it's Ethan." Anika told Eden. "I promise, you aren't an idiot, Edie."
"Everything was perfect until I pushed him away. Now I'm getting these creepy texts, he's insulting my family, and he won't even talk to me." Eden stressed, eyes going cold. "I always do this."
"Eden, stop that." Anika ordered. "You're amazing, Edie. You shouldn't care what Ethan thinks. He's an idiot who obviously can't handle rejection. Yes, Ethan's my friend, but I love you, Edie. Ethan's an idiot if he's just going to let you go that easily." Anika whispered, wrapping her arms around Eden.
Eden threw her arms around Anika, letting out a quiet laugh. "I love you, so much." She whispered.
"I love you, too." Anika smiled.
Once the two girls pulled away, their attention was directed towards Quinn Bailey's door. The doorknob was rustling, the person behind the door clearly struggling to open it.
And when it finally opened, Cale Miller was standing there, cheeks swollen from crying.
notes. i made a new gif because yes? also, i wanted to split the apartment scene up because i thought it was going to be around 4000 words if i hadn't split this up into 2 chapters.
hm, i wonder why cale was crying.