C H A P T E R S I X
" And when I promise something, I never break that promise.
Ever. "
- Walt Disney
THEY WERE BOTH ROLLED UP IN THEIR BED, HEADS RESTED ON PILLOWS.
She could feel the warmth of their bodies sided next to each other. Piper braided her hair as her hands twisted around it like they were vines. She could smell the scent of her strawberry shampoo and the perfume her friend bought her for her birthday. The bed was covered with a bundle of pillows stacked with magazines her friend had bought for them to read. They had the night all planned out for them from what they would talk about, the food they would eat, and the movies. She could never imagine how awesome the day would turn out and how responsible she felt when she had ordered pizza herself.
Piper couldn't wait. Her clock ticked endlessly. She had waited for every last breath the minute until Drew came to her doorstep with her backpack and sleeping bag staring straight at her with a grin on her face.
Her father had left as soon as Drew came. He gave Piper a quick kiss on her forehead and said his goodbyes. She never got the chance to say her own as he was gone in a zip. His car drove away from their house, leaving her behind. She watched as the car drive away. For a moment, she got a bad feeling in her stomach or maybe it was just that she was jittering all over. Piper felt like she was going to explode any minute waiting for so long.
Nothing could ruin today, not even her dad although right at the moment, she had wish he had stayed. Unlike other girls she knew, they hated their parents and didn't want anything to do with them. They stayed away from them and kept their doors shut close. Piper couldn't imagine what it felt like for a parent just wanting to spend a moment with their child, while they didn't want to. Piper had the opposite problem. Tristan Mclean never had time to spend with his daughter or just that he didn't want to.
She kicked her slipper against the marble ground in vain as a bruise formed on her foot. Piper bit back the pain as she bit her lip.
Drew had finally come. Piper buried her in a hug, inhaling the sweet scent of her lavender perfume. Nothing had felt she good as it did now to greet her friend. Drew had on a Pink Garfield Tee and a pair of Abercrombie & Fitch sweatpants. Her slick, Asian black hair was up in a high ponytail and she was wearing the chapstick Piper had bought her last week.
The sleepover started out wonderful. They had watched a movie on Piper's bed while eating pizza. She had brought popcorn too that she microwaved in the oven, although the first time Piper tried it, they burned. Piper crossed her fingers the next time she did it and when she took a bite from the popcorn, her entire mouth melted by who good it tasted. They laughed the whole way upstairs about the burnt popcorn and how close Piper would have been until she burned the entire microwave.
Piper had picked out four movies for them to watch before they cuddled up into their sleeping bags and stayed the entire night reading magazines and talking about how awful school was. The idea of going back to school made her want to vomit. The two-week break felt like it went by so quickly to Piper's disappointment.
"Are you looking forward to school to start Piper?" Drew asked as if reading Piper's mind. She looked up at Piper's ceiling. She always felt full of dismay and guilt whenever she thought of her own wealth and luxurious house as if she had to feel bad about it. Sometimes Piper wondered whether or not Drew hated that about her.
"No way!" Piper said back. "Back to tons of homework and awful teachers. I can't stand another night of school. If I have to do one more page of a worksheet for homework, I'm going die."
"I can't wait," Drew sighed. "It feels good to go back to school after winter break. And you know what that means after that? Our 8th-grade dance."
Piper couldn't help but dream about the 8th-grade dance and how wonderful it would be. The idea of going made her heart burst, but she didn't want Drew to know that or she would make fun of her. The thought of going made her sick to her stomach the way roller coasters made her feel. No, she should just save the dancing for Drew. If anyone would get the date, she would. She should probably just stay home and not risk making a fool of herself.
"Ugh, the school dance." Piper let out a fake groan.
"Don't you want to go? I can't wait to go. I already have the scenario in my head ready for the day it comes. Some cute guy will ask me out. We'll dance, then he'll sit me down and then, bam we'll kiss. Maybe not some steaming make out or anything, but we'll get there." Drew grinned.
Piper wrinkled her nose. "Charming except for the fact that all the guys at our school look like warthogs."
Drew laughed. "You should see the guys in my gym class. They start out smelling like B.O and end gym with a bottle of cologne. I'm not even kidding. If I weren't so obsessed with them, I'd keep away."
"Speaking of boys, has anyone asked you out yet, Piper?"
She shook her head. "Nope."
"Someone will," Drew said matter of factly.
"What about you?" Piper asked, hoping for her to say no too.
"There were a few people but I said no."
"Are you waiting for someone special to ask you out, Drew?"
Her face flushed red. "I don't wait for anyone."
Drew cleared her throat. "I think I know who's going to ask you."
"Who?"
"That kid in our Algebra class has been having his eye on you for a while."
"The one that sits behind me?" Drew nodded her head.
"Couldn't tell." Piper said. Why would Drew assume that? Piper hadn't said one word to that guy nor would she have anything to say.
"You know Malcolm? Head of the Mathlete's club?" Drew said, jokingly but their was an undertone to her voce. She caught her shuffling with her hands.
Piper raised in eyebrow. "Malcolm, that kid? You mean the nerd?"
Drew frowned. "Hey!"
She laughed."I was just kidding."
"Never mind it." She said, "Let's watch another movie."
Her mind went back to the kid named Malcolm. Malcolm. The guy who made Drew laugh. She could always hear laughter behind her. What if Drew liked him? She shook her head. Drew who boys fawned over. Drew who everyone adored. Why him?
"Do you have a crush on him?" A smile tugged on Piper's face.
Drew's cheeks turned to red. "No."
"Come on Drew, I know you're lying. Besides, he probably likes you."
"You think?"
"Totally," Piper yanked Drew's pillow out of her arms as she let out a roar of up burst.
Something inside of her stirred an anger that she never before knew she felt. Piper was jealous. She was jealous that a guy liked Drew but no guy liked her. Piper bit back her lip as she threw it at Drew's direction, waiting for her reaction.
Drew grinned and grabbed another pillow as it sailed over to Piper's directions. They both giggled as it slammed Piper's hair only to fall and leave behind her hair in a mess. Drew let out a snort as a pillow came sailing over at her direction.
An a blink of an eye, Piper saw her world change. Images flared back to when they where younger, Piper's first boyfriend, Piper's first phone, Piper's 7th grade birthday party, Piper's..Piper's... Then, there was Drew. She wasn't Piper's first best friend nor was would she ever be her last. People come and go but something about this day, made all of this seem different.
She got down from her head and went over to where Drew fell. There was a gash on Drew's arm where the cup on the floor hit her as the pillow slammed it off the counter. Blood was dripping down Drew's skin as Piper let out a breath. Shattered chips from Piper's cup fell down on the floor. Tears burned down Drew's cheeks.
Piper brought her a wet napkin and a band aid as she wiped the blood off her skin. She let out a sigh as there where no sign of glass besides the bits on the floor. She laid the band aid on her skin after wiping off the blood.
"I'm so sorry," Piper cried out.
Drew wiped the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hands as she sniffed."It's fine. I know you didn't mean to do it on purpose."
They both cleaned off the glass chips on the floor with a broom and threw them in the trash. The guilty reminder on the floor pained Piper's chest as she grabbed the Pillow up and put it on her pillow. Everything was quiet. Everything was fine. They should be fine. Piper had turned on a movie on her TV to lighten up the mood, but she felt it only made it worse. She didn't dare to turn over to Drew, afraid to see her or her face.
D REW DIDN'T END UP GOING TO THE 8TH GRADE DANCE WITH MARCUS.
He didn't ask her out or out nor did he any longer speak to her. Malcolm choose another girl instead that was smarter than Drew. Maybe not another girl prettier than Drew. Just an ordinary girl. Piper saw them two together at the dance, smiling. When Piper came to the dance with her and her date, she watched in dismay as her friend never came.
Piper couldn't help but noticed how awful she felt as her date held her hand and how sweaty it was. When everyone said they looked beautiful together, and all she could notice was the short about of words he had spoken to her.She didn't know what she should be feeling. Guilt? Happiness? That she went and her friend didn't.
She wore the dress Drew had said simplified her eyes and the red heels that matched her earrings. The hair updo that hurt her scalp but made her look gorgeous. She wore the necklace that belonged to her mother and the lipstick one of her friends had bought for her. While everyone could see her smile shining at the party, and her heels on the dance floor while the teachers and parents stood and chaperoned, Piper came home and cried.
~Coming Up Jason VI~