November 26th, 2019
Rachel's p/v
Tyler and I spent 3 hours playing Roblox together. Everything still feels like a dream to me. I'm actually dating Tyler? There's no need for anyone to pinch me, I never want to wake up.
I have to look my best for myself, and for Tyler just a tiny bit. I came up with a default Rachel fit that I'm going to turn into my default: black off the shoulder top, Darry's brown leather jacket, black mom jeans, black docs, and my black mini bag. I don't think blue is my favorite color anymore, it's definitely black. It's just so easy to style!
A few days ago I overheard Mary's conversation with Darry over the phone, they were recommending each other songs. Mary suggested Morning Sex by Ralph Castelli. I did listen to it myself and wow, I instantly fell in love. In honor of the song I'm going to base my caption off of a lyric. I think I have the perfect line in mind.
After Tyler posted the photo of us I got 20 new followers. I'm finally going to be one of those people who get like 50 likes in 1 minute. Thank you sweetie!
Sage commented "❤️", Declan commented "I see that you have great taste in music", and Tyler commented "am i one of them:/" and I replied with "just one of them;)". In reality I was referring to putting off telling him that I knew everything. But not anymore because I'm his.
Darry and I walking to everyone at the tables. Tyler isn't here yet, but Mary is. She's wearing a black trasher shirt, black windbreaker, dark blue loose jeans, pastel lime green high top vans, and a black betty hoop mini bag. I absolutely love her vans, such a pretty shade of green.
I swear Mary only wears that jacket as if she doesn't have like 30 million others to pick from. If she's able to wear a different shirt everyday I'm sure she can pull out a different jacket. No kidding, she hasn't repeated a shirt yet.
There he is, my sunshine eyes. I really like Tyler's outfit: black turtleneck, white fleece jacket, black levi 505s, and black docs. He has on a couple of silver necklaces and a few rings. Our outfits match well together, I see that he's a fan of black as well.
Tyler is talking to who I think is his mom in the car. I'm just going to say hi to Declan first.
"Hello sir." I sit across from him.
"Hello."
"So Tyler and I are together now."
"I am aware."
"Are you mad?"
"Not mad, just a little worried for you, but you know what you're doing. At the end of the day, I just want you to be happy."
"Speaking of Tyler, do you think he's going to sit with Mary?"
"Why would he?"
"I don't know, I just thought since he's friends with her."
"But you're dating him."
"You're right," I start to shiver, "gosh it's cold."
"It's supposed to get colder later today."
"Great."
I look over at Mary. She gets up from the bench and runs over to Tyler. The two go in for a hug. They pull away and Tyler follows Mary to the table she's sitting at.
"Go sit with him!"
"He didn't come to me."
"He probably just didn't see you. We are behind her table after all, and we're on the left too."
"I still feel awkward about all of this. Plus, Mary is there."
"Are you going to let Mary get in the way of you hanging out with your boyfriend?"
"You saw the way she hugged him. Is that even right?"
"I don't think it is. They're friends so it's obvious she knows about you two."
"I just realized that Mary can tell Tyler lies about me and he'll believe her. What if that's why he didn't sit with me?"
"You're overthinking."
"I don't want to leave you alone so I'm sticking with you."
"Gee, thanks."
I glance over at Tyler. Shit he's looking at me. He motions at me to come over.
"You're coming with me."
"He told you to come, not me!"
"You're not leaving me alone with her."
Declan sighs. "The things I do for you."
I sit next to Tyler. Declan sits across from me, next to Bowie and Erica. Mary is on the Tyler's right side.
Tyler wraps his arm around me. "How did you sleep after Identity Fraud?"
I laugh. "Pretty well. That game was so much fun. How did you sleep?"
"Pretty good too. I had a dream that I was on a boat with Frank Sinatra. He offered me a beer as we laid our eyes on the beautiful sunset.
"You have been watching way too many Frank Sinatra films." Mary says.
"Well I did rewatch On The Town last night."
"That explains it. I thought I heard a guy fan girling."
"What about you? China hears you when you listen to any Selena Gomez song."
"Well of course. Her work never gets old."
"Have you watched a Frank Sinatra movie, Rachel?"
"Um, no I haven't."
Mary snickers.
"Ignore her." Tyler whispers into my ear. I smile and lay my head against his shoulder.
"No! No! Noo!" Erica groans.
"What happened?" I ask.
"Erica didn't outsmart her lottery ticket." Bowie giggles.
"Lottery ticket? Aren't you too young for one?" Declan asks.
"My mom got it for me. She told me to turn it in if I won."
"You're supposed to be 18 to turn it in." Mary says.
"Perfect so I'll just wait until I'm 18 to turn it in." Erica smiles.
"But you lost." I say.
"Thank you captain obvious. I think I'm going to listen to my sad playlist now". Erica lays her head against Bowie's shoulder.
"Hey guys." Darry says as he sits down next to Erica.
"Hey Darry! How are you?"
"I'm doing good Mary, thank you for asking. How about you?"
"I'm doing good too. I finally got that bag I was talking to you about last night."
"The purple fuzzy bag? Can't wait to see you wear it."
"I don't even know how I'm going to style it but I'll figure it out."
"I got a bag too. A spongebob backpack actually."
"Do show, Erica."
"I can't Mary, I don't have it with me."
"I meant like a picture."
"I'm not like you who takes pictures of everything."
"That's what great photographers do."
"You're the perfect example to be honest. You should give classes on how to create the perfect aesthetic instagram page." Bowie says.
"Aw, that means a lot!"
"I wish I had a page like yours, Mary." Tyler says.
"Aw shucks, you guys are really sweet. I archived practically everything, except for my two recent pictures."
"Why do you archive stuff?" Darry asks.
"Ohhh, I don't know. I guess I just get tired of looking at them."
How can she get tired of her pictures? They are one of a kind. If I were Mary I would literally put everything back.
"I honestly get it, I've been thinking of archiving all of my stuff." Darry says.
"We should archive our stuff and let Mary plan out our feed for us. Free of charge."
"Wow, Tyler, you're so generous!"
"He's kind of getting somewhere, except for the money part. I will seriously pay you to run my page. Your shit is so fire." Bowie says.
"You guys are gonna let it get to my head!"
"We aren't lying." Darry smiles.
"There's a dog!" Erica yells.
Mary shoots you from the bench and runs over to the dog. It's a pretty big dog. Erica runs over to the dog as well. Darry and Bowie also run over to the dog.
"Are you coming?" Tyler asks me.
"I'll watch from here."
"See you in a bit." He quickly says and walks to the dog.
"I don't like this friend group. All they do is talk about Mary."
"Because she's Mary."
Declan shakes his head. "You gotta stop with that. Do you want to get out of here?"
"To the playground maybe?"
"Yeah! Race ya!" Declan takes off.
"Not fair!" I say as I sprint. Declan gets there before me.
"Swings?"
"Swings!"
Darry's p/v
Sit on the ground and let the dog come to you they said. "It'll be fun" they said.
"Aw he likes you!"
"She." The owner says.
"Aw she likes you!" Erica corrects herself. Mary pulls out her phone and takes a photo of me. I propped my phone against my water bottle on the ground for a side angle. I just hope the video doesn't turn to shit.
Tyler's p/v
"Rachel isn't here anymore and neither is Declan."
Bowie points to the playground. Rachel is swinging on the monkey bars. Declan is cheering her on. He pulls her off of it and spins her around. Once he puts her down Rachel grabs sand and attempts to throw it at him but Declan dodges. He runs away as Rachel chases after him with another handful of sand.
I know Rachel and Declan are only best friends, and I know I don't have the right to be jealous, but I just don't like seeing them together. Why did they even leave? Rachel said she'll wait for me. I was also kind of getting excited over the idea of taking a photo of her with the dog. It would've won cutest photo of the year. It would've stayed in my camera roll forever.
It just hit me; I haven't been giving Rachel attention. The group's conversation was about how awesome Mary's page is. I'm so dumb. Rachel and her don't get along so what made me think that our conversation was going to be comfortable for her? I don't like seeing Rachel and Declan hanging out so she most likely doesn't like seeing me talk about Mary in that way. I can't be a hypocrite.
Rachel's p/v
Declan and I are in line for food. Mrs. Holt brought pizza, juice boxes, chips, and fruit. I got myself a slice of cheese pizza and hot cheetos. The only good chip.
Mary is next to Tyler on the left and Bowie is next to him on the right. The only spaces left for me and Declan are across from Mary and across from Audrey. I sit across from Audrey, obviously.
"You guys don't understand, Mrs. Williams literally dated Obama in high school."
"Yeah, and I'm friends with Cole Sprouse." Darry jokes. Everyone laughs. I really wish I was sitting next to Tyler. I take a bite out of my pizza. Tyler locks his eyes with mine.
"Hey Declan, wanna trade spots?" Tyler asks, his eyes not leaving mine.
"Sure." Declan gets up and so does Tyler. I look at Mary. She doesn't look annoyed, but she doesn't look happy either.
"Hey." Tyler whispers.
"Hey." I whisper back.
"After we're done eating do you wanna head to the playground? I really wanna go on the slide."
"Yeah! Good thing there aren't any children here."
"A rare occurrence for this park."
"I don't mind, I love kids."
"Me too! I want a big family when I grow up."
"So do I."
Tyler smiles. "I'm glad we have the same views."
"I am too. This makes everything easier now doesn't it?"
He kisses my cheek. "Everything has already been easier since last night."
"Hm I wonder why that is."
"Maybe I can help you remember.." Tyler kisses my neck. I wrap my arms around his head and look over at Darry. He's too focused looking at Mary. The one time I'm happy Mary is here.
I don't know how Tyler convinced me to go on the see-saw. Does nobody know how many accidents this thing can cause? Who cares about going up and down when you can fall out left or right.
"Get me off of here."
"Wee! Isn't this great?"
"Tyler, get me off of here."
"One more one more. Weeee!"
"Please!"
"Ok ok." Tyler pushes up and I quickly get off. I walk over to him and smash my cotton candy into his chest.
"You scared me!"
"Aw, I'm sorry," He grabs a piece of popcorn from his bag and throws it at my face, "let's go to the monkey bars. I'm too tall to for them but I wanna see you do it."
"But I wanted the swings." I pout.
"Aw, 'But I wanted the swings but I wanted the swings'." Tyler says in a baby voice as he pinches my cheek, "Hey."
"Hey."
"We can turn the swings into a who can swing higher competition, but on one condition. Winner gets a prize."
I pick up the cotton candy that's covered in sand. "You want this?"
"No, not the cotton candy," He throws it back on the ground, "I want something more special. A kiss on the forehead."
"That's what you want?"
Tyler quickly nods. "It's fair."
"We have ourselves a deal then."
"Let's shake on it." Tyler pulls out his hand. I shake it aggressively.
"Alright, I'm racing you." Tyler runs away.
"What? No fair!"
"Rachel Rachel Rachel!" Tyler yells as he runs back.
"What happened what happened what happened?"
"Nothing, just wanted another head start!" Tyler takes off again. I pick up the cotton candy and run after him.
Darry's p/v
"Ok, what about this?" I shape the pipe cleaner into a mustache and put it above my lip.
"Nice try but my monocle is way better."
"Your monocle isn't even a perfect circle."
Mary smiles. "Exactly, it adds character."
"Do you want me to take a photo of you so you can see who weird you look?"
"No, but I think you're just projecting so I'll take a photo of you."
"But my mustache makes me look sophisticated, not weird."
"That's what a weird person would say."
"Yeah, you should know."
Mary grabs my mustache and twists it back into shape. She shapes it into a circle and puts it up to my left eye. "Now we have matching molecules."
"I'm part of the weird club."
"Acting as if you're not the founding member."
"Wiki actually cleared up the misinformation, you're name appears on it now."
"These wiki hackers and their shenanigans."
"In my book looking weird is cool. You're cool."
"In my book you're cool too. How about we submit our photo to the wiki page."
"I'll gladly share the ownership with you."
Mary pulls out her phone and goes into the camera. "Businesses partners."
"It's been nice working with you."
Mary snaps the photo. I pull out my phone and take a close up of her eye.
"Photo that's worth millions. A sexy eye."
"A little confident are we?"
"It's my eye were talking about pal."
"Fair enough. Are you doing anything tomorrow?"
"I'm hanging out with a friend in the morning but after 12 I should be free."
"I get out of work at 3 so maybe we can do something."
"We can go bowling. Our first adventure as business partners."
"Sounds like a plan. I have to head into work now, my manager gave me until 12."
"Call me to detail the plans."
"I'll text you just in case Rachel gets on my-"
"Watch out!"
An incoming football is heading Mary's way. I step in front of her, the football hitting my shoulder.
"Woah, you just saved my face."
"Can people not throw footballs correctly? It's not hard."
"You can play football?"
"Kind of. I have a good throw."
"Teach me one day. My cousin and I used to play all the time back in the day."
"Ah, the 70s huh?"
"No, the 1780s."
"That would explain the crinkles by your eyes."
"I don't have crinkles, just 70s pixie dust."
"I thought you weren't alive in the 70s."
Mary flips her hair and does a peace sign by her eye. "Groovy, baby." I laugh. This girl is so cute.
Rachel's p/v
Tyler ended up swinging the highest so I gave him the promised forehead kiss. Unfortunately, that was our goodbye kiss because Darry dragged me out of the playground. Ok, he didn't drag me, but he gave me no time to properly say goodbye to Tyler. But it just made my kiss even more special. I love the forbidden trope, not when it gets too forbidden though. I would like to make every kiss count without being limited.
I finally got around to watching Declan's short film. It's about a detective slowly losing his mind each day. The entire time Are You Lonesome Tonight by Elvis was playing. It starts off with the detective cracking the case of a murder mystery, but none of his co-workers or the police are taking him seriously because the girl murdered was a sex worker. Each day we get more and more clues on who that sex worker is. The first clue is a photo album of hers where the defective somehow knew where to find a picture of the sex worker's boyfriend, the suspected. murder. The second clue is a letter written by her, and at the end it reads "I know I let you down dad, but I love Taylor. I love him I love him I love him. You can go back to your cases, if I was killed you wouldn't even bat an eye." The third clue is a voice recording on her phone from himself. He plays it while holding a teddy bear, and the name of the sex worker is stitched onto the shirt. He then finds a voice recording of the boyfriend confessing to all the crimes. He takes these clues to his boss but they dismiss it. We get 5 seconds of each day, and it's clear that his mental state is getting worse. The room is messier, it's darker, he's not clean, he's not dressed. The final day is just a clip of an empty beer bottle laying on the floor and the sound of water running in the background. The bathroom door is in shot and we can see a hand dangling out from inside the tub, and the water is overfilled. The angle is slanted on the ground. Declan has an incredible eye for films. This is a master piece. No doubt in mind that he's getting an A+.
Jonas sent me two photos. I bet they're from Mary's feed. I'd be lying if I said I don't want to see them anymore. Part of me is hesitant to open his message, but the other part is hella curious.
I've never seen her wear those shoes. And that photo does serve propose, she wants to show off her favorite shoes. Weird.
We don't have lockers at school so I wonder where she took that photo. It's very on brand for her though. Just add a photo of Elvis and she's done!
The entire day I've just been moping around the house. I'm not sad, just been thinking a little too much. Mary received Tyler with so much love. She ran to hug him, do they do that often? Ugh, I can't even get mad because I'm touchy with Declan. But that was before Tyler confessed. Obviously I'm not going to hug Declan as often, I just hope Tyler limits it with Mary too.
Darry walks out of the bathroom. He's all dressed and shit.
"Where are you going?"
"We are going to the thanksgiving dinner the public library is hosting. It starts at 5."
"We? Just bring Hector with you or something."
"He wasn't at work today. Lately he's been distancing himself from everyone. Nigel invited him to fish today but Hector turned him down."
"Hector turned down fishing? There's definitely something wrong with him. When was the last time you guys talked?"
"Yesterday at the competition. I just congratulated him and he said thanks and then left. I'll see what's up with him later tonight. He has to join me and Nigel on Valorant."
"I hope everything is ok with him. I'll ask him what's up too."
"But first go get ready, or are you going in those sweats."
"Now that you're Mary's bestie you feel entitled to give fashion advice."
"I've had a nice fashion sense for a while now."
"Yeah, but never a cocky one."
"Go change or you're going like that."
"Fine, I'll pull out the fine china pajamas." I get up from the couch and walk to my room. Oh what to wear what to wear.
When in doubt go with the Rachel default! Man, I wish that rhymed. When in doubt go with the Rachel route! Perfect. I'm wearing my purple crop top with a green butterfly in the middle, Darry's dark brown leather jacket, my black mom jeans, and my black docs. Nailed it.
There's a huge line for the food that goes all the way to the parking lot. Luckily, we're somewhat close to the front. If only we knew anyone we could tag along with.
"Hey, I see Mary!"
I turn to where Darry is looking at. There she is with her parents...and Tyler. Tyler's mom is with them as well. Tyler and I haven't texted so I guess there wouldn't have been a way for me to know he'd be here.
"Mary!" Darry yells.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling her over!"
"Then I'm calling over Tyler."
Mary runs up to us with Tyler catching up to her.
"Hey Darry!" Mary says cheerfully.
"I didn't know you'd be here!"
"Hey angel." Tyler kisses me on the cheek.
"My parents wanted to try something new. Plus, we usually leave two days before Thanksgiving to fly to Canada because we have family there, but since I'm in show choir that wasn't really an option."
"Mary told me she was going to be here so I convinced my mom to tag along."
"You can wait in line with us." Darry says, looking at Mary.
"That's very sweet of you!" Mary smiles at him. She turns around and calls her parents and Tyler's mom over. I absolutely hate this.
You know what I also hate? Mary's cute outfit. She's wearing a black dress with a square neckline, royal blue leather jacket, black opaque tights, gold necklace with a small heart pendant, and black platform oxford shoes. How many different color jackets does a person need?
We found a big table that could fit all of us unfortunately. I'm trying so hard to engage in the conversation but they're all talking about things I have 0 clue on. I haven't been able to get a word in because I keep getting interrupted. The adults are having their own conversation but no luck in that apartment either.
This night was supposed to be just for me and Darry. Ever since he became friends with Mary again I've been pushing him away. We do have our conversations here and there, but it's not enough for me. I know I was the one who distance myself but that's what tonight was supposed to heal. We don't even celebrate Thanksgiving so tonight was going to be so special. The car ride here I was thinking of the one thing I'm thankful for, and it's my brother. But I'm just one of the things he's thankful for.
My vision is getting blurry because of the water taking over. Mary noticed but she didn't say anything. In fact, she started talking even more louder. I just hope someone does that to her one day.
I'm too scared to move. How long will this last? I'm definitely going to listen to All By Myself by Eric Carmen when I get home. I just wanna cry to that song in the car. I'm literally willing to do anything to leave.
"Are you alright hun? You've been really quiet." Tyler's mom asks me. Since the three are talking very loud, they didn't hear what she said.
"Not really."
"Here, come with me." She gets up. I stand up and follow her.
She took me to a place where there's no one. I guess she noticed that I was kinda upset. At least someone noticed.
"Tyler told me about you on his first day of school. He told me he's never seen such a beautiful girl before. I was shocked because he rarely talks to me about his crushes, but you were something different. Mary is...interesting. She's a good girl, but she's kind of conceded. Tyler is too attached to her and I think it's because he's never met someone with the same interests as him. He hasn't said anything to you and I noticed that," She puts her hand on my shoulder, "Take a breather. I'm a therapist, you know? I knew there was something going on."
I wipe away my tears. "I guess I was just looking forward to hanging out with Darry. I'm not mad that he invited Mary and Tyler over. I don't know if it was their intention but they wouldn't let me speak, and I hate it when people do that."
"I'll talk to-"
"No, you don't have to do anything. I'm probably overreacting."
"You're not overreacting. Even if my son wasn't with you, it's still wrong. No one likes being left out of a conversation."
"I think I'm just going to tell Darry to drive me home. I don't feel like I belong with them."
"How about you try changing the topic? I can help you feel more comfortable."
"No, I'm ok but thank you. I'll just go on my phone."
"I'll take your word for it. But if you still feel uncomfortable please tell me."
"I will. Thank you so much."
"No problem. Let's get back to them now."
I sit back down at the table. My food must be so cold.
"Hey, is everything ok?" Tyler asks me.
"Yeah."
"I noticed that you and my mom were gone for a bit. Are you sure you're ok?"
"Tyler, tell Darry about the waxing crescent moon." Mary interrupts.
I lay my head against his shoulder. "I'm ok."
"It's an honor to share my knowledge about the crescent moon."
"Crescent waxing moon."
"Yeah, that bitch."
My eyes start to get watery again. I should've told him that I wasn't ok.
The car ride home was silent, but not awkward. Whenever Darry tried talking to me I acted like I was asleep. I was sorta in and out of sleep, but I was definitely conscious. I just wasn't in the mood to do anything but listen to my music. I'm laying in bed and listening to music, but the angsty kind. The car ride's toons were kinda upbeat. Tonight just isn't about that.
I got a text from Tyler. I forgot I changed his contact name so I was confused for a second.
soapduds: i know we didn't rly talk, and i apologize for that. i don't know what i was thinking
me: did your mom tell you to apologize?
soapduds: no, i was gonna text u either way. she did however tell me why you guys left for a bit
me: just needed to collect my thoughts
soapduds: i know u and mary don't get along at all. can i know why?
me: she doesn't talk to you about me?
soapduds: not rly. she's complained about you but that's all
me: i'm not sure why, there's no exact reason. i guess we just don't get along
soapduds: let's create a schedule
me: a schedule?
soapduds: yeah like u and me hang at lunch, and that morning u and declan can hang, or like whoever u wanna hang with
me: sounds good
soapduds: meet me tm morning at the cafeteria. u can bring declan. i'll bring mary
me: don't think that's a good idea
soapduds: right. i won't bring her
me: look i'm not telling you to not hang with her, idrc. just warning you that we don't get along at all
soapduds: i get that. i'm gonna hop in the shower. text u when i get out :)
me: alr:)
At least he recognized his mistake. It's a butterfly effect. Not like the time travel kind of thing though. Something happens between me and Tyler. Then, one of us apologizes. But something easily ruins it again, or should I say someone. But hey, the good thing is Tyler and I are ok again. It's only the second day though. Shouldn't that be enough? All I want is a steady relationship. I'm trying my best to make all my relationships work. All I want is for that to be ok. That should be enough, and I'll make it enough.