Sorry for the very late update. Life has been pretty hectic, and my writing block was massive. (It honestly still is)
But anyways, here. Enjoy.
«—[W]—»
I stirred awake after being shaken a little.
The first thing my eyes landed on was the television that was turned off. Goosebumps threatened to appear when I realized I was still in between Autumn as well, with her arms wrapped around my waist. It felt completely surreal. I still could not believe I even managed to get myself into that position. Turning my head a little, my mouth made contact with her straight dark hair.
"Don't eat my hair, princess," Autumn laughed as she moved her head away, pulling off the few strands that got caught on my mouth and positioning her snapback on properly. I reddened at her words, yet felt the need to make a comeback.
"Don't put it near my face next time then," I quipped back, moving off of her to sit up.
"Ooh, feisty," she snickered.
"Is everyone asleep?" I asked, ignoring her remark. Looking over to my right, I realised the couple were not on the couch and Callus had taken over their spot. He was balled up like a foetus at the corner and it basically answered my rhetorical question.
"The couple left," she said as she pushed off of the couch, stood up and stretched. Her shirt rode up a little and I quickly averted my gaze from her, which was quite hard since she stood right in front of me. "I should get you home too. It's past your curfew," she continued.
Her words sunk in after a moment, and I started feeling nervous. "Are you serious?" I mumbled as I reached for my phone inside the front pocket of my hoodie. My mom clearly told me not to stay out too late since I had school the next day. Checking the time, I flashed Autumn a disappointed face.
"Just kidding, princess," she said just as I rolled my eyes at her.
"Not funny. I was scared for a second there," I said as I stood up after pocketing my phone.
"I know," she winked. She then turned away from me and picked up the blanket that Callus used for his failed attempt of a fort. She threw it over him and made sure that everything from the shoulder down were covered. I smiled at the cute gesture.
"What?" Autumn asked when I started giggling.
"Nothing," I said as I moved towards the doorway. She was being adorable and I was sure she did not have to hear it coming from my mouth. Fortunately, she let the subject pass. We left her house and entered Callus' car. My phone buzzed just as I clicked my seatbelt on.
Amanda now
Party's on Friday. My house.
"Why the frown?" I heard Autumn say as she started the car.
"I got invited to a party on Friday," I breathed out, leaning back into the seat.
"Not a party person?" She asked.
"It's not that, I just..." I trailed off. I was seriously not sure whether I should even be talking to her about my personal problems. At the same time, I felt completely comfortable with her, even sleeping in her arms during a scary movie. That was quite a feat since I am usually not one for physical contact.
Autumn hummed and pulled away from her parking spot in the street. I sighed. It felt like she was waiting for me to continue, or was implying that I did not have to tell her anything I did not want to. I never found out.
"It's Amanda's party," I finally said after a long moment.
"A friend of yours?" She asked.
"Ex-best friend," I said. I pushed my hand into the overhead handle and gazed out the window. We passed The Neighbourhood, turning into a street where 'Wolseley' banners hung from the street lights. The strip of houses down there were definitely older than me. All of them were made of wood instead of the typical cement, like in my area. Wolseley may as well have been called Woodsley.
"Did something bad happen?" Her voice cut through my mind. She sounded cautious.
"Sort of. She hurt me. We stopped talking during the summer and I've avoided her since," I muttered.
"What'd she do?"
"Nothing big, really. I think I was being over dramatic."
"So... She didn't hit you or anything?" She asked softly, afterwards clearing her throat.
"No?" I said confusedly, turning my head to face her, caught off guard with the unexpected question. She was biting her lip and her eyebrows were furrowed.
"Okay," she replied a moment later, pausing to clear her throat for the second time, "good."
"Yeah," I mumbled and the silence on the rest of the ride was quite uncomfortable. Thoughts ran through my head, questioning why she asked if Amanda physically hurt me. I knew she would never do such a thing.
Autumn pulled up in front of my house slowly and parked her car. She took her seatbelt off and reached for something in her back pocket, which I guessed was the infamous notepad. "Where's the party?" She asked as she opened up a fresh page.
"By Windsor Park High. I forgot what street it's on but I know how to go there," I replied. She nodded while writing something down on her notepad, afterwards ripping the page off, folding it and giving it to me with a smile on her face.
"You know what to do," she said. I slipped the note into my hoodie pocket with a snicker and turned to her.
"I must ask," I started as I gazed into her eyes, "why the note giving?"
Autumn shrugged with a soft chuckle. "Felt like it, I guess," she uttered.
A giggle resonated through my being. "You're a funny one," I said, crinkling my nose. And with that, I opened the door and thanked her for the ride, once again. I closed the car door and walked up my driveway.
Just as I got to my porch, I was pulled back, almost winding myself after slamming my back onto what could obviously be Autumn. She wrapped her arms around me and I was glad the motion sensor of my front porch light did not work, otherwise she could have seen how red I was.
"Goodnight, Winter," she whispered into my ear, then planting a kiss on my cheek. Before I could even react, the warmth was gone. I turned around, only to face nothing but a carless street, my front porch light deciding to sense that particular motion.
Either I dreamed about what just occurred or she was a professional ninja.
«—[W]—»
Friday came faster than I anticipated.
Autumn had taken me to The Neighbourhood for lunch, with Callus trying to convince me to go to Triple B's with them that night. He wanted me to see Joel, the man I realized he spoke of the first time I met him. He wanted me to play wingman, but I could not. I was quite the shy one and I told Amanda I would go to her party.
Deep in my heart, I believed she was going to make it up to me.
My mom dropped me off at her house around eight, planted a kiss on my forehead and said with little excitement, "Have fun, honey." I had a feeling she did not want me to attend that party at all.
Entering the house that I had not been in for only three months, I was greeted with nostalgia. At that point, it was either I reveled in it, or ignored it like I did at school. I chose the latter.
Amanda popped up from the kitchen with her two wings, bee lined towards me and tackled me with a hug. "You came," she said exasperatedly. I moved slightly, inching off of her. The physical contact made me extremely uncomfortable.
"Yeah. I thought I'd give you a chance," I admitted.
"Thank you," she said as she pushed off of me, flashing me a soft smile. She turned around and gestured for me to follow her to the kitchen with her two wings. Surprisingly, they were quiet and had let Amanda do all the talking.
Which was basically just instructing us where we should put the chips and how many alcoholic beverages to put on the open bar.
Hayley and Tara, from what I had deduced when they screamed each other's names from different rooms, had settled down on the couch in the living room. A few others had walked into the house as well, greeted the host, then joined Hayley and Tara in the living room.
I isolated myself. I went straight for the kitchen after we were done preparing for the party. Checking the time, I was overwhelmed with how early it still was. We had only spent forty five minutes preparing, and so far only four other people had come.
Clicking on the messages, I figured I should socialize with someone, even if it was not any of the people in the house.
I feel so alone here. You should've come.
Sighing, I pushed myself up onto the island counter. This was where Amanda and I usually just sat down and talked about the boys at school. Well, her more than me. I was — and still — the quiet one. A few teenagers had come and gone in the kitchen, only flashing me a soft gaze before leaving with their red solo cups with an additional ice cube they had taken from the freezer.
They probably felt the awkwardness that radiated from my presence, therefore they did not even attempt to orchestrate a conversation with me. My stomach knotted at that thought.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.
A. now
you coulda ditched that and came with us to triple b's
I frowned, knowing that she was right.
Yeah, but I told Amanda I'd come.
The bubble with three dots appeared and it did not fail in making me feel anxious. After a moment, her message popped up.
text me again when it gets worse, then i'll come.
I sighed, something that had become repetitive within my hour here at Amanda's house. Pocketing my phone, I wondered whether I should leave even though it was still pretty early. Even my mom would question it.
"What're you doing hiding in here?" Amanda's voice suddenly resonated throughout the room. I averted my gaze from the floor to her, first noticing the huge vodka bottle in her hand.
"That's a lot," I remarked with a quirk of my eyebrow, nodding my head towards her bottle.
She padded towards me, ignoring what I said, then revealed what she had in her other hand. Two solo cups. She set them down on the counter by my thigh. "Just like old days, eh?" She said as she moved towards the fridge.
"What is?" I asked with feigned confusion. I did not want her to think that I was fine with what was happening.
"This. Hanging around in the kitchen," she stated. She pulled out a carton of juice from the fridge and set them down on the counter by the cups.
"Maybe," I said as she poured me a cup of mango juice. A slight sense of familiarity struck me, but was broken when she spiked my drink with the bottle of liquor. "Never thought I'd be in a party with you again, though," I added after.
Amanda stopped pouring, then set her bottle down on the counter. Her eyes darted up to mine and I could pretty much feel her frustration. "Can we just, not have that come up for tonight?" She pleaded. I took a sip of my drink.
"No guarantee," I said.
"Let's just have fun, okay?" She said softly, placing a hand on my knee. The sincerity in her voice could have fooled me and I felt the familiarity again. Actually, I did not know what I was feeling. I wanted her back, for her to be my best friend again. She was my only friend.
I nodded after a moment and gently pushed her hand off of my leg. Physical interaction with me would have to be when I felt comfortable with her again. At that moment, I still felt slightly uncomfortable.
Amanda cleared her throat as she retracted her hand back. She continued making her drink while I chugged mine down. She refilled it right away, then urging me to move to the living room where the party seemingly was. More people had come within an hour and by then, I was already feeling it.
Regret started accumulating after my fourth refill.
«—[W]—»
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