Recap:
"New people are FINE!" Andre burst out, slamming his fist into the brick, causing blood to trickle down the walls. "It's fine as long as he doesn't date! I won't let him fall in love with anyone but me!"
The two heard a pair of keys hit the ground. Looking into the planters that Elizabeth came from, they saw a boy staring back at them with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Vincent.
*OK so this is the new upload. I didn't write much, but I hope you guys like it anyway! You'll see why I kept it so short soon!*
New upload:
He couldn't even move, and had a delayed reaction when Andre tried to get a response.
"Hey, Vincent; I didn't know you were there," Andre laughed uneasily. Vincent kept his shocked expression, but managed a shaky nod. Andre's face fell, and he walked up to Vincent with a solemn face. Vincent couldn't help taking a small step back, and Andre froze at the action.
Elizabeth simply stared. Nothing she could do would put this back to the way they were before. Meanwhile, Andre chuckled bitterly, bent down, and picked up his car keys.
They jangled, bumping against a small key chain with Andre's and Vincent's faces laughing in a picture taken at Sea World.
"I guess you don't want to be my friend anymore. It's fine, really. It'll be hard for you to enjoy being around me now," Andre smiled sadly. "I just want you to know being your friend was really fun, and I'm glad I met you; even if you hate me now."
The key chain's weakened clasp snapped as Andre ran off, and it hit the ground with a clatter. Elizabeth didn't follow, knowing it was her fault that Vincent had lost his best friend.
Vincent himself couldn't get his legs to move, only being able to look down at the broken souvenir. The glass had cracked, and a jagged line ran in between the two's smiling faces.
***
Elizabeth sat in a depressed heap on the grass, and nothing Annie was doing could cheer her up.
"It wasn't your fault, Liz," Annie repeated for the hundredth time. "So what if Andre's been ditching school for the past few days? The field trip is next Friday, so we've got the rest of today, Friday, Monday, and three other days to get him to come back. He'll show up for sure. Just eat your lunch already!"
You're wrong Elizabeth thought. The problem's deeper than that. But how could she say it out loud? Even if Annie was her best friend, the secret about Andre's homosexuality couldn't be told to anyone else.
Forcing herself to smile, Elizabeth turned to look at Annie. "You're right. I shouldn't be depressed about something that wasn't in my control."
Annie's face relaxed, and she sighed in relief. "Thank goodness you're back to normal. With you and Vincent so down, I didn't know what to do."
Elizabeth barely kept from flinching. Vincent. Shocked by Andre's big secret, Vincent had to walk back to his house. The guy had been in no state to be driving a car. On Monday, he had shown up determined to confront Andre; only to find out that Andre had ditched school.
Vincent had waited every day, hoping that Andre, who had locked himself in his house and refused to see anyone, would show up. It got worse with each passing day, and by the time it was Wednesday, Vincent had seemingly given up on talking to anyone, even Elizabeth. Today, Vincent ditched all his classes, only staying in school to see if Andre would show up.
I should have never let myself get back into Vincent's life, Elizabeth told herself. She had managed to save the two's friendship by avoiding Vincent, but had shattered it to pieces beyond repair the next day. What a mess.
"Vincent and Andre are bad influences," Annie said matter-of-factly. She didn't drool over the two like most girls. "You should just push them out of your life and ignore them from now on."
Push them out of her life? Ignore the two and go about her school life with Annie as her only friend? It would be nice. No more worries about whether her mom would see Vincent every morning. No more worries about knowing that Andre was gay. She could forget about them. Elizabeth started, and sighed.
No. She couldn't. She wouldn't run away from the problem like her dad ran away from his family. The two would become friends again; she'd make sure of it.
Elizabeth got up, and Annie shot her a worried look. "Where are you going, Liz?"
Elizabeth turned, smiling with newfound determination.
"I'm going to find Andre."