"Can we talk?" Vanessa asks, gesturing to the rickety wooden bench only a few feet away, tucked against the slate grey side of our school's hideous dolphin statue.
The last time someone asked me that I ended up fist fighting on the forest floor- an experience I'm not too keen on repeating. I take a deep breath, fighting back the sudden lump in my throat. Vanessa is not Will, there's no reason to panic.
In fact, Vanessa is the only girl I know who vehemently despised Will right from freshman year. This is cheer captain Vanessa, student council vice president Vanessa, hell she's I'll-be-a-neurosurgeon-no-matter-what Vanessa. If there's anyone I can trust, it has to be her, right?
And if there's anything I should be worried about, it's hurrying this up so Atty's lunch break doesn't run out.
"Sure thing V," I answer, adjusting the hem of my skirt. I'm about to follow her when I notice Atty rocking impatiently beside me. Looks like he has some thoughts on this turn of events. "Actually, I'll be right there. Just a minute, okay?"
She glances at Atty and nods, quickly shuffling towards the bench.
When Vanessa's out of earshot, Atty sighs. "Jade, you're going because you want to, right? Not because you feel obligated to?"
I furrow my eyebrows, hoping that's enough to thoroughly convey my confusion. "What do you mean? When do I ever do anything unless I want to?"
He smiles gently and leans against his bike. "Many times- despite what you think."
When I continue frowning, he explains, "you don't realize this, but you're soft- very soft. It's one of the many things I really like about you..."
"But?" I urge, waiting for the rest. 'Soft', is he kidding me? I've never, ever, been called anything close to 'soft' in my life. Those office fumes must have finally caught up with him.
"But..." Atty pauses and runs a hand through his hair. A few silky black strands come loose, resting against his forehead. He clicks his tongue, "I don't know, I guess someone's gotta look out for you, right?"
As insanely sweet as that is, I can't stop the smirk that immediately consumes my face. Oh boy, this'll be fun.
"Someone like you?" I ask. When I spot the tips of his ear turn that wonderful shade of red, I jokingly poke his stomach and tease, "aww, does that mean you're my knight in shining armor?"
Despite the fact that I know he's blushing, and he knows I know he's bushing, Atty doesn't back down. Instead, he tilts his head and faces me with a matching smirk of his own.
"You wish. Only princesses get knights."
I gasp, dramatically bringing a hand to my chest. "And I'm not a princess?"
Atty's smirk deepens, eyes filling with mischief by the second. "No, you're a prime trickster."
He's absolutely right about that, but I feign offence regardless. "I'll have you know, Atticus, that I've pulled no tricks-"
"You've tried to ditch me in grocery stores twice now."
Oof, someone's a little butthurt. I grin and retort, "and yet you still asked me out."
This time, he's the one that gasps. But before he can fire back, Vanessa loudly clears her throat. Oh right, I completely forgot about that. This is Atty's fault, for being so goddamn distracting.
I quickly reassure him that I'm going because I want to (so he shouldn't worry) before heading to Vanessa.
As soon as I sit down next to her, she takes a deep breath and rapidly rambles, "I'm so sorry. I caught Thea being all shifty a while ago and she wouldn't tell me what she was up to, so I got Isla to spill her guts. Apparently, they had some stupid plan to vandalize your locker? I'm really sorry about that, I had no idea beforehand. But don't worry, I kind of 'commanded' them not to, so it shouldn't be a problem anymore."
My eyebrows shoot up so fast they practically fly off my face. This is the last thing I expected. All I manage to say is, "why're you sorry? You have nothing to do with it."
She shakes her head, her full lips pressed into a thin line. "No, I have a lot to do with it, in a way. They're cheerleaders and I'm the captain, it's my responsibility to hold them accountable and make sure they conduct themselves in a respectable way. Which isn't the easiest thing to do, considering Thea is... Thea."
I burst into laughter and lightly pat her shoulder. Vanessa's so adorable. "It's not that big of a deal, V. Don't worry about it."
"But it is, I have to-"
"Do nothing more," I interrupt her, still chuckling. "God, you've always been such a hardass. I'm glad some things haven't changed."
Vanessa's sculpted features instantly scrunch into a scowl. She scoffs and grumbles, "like that matters to you."
Okay, enough is enough. I ignored the cold shoulder she gave me before lunch but I can't ignore this, especially since she's one of the good ones. And one of the few people I know that Mama actually likes.
"Truth time V, what in the hell is going on with you?"
She swings around on the bench, turning to face me straight on. "You really want to know?"
I fold my arms and shift to sit sideways as well, so that we're both facing one another. "I asked, didn't I?"
"Fine," she hisses, "I'm pissed that things got hard for you so you just got up and ran away! I'm your best friend but you didn't even bother to talk to me first. Do you know what that felt like? To find out that you didn't feel like you could come to me with your problems? That you felt so alone you saw running away from your literal home as your only viable option?"
Vanessa pauses as her voice begins to crack. She blinks a few times, fighting back tears, and continues, "I worried my ass off every day that you were gone because I didn't know how you were doing- if you were okay or if you felt worse than before. I was scared to text you because I though you didn't want to hear from me. Your mom was the one who gave me a full run through of your situation after a week, she updated me on everything."
Seeing Vanessa in this state, puffy eyed and tired, all because of me... I feel like throwing up. My actions did this? I caused this? I never thought... I had no idea...
Someone else is hurt, and it's all because of me. It's appalling, disgusting.
I try to explain my situation, but no sound comes out. I swallow hard and try again, managing somehow despite the low volume. "I ran away because I couldn't stand to be here, near Will. I was overwhelmed and all I could think of was that I needed to get out. It didn't have anything to do with you, I swear. I promise I didn't mean to hurt you."
Vanessa sighs and rubs the bridge of her nose. "I know, Maddy. I know you, so I know you didn't have any bad intentions. And If I had to guess, I would say you didn't even think it through, you simply acted on an impulse."
"I'm sorry," I whisper, scrunching my eyebrows. "Really."
She offers me a warm smile and leans forward, engulfing me in a tight hug. Oh, I'm always up for a hug. I wrap my arms around her, feeling as if a weight has been lifted off of me.
"Let's just forget about this. I was being silly anyways," she says, her voice getting muffled by my hair.
I nod and the two of us slip into a comfortable silence. This is the perfect opportunity to question her about that thing she said earlier.
"Do you really see me as your best friend?" I ask.
Vanessa calling me her 'best friend' a while ago really confused me. I wasn't even aware I had true friends back home, let alone a 'best' one.
She furrows her curved eyebrows and narrows her eyes in confusion. "Of course? How is that even a question?"
When I don't answer, she genuinely gasps in shock. "Maddy, both times when I got drunk enough to throw up at a party, you were by my side, holding my hair and rubbing my back. We've gotten a countless amount of coffees together, went to the mall together, exchanged birthday gifts every year- oh and all those long drives. I even shared all my secrets with you. Hell, we've even had a sleepover!"
Sleepover? "You mean that time when we were working on our history project at your house and I fell asleep?"
Vanessa massages her nose-bridge again, a clear sign of frustration. "You fell asleep because I let you- because it was a sleepover. Didn't you think it was strange your dad never came to pick you up?"
Damn, now that she mentions it... holy crap, so many things are beginning to make sense now.
I laugh, almost breathless. It's like I was walking with one eye closed all this time, and now that my other eye is open, everything is different. It's a whole new perspective.
Wait... is this why Mama always treated Vanessa differently than all my other friends?!
"You are my best friend!" I exclaim, my eyes widening. Wow, I somehow feel so accomplished. Suddenly I have the urge to grab Vanessa by the shoulders and drag her to the salon for a manicure together.
She giggles and nods, "now you get it, dumbass."
Well, now that I've unlocked this 'best friend' achievement, there's one thing I obviously have to do. I lean towards her, flashing a conspiratorial grin. "You see that guy over there?"
Her eyes immediately dart to Atty. "Yeah?"
"His name is Atticus. We're dating."
She shrieks, which causes Atty to glance at us. When he realizes we're looking directly at him and squealing, a very worried expression takes over his face. Clearly, he's drawn some sort of a conclusion and is now fretting about something.
"Tell me everything!"
I stare at her, excitement bubbling in every corner of my being as I begin to realize all the possibilities of this friendship. Gossiping- I have the perfect partner for gossiping.
"We were just about to head out to lunch, how about you join us?" I offer.
She holds up her hands, shaking her head 'no'. "Nuh uh, I'm not about to become the annoying third-wheel people hate."
"No, don't worry about it. There's no third-wheeling if we seriously want you there!"
Vanessa thinks for a bit and suggests, "let him know first, see what he says. I really don't want to wreck your plans."
I instantly hop off the bench and jog over to Atty. He seems surprised by my abrupt movement.
"Ready to go?" he asks.
"Almost. It's just... well, you see, that's my best friend back there and I was wondering if you'd be cool with her joining us for lunch."
Atty raises an eyebrow, eyes wide. "Best friend?"
"Yeah, I didn't know either. Can you believe that?"
He chuckles and shrugs. "I can, actually." Atty pushes off of his bike and stretches his arms out. "I don't have much time left so we should get going now. How about you and her meet me at Felix's?"
I agree so he reaches for his helmet, getting ready to leave. Before he puts it on, Atty pauses, his gaze lingering on my face.
For a brief second, everything around me disappears and all I can focus on is his earnest smile as he leans close to stroke my cheek with the pad of his thumb and softly says, "my scatterbrain." He places a delicate kiss on my temple before pulling away and sliding on his glossy black motorcycle helmet.
"You know, just because you say it like that and pair it with a kiss doesn't mean it's not an insult," I call out as he waves and drives away. Damn sexy motorcycle, it's an unfair advantage.
I head back to Vanessa and tell her about our plans. "C'mon V, we have a diner to get to."
She snickers, "yup, and I've got a boyfriend to grill."
This should be fun.
/\/\**/\/\**/\/\
I'm getting close to the part where I introduce Myra and Vikram, and I'm honestly so, so, excited!!
Also, my apologies for the delay in posting- I was caught up with my biochemistry course. But since the rest of my summer is (relatively) free, I'll be resuming my regular weekly posting schedule! :D
What are your opinions on Vanessa? I'd love to hear them, as well as any other feedback!
Chp pic: imagery for Atty in a helmet