Now that we were having fun was when I had to go home. So frustrating. It wasn’t even a quarter past eleven and I already had my mum calling.

“Abbigail, dear, where are you now? You haven’t forgotten, have you?” she asked. We hadn’t met the whole day and she didn’t even start the conversation with a hello.

“Hi mum. No, I haven’t,” I said, annoyance thick in my voice. “You and dad nagged me for two hours before I left, so it would be hard to.”

“Good,” she retorted as if I didn’t make any remark. “Are you on your way back?”

“Yes, mum! But why do I have to cut my time short with Violet? That lunch is only at a half past one.”

“Now listen here missy!” she argued with her ‘starting to get pissed off’ voice. “Your father might put up with your attitude, but I sure am not! I told you to come early because I want to make sure you look presentable. And I want you at the lunch table so that you start to get a feeling of what you will be doing career-wise. You are in high school now! It’s more than time for you to start thinking about it.”

“I get it! I get it! I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Humph. Good girl.”

The way she told me that was more like an insult than a compliment to my ears. Had she ever considered I might not want to follow her footsteps?

No, of course not.

Since she was a kid, her parents educated her to manage a company, so she is just doing to me, and my big sis for that matter, what they did to her. It was the only way of parenting she knew. At least, that was what dad told me. I still hated it though. I didn’t want her to be all kisses and cuddles with me. Just some kindness every now and then would suffice.

The company of web design she ran wasn’t a big one, but she was clawing her way up. That was admirable, I had no doubts about it. I just couldn’t see myself working in that type of environment. It felt so… claustrophobic to my mind. There was also the fact she was always working. No time to enjoy life. Well, not in a way I felt was to my liking.

My father fortunately was a bit more lenient. He also didn’t work as much—even though he worked as my mum’s business partner—which meant he spent more time with me; or rather, he spent time with me, period. I honestly believed he would be a lot more carefree about me, was it not for mum.

My level of annoyance went soaring through the sky as we parked in front of the house we were invited to. I had been there a couple of times during summer and came to loath this one the most. We were greeted at the door by their business partner’s son, Marcus Dwayne.

Marcus was… how should I put it? Oh, who cares. He made me sick. He wasn’t ugly or anything, by the contrary. He would be what someone would call ‘hot’. He knew it and was also smart and had rich parents. So, what was the problem? He had these weasel eyes and smile and was very handsy with me. Not a groper, mind you. Had it been the case, I’d have punched him regardless of what mum said. Or did. Anyway, he didn’t hide his intentions regarding me, and they weren’t the romantic type, that’s to be sure. I’d just be another notch on his list. And he had quite the reputation for precisely that in school.

“Welcome! Welcome! Oh, Abby! Nice of you to join us. You look lovely in that dress,” he said with his usual smile.

“Thanks, Marcus,” left my mouth with a tinge of bitterness mixed in it.

“She does, doesn’t she?” my mum giggled as she painfully dug her thumbnail in my nape, just under my hair. That was her way of telling me to behave as she wanted.

The rest of the lunch, which for some reason took more than three hours to wrap up, were mind numbingly boring. Looking back, maybe it wasn’t three hours, but it sure felt like it. Worst part was, I had to act interested and occasionally say something or my mum would present her high heel to my shin. Couldn’t at least do it in a way it wouldn’t bruise? I had my legs showing from the knee down and I was still wearing shorts at school. I didn’t want to be showing the purple marks.

There was also Marcus trying, once again, to put his moves on me, but I was so bored I actually forgot he was there a couple of times. That could be considered mean of me, but since it was him, I couldn’t care less.

“I brought your coffees,” said Marcus as he waltzed in the living room.

“Thank you, Marcus. Just leave them on the table.”

“Your son is such a gentleman. I hope my daughters get someone like him,” my mum jested.

“Gee mum! Can’t you be a bit more obvious?” is what I wanted to shout. “Why, just hand them over the wedding papers with your permission already signed, won’t you?”

I felt a hand touching my back. This time, it was dad’s. The look on his face was as if he was saying sorry. I gave him a little bump with my shoulder as a thanks and went back to looking down.

When we were finally at home, I was still being chewed on by my mum’s remarks. Apparently, I hadn’t been nice enough to our host or something. At that point I was starting to tear up out of frustration.

“And you, dear,” she said to dad, not changing her tone. “Are you coming with me to the office? We still have that contract to plan.”

“You go on ahead. I’ll meet you in the car in a minute.”

She gave us one of her looks of suspicion. With a shrug, she turned around and left us alone. When she was out of the door, dad faced me.

“I’m sorry for today. I tried to convince her to leave you be, but… well, you know her.”

“It’s ok dad…” I said in half a voice.

I just wanted to put the day behind. As soon as he said his piece, I would just go to my room, take off the stupid dress and cry in bed. That was, until I remembered Violet.

“Hey, dad?”

“What is it sweety?”

“Can I stay over at my friend’s place tonight?”

“That Violet girl? Sure,” he allowed before adding if your mum asks, I’ll say it’s for a school assignment.

“Thanks dad…”

“After today, you more than deserve it,” he said as he attempted a smile. “Do you need a ride?”

“No, I’ll… just walk. I kinda want to work some stuff out of my system before I meet her.”

◊◊◊

As I passed by my father for the millionth time, he finally lost his patience and threw a comment about the floor being clean enough.

“I know that! I’m just trying not to freak out,” I replied, trying my best to ignore the fact I was already in full panic mode.

“I get that, but you are starting to form a trench on the floor.”

We’ve been basically having the same conversation with pretty much anything that was housekeeping. Even though you could eat out of the floor with no worries, no dust existing on the furniture, and even the sheets from my bed having been changed, I was still fretting over them. Now, I like to keep things tidy, so the house was already clean when I had begun my bustle and toil. There wasn’t any real reason for me to be that stressed. Convincing me, that was a whole other story.

The doorbell rang and I froze. Could it be her? It had to be. At this hour it couldn’t be anyone else.

Walking to the door, I was re-rehearsing the way I’d greet her as I opened the door.

As I grabbed the doorknob, I froze again. What if it was the mail carrier who came a bit late today to deliver a parcel for dad? It would be mortifying if I greeted him like I had pictured in my mind.

“C’mon Violet! Don’t leave her hanging,” my dad instructed like he was trying to whisper a yell.

Hesitating no longer, I opened the door.

“Hello Abby! Welcome!”

It wasn’t the mail carrier, but I still felt the urge to dig a whole and burry myself in it. My voice cracked in a way it made it sound like it was my first attempt ever at human speech.

“Hello again, Violet.”

That’s odd.

She said those words with a smile, but her eyes and voice didn’t carry the same emotion. I, somehow, could tell something was off.

That’s not the Abby I know.

“Is something the matter?”

“I’m just a little tired.”

“Is that so?” I asked, not feeling convinced.

I gestured her to come in, not knowing how to proceed from that point in the conversation.

“Hello Abby. I’m Violet’s father, Stanley Miller,” my dad said as he offered a handshake that was met with Abby’s hand.

“Nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Miller,” she said in a very polite and, I confess, totally unexpected tone. I’m Abbigail Gardener, she added.

“Oh, you can just call me Stan. I mean, I’m already calling you Abby, right? Besides, you are a friend of my daughter.”

“I’d dare say I’m her best and only friend, Mr. Stan,” she said giving me a look. I was now totally convinced something was up. She was acting normal, but I could tell it was a forced normal.

“Hahaha. True. She isn’t much of a people’s person.”

Not you too dad.

I was now staring at the floor, red all over my face due to this conversation and the sudden realisation she had heard me in the park. Well, maybe. It was Abby, so it could just be her usual banter.

“Wait… Your last name is Gardener? As in, William and Elisa Gardener?” my dad asked, astounded.

“Oh, are you acquainted to my parents?”

“Well, not exactly. I work for them.”

“Well, I’m sure they are thankful for your contributions to the workplace.”

Her words sounded… weird? Almost as if she was reading a text that was all too familiar to her. I was feeling weirded out by it. Looking at dad, I saw he was too.

“Yeah, thanks. Anyway, you girls enjoy yourselves. If you need anything, I’ll be working until late, so you can knock on my door, ok?”

“Thanks dad. Just don’t overdo it, ok?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” he said as he disappeared up the stairs.

He is totally going to overdo it.

“He won’t be eating with us?”

I felt a bit relived as Abby asked me this sounding more like her usual self. There was still that nagging feeling something was wrong. Still, I felt like I shouldn’t let it slide just because she was acting more like her normal.

“He already ate. More importantly…” I paused to gather my courage to press on. “What’s bothering you?”

She looked downwards, in complete silence. She then, unexpectedly, came to rest her head on my shoulder.

“Was I too formal while talking with your father?”

“Well… you were… formal… yeah.”

“I knew it… Do you remember the lunch I had to go today?”

“Y-yeah, I do.”

“I had to act and talk like that for almost four hours. And even after that, I was yelled at by my mum because I didn’t perform.”

“Perform?”

“Yeah, didn’t act accordingly to her expectations… You know Marcus Dwayne from second year?”

“Hmm, isn’t he one of the popular rich kids?”

“That one. I really hate that weaselly smile of his. And he is always hitting on me.”

“Maybe he is just trying to be nice?”

She lifted her head, showing me a bitter expression all over her face, her eyes wet with tears she was fighting back.

“And do you think a guy is just being nice if he is always complementing your appearance and being constantly trying to be handsy with you?” she asked in a bitter tone.

Now, I was aware of his reputation. I hadn’t mentioned it before because I thought those two might be friends, and I didn’t want to risk making her mad at me.

Thinking how she was a bit like that to me, it wasn’t hard for me to imagine how it would feel if I were in her place. Even if it was him being playful, it would feel wrong compared with Abby doing the exact same thing.

“Sorry, no. That definitely isn’t just being nice.”

“Yeah,” she mumbled as she rested her head on my shoulder one more time.

I placed one of my hands on her back, awkwardly giving them light taps. She stayed like that for a little more time, before straightening up.

“Thanks, Violet. I feel a lot better now that I actually told it to someone.”

I noticed I gave her a little smile in response to her quick one. She still didn’t sound the same Abby I had come to know, but I seemed to have heard relief in her voice. That was enough for now.

“So, are we actually going inside?” she asked while looking around me.

“Right,” I stated as I guided her to the living room. “Right, we talked about seeing a movie, having dinner, watch another movie and play some games before bed, wasn’t it?”

“Honestly, I can’t remember that in such detail,” she said laughing. “We don’t have to follow it step by step too.”

“I guess. So, what do you want to do?”

“Pick one without peeking! I wasn’t in the right mind to choose, so I just brought a bunch,” she declared as she shoved in my direction her bag.

Her bag, I now noticed, was chock full of DVDs. I hadn’t seen a car outside when I answered the door, so I was wondering if she had carried that all the way on foot.

Putting my hand inside, I grabbed the first one that met it. As I pulled it, something I assumed being her sleeping shorts came along. At least I hoped it was that.

“Oh my, Violet!” she said with a cheeky smile. “That’s for the bedroom, you naughty girl.”

I didn’t really react to her comment. My mind was too busy with the realisation that today she had, kinda, complemented my apparel, but I hadn’t even noticed hers. Now I was thinking if I should do it now. But then again, what should I even say? She was wearing some brown shorts, a white t-shirt with black sleeves and dark canvas shoes. I guess it kinda fit her personality, but would that be enough?

“Why are you staring at me instead of the cover?”

“That outfit fits your personality,” I blurted without realising it.

“What, this?” she said looking herself up and down. “I meant to wear something cuter or prettier but ended up wearing whatever. Anyway, the movie? What do you think?”

I looked at the cover, while feeling disappointed I wasn’t able to convey my message. It showed whom I presumed was the main character standing in front of a cabin in the woods. He had a hand as a chainsaw, for some reason. After flipping it over and read the synopsis, I got the idea it was a horror movie with some comedy elements.

A dark comedy?

“I’m not really sure what to make of it, but it has piqued my curiosity.”

“I see. I had hoped you’d say another thing,” she commented fidgetily. Do you like horror? she added.

“I can pick another one, if you want,” I offered.

“No, no! Fate has chosen. We can always watch a comedy or something afterwards.”

As I had suspected, the movie was silly. Very entertaining, but silly. There were some scenes which I’d call creepy, but not much nor many. Abby on the other hand had wrapped herself around my arm, her eyes staring unblinkingly towards the screen. That was leagues more entertaining than the movie.

There were three reasons why I didn’t shoo her away. First, since she was only holding my arm, I guess I was fine with her being so clingy, even though it was a bit too stuffy. Secondly, like I said, I was taking a cruel pleasure on her suffering. Let’s call it payback. Lastly, I feared that if I touched or talked to her, she would jump so high I would have to scrape her off the ceiling.

“It’s not fair,” she meekly whined after it had ended.

“What?”

“You react to stuff all the time. Why were you so calm?”

“Like I said, we could have watched something else.”

“No way! If we did that, you’d win!”

And since when was it a competition?

“I like your meat stew,” she said as we finished eating. She still sounded a bit shook up from the film. Now that we had the lights on, I noticed she was a bit pale and shaky.

“Thanks. Although it’s nothing special compared to what we eat at your place.”

“Nah, that is restaurant made food. This is way better,” she said as she shook her head. I’m not sure if it was to reinforce her statement or if it was still her shaking. I like how this tastes so homey, she added with an attempted smile.

With today’s events I came to realize that she was, despite all appearances, a very lonely person.

The same as me.

Maybe that was why, despite us being so different, we were getting along so well.

Wait, getting along so well?

I blushed at that thought.

“Are you that happy about me complementing your cooking?”

“No, that’s not why I’m blushing.”

Ah! I didn’t mean to say the last part!

“That so? Then, will you tell me why, Violet dear?” she said grinning from ear to ear. She was already back to normal, huh?

“Nope, not happening.”

“C’mon! You meanie!” she stated with her whiny voice.

“Nope, not happening.”

“If that’s the case, can I choose the game we are playing next?”

“And what game is it that you are thinking?” I said, feeling great suspicion in how she was now guiding our talk.

“Strip Poker!” she proclaimed.

“I’m not getting undressed.”

“Oh really?” she said as she pointed a finger at me. “Are you planning on sleeping in that then?”

I looked down. It was that dress.

“Oh no! I forgot about it! I even wore it as I cleaned the house!”

“Hahaha. Don’t worry Violet. Even if it got dirty, you could always clean it,” she reassured me.

“That’s not the problem! Do you see any rip? Did I tear it somewhere?”

“I don’t know, it’s a bit hard to see with you sitting.”

Realizing the stupidity of my question, I stood up and spun around so she could see if there was any tear where my eyes could not reach.

“Well? Did you see any?” I asked while having a small panic attack.

“Yup! You look super-duper cute,” she said nonchalantly.

“That’s not what I wanted to know!” I reprimanded. She just laughed at my outburst, as was usual.

“Don’t worry, it is fine. But that reaction was priceless.”

“Couldn’t you have told me that in the first place?” I sighted.

“So, you aren’t opposed to the compliment? Anyway, mind if we go to your room?”

“My room? Why?” I asked a bit stunned by her second change of subject.

“Three reasons really. Number one is that I ate too much and I’m starting to feel really sleepy. Number two, my day was actually quite demanding.”

She paused. Was she waiting for me to ask her what the third reason was? It felt like a trap.

“And the third?”

“I can see steam coming out of your ears. If this keeps up, I fear for your health.”

And just who do you think is responsible for that?

When in the room, it came the time to change into our PJ’s. When I had started to pull the dress down, I felt suddenly very self-conscious. I was also starting to wonder if Abby too, was having the same thoughts.

Of course not.

I looked back towards her.

It was at the worst possible timing. It was right in the moment she had removed her shorts and our eyes met as she had nothing from the waist up. I immediately averted my eyes and covered my face in utter shame.

“I’m sorry!” I squeaked.

“Gee Violet. It’s fine. We are both girls, and we are friends. Besides, I’ve already seen you naked before,” she said reassuringly.

“I’m sorry!” I repeated.

“Violet, please look at me. You are kinda hurting my feelings right now,” she pleaded.

Was I really? I slowly uncovered my face and restarted looking in her direction.

My eyes eventually met her face, which showed a little rush of pink, and then, without my input, I started to look her from head to toes. Specially her chest. I had imagined it being bigger. Not that it was non-existent. Let’s go with that it was reasonably big sized. I also noticed she was quite fit. She clearly did workout. I could feel pricks of jealousy in my chest.

“See? There really isn’t a reason to be so embarrassed, is there?” she asked as she went a bit redder.

“Y-you say that b-b-but you are blushing too.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, you could say something instead of just staring.”

“Th-they are very… well shaped.”

She blinked a couple of times, her face expressionless. She then looked to where I was staring before looking back to my face.

“That’s… that’s not what I meant,” she said covering herself, before putting her hands back down. “But thanks. First time I got a compliment about that.”

“Sorry. It was the first thing that came to mind,” I excused myself, looking now to her feet.

“It’s alright, although…” she paused to laugh nervously. “Although I wasn’t expecting your first complement to be about my breasts.”

It wasn’t my first complement to her, but I was in such a state that thought didn’t occur. Her words made me feel a wave of embarrassment, but also of relieve.

Thank goodness. I didn’t weird her out.

“I don’t want to pressure you Violet, but now should be your turn.”

“My turn?” I asked despite knowing what she meant.

“It would be fair, but I won’t pressure you. I’ll turn around if you want me to.”

I didn’t give her a reply. I just contemplated over all that was happening. A question formed in my mind.

“Abby, can I ask you something first?”

“Hmm… Sure Violet. I doubt anything you ask will be more embarrassing than this.”

“Why are you so insistent on this kind of stuff? Or anything about us, really. I don’t get it why you try so hard.”

“Why, you ask? Well, It’s because we are friends? No, wait. That’s not quite it. Hmm… It’s because… I want us to be the kind of friends that are very close? Yeah, that might be it. I never really thought about it, so I can’t give a real answer. Also, I don’t think I’m trying hard. I’m just going with the flow.”

That was… more honest than expected.

I now took her answer to analyse my feelings towards her.

She says she wants us to be closer… ok.

That sounded like it could get really complicated. But was it that bad? Hmm, I didn’t think so. Also, she just said she just went with the flow. That sounded very… Abby-like. Would I be able to do so? No, but… I would like that. I was always overthinking every little aspect of my life.

Trying that philosophy of life, I lowered the dress to the floor. I stepped out one trembling foot. Then the other. Now I had to decide what to do with my twitching arms. Not wanting to cover my chest since she hadn’t done that for more than a second, I clasped my hands behind my back. That actually made me feel even more exposed.

Looking at Abby, she was again getting a bit blushed.

“Wow, you actually did it,” she said as she gave me a look from up to down.

Was this a good idea?

Even if I asked myself that, it was already done.

“I just realized why you think you are too thin.”

“And why is that?” my curiosity now piqued.

“Your legs. They are quite long, so that might be what makes you think you are thinner than what you actually are.”

“So… they look weird?”

“By the contrary. They are beautiful. In fact, I’m getting a bit jealous.”

I’d have grown even more embarrassed by that comment were it not for the part she admitted her jealousy. That sounded very strange to me.

“Jealous? Why? I think you are very pretty. Prettier than me!” I admitted.

“That’s funny hearing you say that. I think that you are actually the prettier one.”

“Again, why? I’m so plain compared to you!”

“No, you just don’t see your own charm. You aren’t plain in the slightest. And no arguing back! If I hear you say anything else self-deprecating, I’ll be mad at you!” she told me, in a more playful way than anything else. Still, I dared not disobey her order. Despite all her silliness, I had come to think of her as a very honest person, so, despite me disagreeing with her, I believed that she really meant it.

“Ok, but can we put on some clothes now?”

“Yeah, we should. Although I would like to make a request before that.”

“It’s not… something unreasonable again… is it?”

“Please Violet, have a bit more faith in me. I just wanted to choose your PJ’s.”

“Nuh-huh. Sorry, that’s not happening.”

“C’mon Violet. I promise I’ll behave for the rest of the night! And tomorrow! I’ll even add tomorrow too.”

“Just why?” I asked feeling exasperated.

“Why? Because it might be fun?” she said it as if she herself wasn’t convinced of her answer. That made me sight.

“Ok. But please make it quick,” I said as I pointed towards the drawer where she could find them. I’ve never been this exposed in front of anyone I quickly added.

“Liar,” she said as she looked through the drawers. I should have asked her to at least put on a shirt first. “What about in the school showers?”

“That’s different. When I’m there I don’t have people staring at me,” I mumbled.

“That’s because you aren’t paying attention.”

What?

That statement would now haunt me every time I’m in the locker room. Why did she had to say that?

“Anyway, here you go,” she said in triumph as she handed me a sleeveless shirt that I had for so long, it barely reached my bellybutton. Just that. A shirt.

“You forgot the bottom and the bra.”

As she heard this, she rubbed her temples. Despite all the excitement, I noticed she was starting to look tired. Or maybe she was getting tired because of all the excitement? I don’t know. At that point, I was beginning to feel tired too.

“Ok, Violet, just answer me this. Do you usually wear so many layers of clothes with this heat? Is it something that maniac of a grandmother taught you?”

“Yes.”

I lied. I was actually fine with sleeping only in my underwear. It was just me stupidly not wanting to be like that while sharing a bed with her.

“Ok,” she grabbed the same shorts I accidently took from her bag and handed them to me. “Please wear these ones so that you don’t get cooked alive in your sleep. All I saw in there were knee length shorts and pants.”

“Thanks, but don’t you need them?”

“Not with this heat, no. And Violet…”

As she finished that, she grabbed my face between her hands gently. Was she getting short on patience with me?

“I’m going to say something that you will want to contest, but please understand that it is honestly because I worry about you. Unless it is a bra specifically made for sleep, it isn’t good for your health to wear one to bed,” she said in a very gentle way.

“So…You are saying that I’ll have to sleep without one?” I muttered a bit incredulous.

“Yes, Violet. It’s exactly that. I suppose my sport bra might be okay, but it is needing a wash. If you really need one to feel comfortable, we can go buy some tomorrow.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“No, that’s ok. I’ll… I’ll do it the proper way today.”

“Ok, then. That’s…that’s very Violet of you to say.”

She let go off my face and went to sit on the bed, rubbing her eyes.

She really was tired, was what I concluded as I put on the clothes I was handed. The shorts she gave me barely covered anything and were wide enough to just hang around my butt. That last bit made me again have a pang of jealousy in my chest.

“There is a string on the inside for you to tighten them.”

“Oh, erm… thank you.”

When I was finally clothed, I sat by her side.

“Sorry that I got you mad.”

“Hmm? I wasn’t mad. I just talked like that so that we could get a move on. Otherwise, it would be morning and we would still be discussing it,” she said giving me a tired smile.

I looked to my knees wondering if she ever got mad. Today I had seen her sad, scared and all the other times she was either bored or acting excited. More often than not, the latter.

“Do you prefer the left side or the right side?” she asked.

“I don’t think it makes any difference.”

“Then, do you usually have to go to the bathroom during the night?”

“Hmm… No, I sleep the whole night.”

“Ok, I’ll stay on the right. I tend to wake up really early, so I don’t want to disturb you if I have to get up.”

She proceeded to get inside the bed still only in her nickers. I’d also have to pass over her to get to my side. I was too drained to even bother to complain, so I just followed suit and turned off the light. Now that we were side by side I wondered when it was ever discussed the fact we would share my bed. There was no need for that as we had a spare mattress for guests. Guest which we never got, in retrospect.

We were now sharing a space where our shoulders lightly touched each other as we laid belly up.

She suddenly giggled.

“What is it?” I asked, curious to hear what was making her laugh.

“Today was quite the day, wasn’t it? Not a single thing went according to what we had planned.”

True, that day had been chaos. Remembering it, despite all its ups and downs, it somehow felt satisfying. I think it was because I felt we two got closer to each other. Not that I would tell her that. Still, there was something I felt I should tell her.

“Yeah, but… I had fun,” I told her softly.

“Did you really?”

“Y-yeah.”

“I see. I’m glad that you did. I had fun too,” she said in a meek but satisfied voice. She then added specially in this last part.

“You thought that was funny?” I asked genuinely confused.

“In its own twisted and embarrassing way, yes.”

“I guess… I guess I can agree with that.”

It was embarrassing now, but I could see me finding it somewhat funny in the future. At least, I hoped I would. And looking back to it, it really was.

Our voices were starting to drag with each word. I felt my body and mind heavy with sleep.

“Good night, Violet. Sweet dreams,” she said as she shifted her body to lay on her side, facing me.

“You too,” I said as I too rotated towards her side.

I’m blaming that night’s events for the dreams I had. That and puberty. They consisted of Abby and me, back to that awkward situation, but now we were hugging each other. She would kiss me in the neck, and I would wake up. I even woke up a few times in a daze, wondering if we did any of that, but knowing myself, I shook that fear away and went back to sleep.

The morning came, and I was feeling a bit sweatier than I’d like. As I came to my senses, I realized that someone was petting my head and that I was holding them. Opening my eyes, I saw a pair of legs under my head. Abby was the one patting me as she sat in bed with her backs resting on the headboard. I was hugging her waist and using her lap as a pillow. Remembering the dreams, I froze up and went red first thing in the morning.

“You’re finally awake. Morning, sleepy head,” she chimed.

“G-good morning. Erm… Abby? How long have we been like this?”

“Hmm… for about an hour? I was going to the bathroom before you grabbed me.”

“Oh, sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry, it was a funny reaction. But do you think you can let me go now? My bladder is almost at its limit.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said as I let her go. She was walking a bit cross legged. It’s at the end of the corridor I added.

“Thanks. I’ll be back in a minute,” she told me with her teeth gritted as she grabbed the doorknob.

“Abby, wait!” I shouted as I saw her bare backs and panties.

“Don’t worry Violet. We can go back to me petting your head when I’m—”

“That’s not it, you idiot!” I cut her off as I raised my body. “Put on some clothes! My dad might be awake!”

When she realized what she had almost done, her face went a colour of red I never imagined she could produce. I did see her blush yesterday, but this was worlds beyond. I couldn’t help but laugh as she stumbled to wear her clothes and leave the room. It felt very refreshing to see the tables turned.

Now that she left, I looked at the clock. It appeared to be a quarter past seven to my blurry vision.

“Guess I’ll just snooze a bit longer.”

I was woken up some time later. I felt like some mere seconds had passed since I had shut my eyes. I woke up because I felt the bed shift under Abby’s weight. Although I hadn’t opened my eyes, I knew she was sitting on it. What felt strange was that she stayed there immobile.

I opened my eyes, curious. She was sitting with her arms across her body, each hand grabbing the bottom of her shirt. She was looking at me with a slight blush. Was she now embarrassed to take it off after our first exchange in the morning?

“It’s ok,” I said, more worried about her comfort than mine.

“T-then I’ll take you up on that.”

With that, she took it off and got herself under the sheet in a quick motion, her face towards mine. Yup, she was feeling embarrassed.

“It would have been bad if your parents saw me like that.”

“Yeah. I don’t know how dad would have reacted.”

“Probably would think I’m some perverted girl trying to seduce him,” she joked. “And your mum?”

“…She passed away when I was five.”

She got a sorrowful face as I spoke.

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

“…Could that be why you hugged me when I tried to leave the bed?” she said, a note of mischievous intent on her voice.

Memories of my dream assaulted my head, making me blush violently. Were they the reason why I grabbed her? Some questions started popping up in my mind. A question in particular was bothering me. I was afraid of making it, but even more so of not knowing the answer.

“Maybe. Say, Abby?” I started, fearful of asking.

“Yes Violet?”

“Did I… Did I do anything… weird during… the… the night?”

“I’m a heavy sleeper so I can’t tell. Although, judging by that hour you were curled up on me, I’d say you are a very peaceful sleeper.”

“I-I see,” I said relieved.

“Wanna go back to it?” she suggested, jokingly.

“Not with you topless,” I quipped to her bashfully.

“If that’s the case, you put a shirt on too.”

“What?!” I shouted.

I hid my head under the sheet as I realized that sometime during the night, I must have had removed my top without noticing and that just a while ago, I had again exposed my bare chest to her.

“Are we going to have a repeat of yesterday’s discussion?”

“That was different,” I meekly answered.

“How so?”

“We were going to get dressed afterwards, that’s how!”

“Yeah, I suppose you are right.”

We stayed quiet for some time. Having calmed down during it, I pulled my head out.

“Is this really normal for friends to do?” I asked.

“Hmm… I haven’t had a real friend for a while, but even so, I can’t say that it is, but each relationship has its own ways of working. It really depends on how people feel comfortable to act around others. I don’t think I could act like this with anyone but you, for example. Besides, I wouldn’t call a socially awkward, self-conscious worrywart and a bubbly, happy go lucky who sees everything as a joke, normal,” she said in a very matter of fact manner. “At least, these are my thoughts on the matter.”

“I guess you are right. So… should we… do it?” I said a bit confused.

She blushed when I asked her that. She now seemed a bit conflicted. It was as if she was having an argument with herself.

“Another time, perhaps,” she finally spoke.

◊◊◊

When we finally got out of bed, it was already past eight. I was left alone in her room as she went ahead for a shower. Still sitting on the bed, I decided to take that time to try and calm down. Was it because I hadn’t done a sleep over since sixth grade that I was that nervous? Yeah, perhaps it was that. What I had dreamt about also didn’t help. I felt dirty dreaming about doing that to my new friend. Seriously, what would she say if she knew? She would be mad, right? Would I even blame her if she started hating me?

No… it would be justified…

Looking to the side of the bed where she had slept, I recalled earlier this morning. When she asked me if she did something weird during her sleep, I lied. She didn’t do anything that weird, mind you. When I was going to leave the bed to go to the toilet, she opened her eyes slightly, put her arm around my waist and gave me a kiss on the navel. I almost shouted at her but seeing that she rested her head on my lap and went to sleep again, I chucked that up as something that wasn’t conscious. Did she perhaps had the same type of dream I had? No, of course not. She was, as her grandmother would say, a proper lady. I was the one with the dirty mind. Not that I would mind if she had.

Wait, wouldn’t I? Hmm… I guess I wouldn’t. I mean, it’s not like we can decide what we dream about, right?

But if so, would she really be mad if she knew about my dream? I wasn’t going to tell her anyway, so there was no point worrying about it.

Is this how her mind works every day?

I now had a different appreciation of her attitude towards life. Getting tired of all that, I shifted my attention to her room.

It was tiny. I imagined I couldn’t take more than four steps before hitting a wall. It also didn’t have that much furniture. The bed was on the far right corner of the room with a desk and chair on the opposite side. At the foot of the bed, there were the drawers which I had a look-see yesterday. Thinking about it, all the clothes it had, from some shirts to underwear were all… I’ll not call them plain, so I’ll just call them normal. But what about the closet that stood on the left side of the desk?

Standing up, I went to have a look.

What? It’s just this?

Hanging inside were all her clothes. And I mean all of them. Just about a dozen. From left to right there were summer, winter, and midseason clothes. Again, all very normal looking. Nothing a bit flashy or girly.

“As soon as we are done eating, I’m taking that girl shopping.”

She came back a couple of minutes later, her hair still a bit wet and with a towel wrapped around her. Very erotic, I should say.

So, she is fine with that?

The way she was flushed proved otherwise.

“I forgot some clothes,” she mumbled.

She had forgotten all the clothes. But I wasn’t going to tell her that. At least not now. Instead, I approached her. Since she had just got out of the shower, it was more intense than when she arrived in school. I didn’t know what it was exactly, but it was a nice smell. It was very soothing.

“Abby, please… not right now,” she pleaded as she pulled her body away.

Not right now, huh?

Did that mean she was getting used to hugging? Perhaps even starting to like it? Those possibilities made me feel a bit giddy.

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I’m just smelling you.”

“Wha— Why!?” she asked, blushing slightly more.

“Why? Because you smell nice.”

Something came to my mind as I finished my sentence.

“Can I use your shampoo today?”

“Yeah, I guess. Did you forget yours?”

“Nope, they are right there,” I said pointing at them on top of the drawers.

“Then… why?”

Why?

I pondered about how to answer. Simply saying it was because I liked the smell would feel like we were talking in circles. So, why was it? Because it was her smell? While that would be a good answer, it wouldn’t satisfy her, and her head could explode. Mine too for that matter. Even I had stuff I couldn’t say out loud. Anyway, it wasn’t that I didn’t like the smell of mine. It had a nice scent.

I then remembered something. I used the same stuff my mum did. Was that it? Was it that, somewhere in my subconscious, smelling like her made me remember how she made me feel inadequate? Was it because Violet’s smell I associated with fun times? That didn’t feel like it was actually it, but that was what I’d tell her.

“I use the same products than my mum. Now, I still love her, but we aren’t that close. I think I like your smell better because I have fun with you.”

I sounded a bit sad as I said it. I tried not to, but I did anyway.

Also, I like your smell better!?

What the hell was I saying?

“…I see…” she said softly. It almost sounded a bit pained. “Ok. You can use mine.”

I felt like an idiot. She had just told me an hour or so before that she had lost her mother, and here I was making complaints about mine.

“Could you leave?” she spoke meekly. “I want to get dressed and I don’t think I can do it with you here.”

“Right, be seeing you,” I said, not sure why I said it as if I was going home or something.

“There’s a towel for you close to the shower,” she shouted down the corridor.

Now that I was showering, it came the time to apply the shampoo and shower gel. I picked the bottle that seemed to have been used most recently and gave it a whiff.

Yup, it’s hers.

Almond and honey, I learned. I couldn’t tell why I was doing it, but I just hoped she couldn’t hear me giggle over the sound of running water.

While sitting at the dining table, I briefed Violet on my plans for the rest of the day. It was mainly shopping for sleeping underwear and some clothes, but I took care to add other activities I thought she would be more at home with.

“Sure, we can do that,” Violet said as she washed the dishes.

“Just like that? No resistance?” I asked, finding weird how she was acting so calm.

“I had figured you would say something like that, so I had time to ready myself,” she said, now shifting her body a bit.

“I see. You are starting to know me very well in a very short amount of time, aren’t you?” I said giving her a smile she wasn’t able to see.

She turned around, holding a dripping plate, and looked at me. She seemed half embarrassed, half happy.

“Y-you think so?”

She sounded very excited.

“If you are starting to predict what I’m going to do or say, then yes.”

She turned back to the dishes, giggling to herself.

What’s with the cute reaction?

“Is that a reason to be so happy about?”

“It is!” she countered firmly. “I’ve always had difficulties understanding other people. So… yeah.”

I considered making a joke, but I kinda didn’t want to interrupt her self-satisfied state.

I’ll just let her be for now.

“Morning, girls.”

Her dad had just come in without us realising, giving us a bit of a startle. Regardless, we greeted him back.

“Did you just wake up now?”

“Yeah. Daddy worked till late after all.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to overdo it?” she spoke irritated.

“You did,” he said apologetically. “And before you start grinding me; because I worked so much tonight, I’ll be able to take it easy the next couple of days.”

“So why not leave some work for the other days instead of doing it all in a single go?”

“Look who’s talking. And Violet, tell me something; Is it better that I work a lot every day or that I work a heck of a lot in one to have more time to rest in the remainder?”

“You say that, but you still work at least ten hours regardless.”

“And six of those is at home, so it’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Sorry to interrupt but, are my parents paying you all right Mr. Stan?”

I didn’t really think before asking. I just had the impression that they weren’t people of many means. Not that they were dirty poor, mind you. It sounded weird to me the idea of her father working so much, and yet them seeming to not have much in terms of luxuries. For example, Violet didn’t have an AC in her room, even though it got super hot in there. Were we to have shared the bed the previous month, we would have been boiled alive. Embarrassing stuff notwithstanding.

Her father looked at me surprised. For a moment, I feared I would have to apologise. That was until he gave me a warm smile I wasn’t all that used to getting after screwing up.

“Oh, don’t worry about that kind of thing. It’s true that we aren’t rich, but we also don’t go wanting for anything. Besides, for the past ten years they have allowed me to work mostly at home so that I could take care of her.”

He was looking at Violet when he finished talking. I didn’t know him, but I confess that I was already starting to like him a lot. He was completely different from the majority of the adults I knew. I could even feel a bit of envy surfacing.

“I see… Sorry that I asked.”

“It’s alright, Abby. It’s nice to see someone your age showing that they know money doesn’t grow on trees.”

He sat on the chair opposite to mine, looking sideways to the television. I found it funny that when he turned it on, he changed the channel from the news to some cartoons. Any of my parents would have done the opposite.

“Also, it’s really nice to have you here. I’ve never seen my daughter in such a good mood. In fact, it might feel a bit lonely being just the two of us again. You two were having a blast yesterday, weren’t you? I could hear you upstairs.”

I heard the sound of a loud clack coming from the sink. Looking in that direction, I saw Violet, having turned sideways to better catch the light, completely red in the process of inspecting a small plate for cracks. Judging by the warmth I was feeling in my face, I was bright red too due to her.

Looking back to Mr. Stan, he was looking at us with a somewhat troubled face. Was he thinking we did something weird? Was he going to ask? What would I—we tell him if he did?

He stood up and handed me the remote.

“Anyway, I’ll be going on my way.”

“Wait, dad! What about your breakfast?”

“Don’t worry. I’m meeting up with a friend and his son to do some fishing. They said they would have food were I to join them.”

I did some thinking on what he said.

“Could you tell Paul I said hi?”

“How do you know I’m meeting someone named Paul?” he asked in utter surprise.

“I go fishing with him from time to time. There really aren’t that many people that fish in this town, so it wasn’t a hard guess.”

“I see… Ok, I will. Bye, Violet. Until another time, Abby.”

With us now alone again, I looked at Violet, expecting to see her still flushed. She was facing my direction, but she was making a face I had never seen her do before and I didn’t know what it was.

“Violet? What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“Yeah, no. Your face is like an open book. What is it?”

“I’m just… I’m surprised that you are friends with a boy.”

Is she jealous?

Maybe she got the wrong idea, but still, jealous?

“Yeah, I’m friends with Paul since I was a toddler. Oh, but we really are just friends. He’s got a girlfriend and all.”

“I see…”

Yup, she was jealous. That made me feel weird on the inside. Not in a bad way though? It also worried me a little. Would she be like that were we to come across someone I knew?

I stood up and went to her side. I was going to try and prevent future hassles. I felt like I knew what was going on her mind in that moment.

I grabbed her face so she wouldn’t avert her gaze and began my preaching.

“Alright, miss Violet, listen up. True, I have other friends, or rather, acquaintances. But there is no way that I’ll stop being your friend and hang out with you if I made a new one. Or even if I get a boyfriend. So, don’t go getting jealous on me, ok?”

She blushed and gave me a nod with a little smile that got twisted as she tried to hide it. It made me want to give her a hug. The question was, would she let me?

I released her head and placed myself in front of her, my arms open invitingly. To my surprise, after just a second of hesitation, she stepped into them. Her arms were still hanging by her side though.

“Feeling better?” I asked as I gave her little taps on the back.

“Yeah… Sorry for acting stupid,” she said, finally putting her arms around me. That felt better.

“I got a hug from you, so it’s fine. Just don’t go thinking I’ll forgive you every time by doing this,” I teased.

“You really like hugs, don’t you?”

“Well, they are comforting. Don’t you think so?”

“I still find them a bit nerve wracking.”

“A bit, huh? Should I stop it now?”

“…Yes please.”

Why the pause?

I let her go and stole a look at her face. She still had the same face from before she hugged me.

“Should we go?” she asked. Shopping, that is, she added nervously.

“Yeah, lets. I want to see you buy something super sexy.”

“What!? Why?”

“See it as an investment for when you get a boyfriend.”

“As if I could get one!”

“Then, buy it for me!”

“If you want some, buy it yourself!”

“But I don’t know your size.”

“Wait, I’m still the one wearing it!? No way!”

“What if I buy the same for me?”

“…No!”

“Again with the pause?” I spoke unintentionally.

“What? What pause?”

When we went inside the store, I was afraid Violet would end up having a meltdown. Surprisingly though, Violet now seemed to be mostly enjoying herself. While we walked around the isles, I noticed her fearfully stealing glances at some of the risqué models and me. Why I say that she was enjoying herself is because she would stifle a laugh as I waved my eyebrows like a cartoon that saw a sexy lady. I wasn’t actually planning in making her buy any of them. Or even making her try them on. Mostly because we would attract too much attention in the store because of her.

“Abbigail? What are you doing here?”

That voice, severe and commanding, made my blood freeze. I turned around and, sure enough, it was mum. And once again, there was no greeting from her.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working on an assignment? Why are you shopping?”

“Hello mum. We are just taking a break,” I said, my voice coming weak and rough.

“A break? And you went shopping? I just hope that you made good progress, missy. I hear about your grades going down, you can say goodbye to your allowance for good.”

“I’m sorry to intrude, but we are here because of me.”

I looked at Violet. Her face was stiff in a way I didn’t believe to be humanly possible. How did she even speak was a mystery to me.

“Hmm? And you are? Hold on… I’ve seen your face before.”

“Yes ma’am. I sometimes wait your table in my workplace. The Le Perrot?”

“Oh, yes. You are that waitress. And you are a classmate of my daughter?”

“She’s my friend!” I intervened. The way she referred to Violet somewhat disdainfully made me angry enough to restore some of my spirit.

“Ok, friend… Regardless, are you doing the assignment with my daughter?”

“Ye-yes.”

“I see. I hope she isn’t being too much of a nuisance. Or that you’re holding her back.”

“Not at all. She… she is smarter than me so, I’d say I’m the one being the nuisance.”

“Well, well. You’re not that good at your job, but at least you are modest.”

That was mum at her nicest. If she wasn’t talking with someone, she deemed important, a compliment—if she did offer one—was always coming with a jab. Violet didn’t seem to pay attention to that. Truth be told, she was so stiff, perhaps it just wasn’t showing.

“So, how close are you from finishing it? I was told it was due for this week, so I’m hoping you’ve made good progress.”

“We did! It will be ready by then,” I spoke, not wanting to put Violet in an even tougher spot than she already was.

“I’m talking to your class— Urgh, your friend.”

“About that…” Violet staggered. Was she going to break?

“Yes?”

“Could… could Abby stay at my place tonight too?” she spoke, trying to sound calm. “I’ll be working the whole week, so we won’t have much time to meet.”

Mum looked at us, one at the time. I was once again feeling my blood run cold under her gaze. Peeking at Violet, she looked like a statue.

“You could learn a bit from this girl’s attitude. Sure, if it means it gets done.”

“Thanks mum.”

“Now hurry up with… whatever it is that you are doing here and get to it.”

She went away without so much as a goodbye. I dreaded the possibility of her discovering the truth.

“We should do as she says, Abby.”

“Huh?”

“If we have that assignment to do, we don’t have much time now, right?”

I bursted laughing. I know I shouldn’t have, but I did. Violet in the meantime was with her hands on my back asking if I was alright, worried, and utterly confused. After I finally calmed down, I explained everything about what had come about.

“You should have told me that yesterday!” she scolded with a frown.

“Sorry, sorry! It wasn’t a pleasurable subject matter, so I didn’t want to dwell on it and ruin the mood.”

“Even so, you should have told me about that!”

“…You look radiant today,” I said, trying to appease her.

“Oh, don’t you go trying to bribe me into a good mood!”

“You are right. I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” I pleaded, while looking down.

Of her, I could only see her tapping foot. At each tap I felt like something was squeezing my chest.

“Well, it’s not like I don’t understand why you did it… I mean, I’ve served your mother before. And now that I’ve seen how she is with you… yeah.”

I started tearing up. I don’t know why, I just did. And because I didn’t want her to see me like this, I bent my back and placed my head between her belly and chest. I wasn’t looking to be hugged, so the fact that position didn’t allow it didn’t bother me.

“Abby! Are you alright?”

“Yeah. I just don’t want to show my face for now.”

“Should I… do something?”

“Nah, you just stay there talking to me casually.”

“That’s… a bit hard in this situation.”

“Sorry. I just need a minute.”

I’d like to say I cheered up afterwards, but I really didn’t. Violet clearly noticed this, as I could see her face tinged with worry. I hated seeing her like that, but I was really having a hard time perking up.

I felt her pull my sleeve after some time. Looking at her, I saw that she was a bit red on the cheeks. She pointed towards a set of underwear. It was more on the plain side, but it had some lace pattern on the sides of both pieces and contouring the seams of the legs. It was cuter than anything she had in her drawers.

“Do you… do you think that would…” her words drifted. Her intent on the other hand, didn’t.

“You don’t have to do that to cheer me.”

“But… I like it…”

Seeing her face and hearing her words, I couldn’t help but chuckle. I realized how silly I was being. There I was, worrying about my mother instead of enjoying my limited time with my best friend. And now that she was giving me a meek smile in response to my chuckle, I settled my mind.

“Yeah, I think that would suit you. It’s not too bold, so you should be fine wearing it.”

“Y-yeah. It… It won’t look weird on me… will it?”

“It will look perfect. Question is, which colour should we pick?” I said as I pointed.

To that, she made turns looking at the shelfs and me, forgetting to react to my compliment. Had she not realized there was that model in a variety of colours?

“What’s your favourite colour?” I asked.

“Well, I like… white.”

“You are saying that because white is your favourite colour or is it because that’s the colour all your other underwear is?”

“…So… what colour should I choose?”

Wait, you don’t have one?

She must have had one, right? I was going to ask her again about it when I had an idea.

“Violet.”

“…Yes?”

Yup, nailed it.

As I had expected, I had her confused. Just to be clear, I didn’t say that just to confuse her. I also liked that colour and thought it would suit her best as it was also her name.

“Not ‘violet’ you, ‘violet’ the colour.”

“Oh… right. I should have seen that coming,” she said with a little laugh.

“I’m dead serious by the way.”

“I realise that…”

She stood there, anxiously looking at one of that colour, as if she was afraid it would jump on her. Seeing that she didn’t move, I decided to give her a little push.

“Well, let’s go find one your size.”

When we got back at her house, she almost sprinted to her room with her bags. There were quite a few, since she got excited after our first purchase and went on a small shopping spree. I asked her if it was fine for her to buy that much in one go, and she replied that she hadn’t spent any of her pays, so she had plenty of her own money. Also, since I was with her, she felt brave enough to shop in stores she couldn’t before. I don’t think she meant for me to hear that last part, but I had a good ear. It felt great feeling that relied upon, but I also worried about how she would be if, for some reason, we couldn’t be together.

I should try to make her socialize with other people.

Hopefully, since she started interacting with me, that would be easier since I was kinda popular in class. Hopefully.

Entering the room, I must admit I was a bit hopeful she was trying them on. I didn’t get to see her in that many of them. Instead, I saw Violet glaring at the clothes she bought, now scattered on her bed. It looked like she was trying to lift them with her mind. I was afraid she was getting buyer’s remorse.

“Is something the matter?”

“Just thinking what I’ll wear tomorrow.”

“Why not do it in the morning?”

“No way. You saw how hard it is for me to get out of the bed.”

“So what? I’ll be with you, so if it comes to it, I’ll just drag you out of it. Or I can pick your clothes so you can doze off for longer.”

She glared at me. Had I said something wrong?

“What will you wear tomorrow?” she instead asked in a calm voice, not matching her current face at all. That was a relief. And a good question. “I guess you can use one of my spare uniforms, but the underwear…”

“Oh, don’t worry. I think I have a spare set of underwear in my bag.”

“You think?”

“Ok, let me check.”

I sat on the floor and spilled my bag contents on it. Sifting through the mess, I was able to find, in a usable state, two pairs of socks, one pair of nylon running shorts, and a track jacket I used when I run in cold mornings.

“Should we go back to your place, or buy some for you at the mall?”

“Nah. This is more than enough.”

“What!?”

“Yeah, I’ll use the nylon shorts as underwear. It might get a bit hot, but that won’t be a problem.”

“B-but Abby…”

I leaned back, resting my head on her knees, and looked up. I had intended to look her in the face, but since she was wearing that one dress, it wasn’t just her face I got to see. Apparently, she wore nylon shorts under it despite the weather we were having. She wore them under her uniform skirt, but short as it was, that was somewhat reasonable, but in this case… Just how self-conscious was that girl?

“Not every girl is a proper lady. Don’t worry about it.”

“But…” she repeated with a worried face.

“By the way, Violet?”

“Yeah?”

“I can see your panties.”

She leapt back, making me almost hit my head on the floor. She was back to her lovely red face.

“W-wait a minute! That’s not possible! I’m wearing shorts under the dress!”

“Indeed. What’s up with that?”

“Oh…erm… just a habit.”

“Violet, your face is like an open book. Just tell me already.”

“Well… y-you know I take the bus to school, right?”

“You fell asleep and made a show out of it?”

I was on the money, judging by the way she averted her eyes and went completely red when I said it.

“Were there a lot of people?”

“I don’t know. I was woken up two stops after mine by an old lady, so… maybe?”

I stood up and went to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. I wasn’t expecting something that bad was behind it, so I took upon myself to make her feel better.

“Thanks for telling me that. It means a lot to me.”

“Wha— why?”

“Why? I mean, if you are telling me such an embarrassing story, doesn’t it mean you trust me somewhat?”

She looked to me, the corners of her mouth twitching up. It was like there were so many emotions trying to be expressed, her brain and body didn’t know how to do that.

“Now, how about I help you choose tomorrow’s outfit?”

“Y-you will? Thank you!”

Turns out, she wasn’t having difficulties choosing what to wear with what. Apparently, she had done so while we were coming back to her place. What I had to help her with was choose one from all the combinations she had figured out. Her mind really worked in a way I couldn’t completely figure out. At least yet.

While we were doing that, I realised we had forgotten to buy.

“We did?”

“Yeah. We were supposed to buy you sleeping bras.”

She began jittering, as she went back to red.

“Should we go back for it?”

“N-no. It’s not like… like I need them.”

“…If you say so.”

Watching her jittering fully blushed made me really want to mess with her. Even so, I didn’t. I was finding her reaction so endearing, I didn’t want to risk making her run away. Still, there was something we needed to take care of.

“Well, let’s go back to the mall anyway.”

“No… I don’t…”

“You might not need it, but I need some for tomorrow.”

“So… we are actually going back for you?”

“What, you thought I was being serious before?”

“N-no! Of course not!”

She totally did. I might not be the most reasonable person, but I still had some common sense. And we didn’t have much to do in her house besides sitting around watching TV or movies, so going out a second time was better for the restless me.

It also allowed me to see her make a jealous face after we left the store. This time, I chose to stay quiet about it. It was a sensitive subject for her, so I pretended like I hadn’t seen it.

When night-time came, I was sitting on the bed waiting for Violet to come back so that I could use the bathroom. As I was sitting there, I heard the front door shutting.

Her father?

I stood up, decided to go greet him. But not before making sure I was… presentable.

Yup, still in my PJ’s.

“Good night, Mr. Stan,” I said as I met him before he went up the stairs.

“Oh, Abby! Good night,” he greeted back with a smile. “Are you staying tonight too?”

“Yes. Sorry for the intrusion, Mr. Stan.”

“Not at all. I like having you here. The house feels a lot livelier with you around.”

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Stan.”

“Yeah… Anyway, you two have a good night.”

“Thanks. A good night to you too.”

He started going up the stairs, tottering a little.

Had Paul’s dad dragged him for a drinking marathon?

It looked like it. It certainly explained why he looked so flushed.

“Also…” he said as he turned his face towards me, having an awkward smile on display. “I’m fine about you two.”

“Erm… Thanks,” I told him, equally awkwardly. I had the feeling there was a big misunderstanding, but I was too afraid to ask him to specify what he meant.

“Yeah… good night.”

As he went and disappeared up the stairs, and I was still trying to figure out what he meant. Probably the ramblings of someone who drank too much.

Hmm, should I tell Violet about that? Probably not.

“Abby? What are you doing here?” Violet asked.

Looking at her with this light, I noticed she didn’t have her glasses on. It felt a bit strange. I liked it, but I think I liked it more seeing her with them.

“I was just greeting your dad. He seemed to be in a good mood.”

“Oh, that’s good,” she said giving a brief look upwards, before returning her gaze to me. “Anyway, hurry up so we can go to bed.”

“Oh my! Aren’t you a naughty girl,” I teased as I covered my chest, as if it were bare. I went completely red as a suspicion crept to my mind. Did her father hear us talking this nonsense and got the wrong idea? It wasn’t like that. I mean, true I did dream about kissing Violet… and some other stuff… but it wasn’t like that.

“It’s not like that! We have classes tomorrow,” she chided.

As I got back in the room, I found her already in bed, looking at the door. Seeing her slightly nervous face peeking at me made me feel butterflies in my stomach. Was I actually like that?

No, no. It’s just because of her reaction.

Telling myself that, I went and got myself under the sheet too. I hadn’t taken any of my clothes and I was already feeling stuffy.

“Aren’t you hot?” she asked as she noticed my discomfort.

“It’s not so bad. Besides, I don’t want to make you feel too awkward today.”

I was lying about it not being so bad. I felt like going to break in a sweat at any minute. If it was because of the nerves or because of the actual heat, I didn’t know. Was I becoming like Violet?

“It’s ok. If it gets too much, I’ll take my top off.”

“Well… ok.”

I could see an argument forming as she made that pause, but what it was, I wouldn’t get to hear. Good night she added as she turned off the lamp.

“Good night, Violet.”

That wasn’t the end of it. I was feeling hotter each passing minute. I tried not to toss in bed too much, but that eventually made Violet react.

“You can… take it off,” she said softly.

“Sorry. Did I wake you?”

“No, I also can’t sleep because of the heat.”

“I know, right? Doesn’t feel like autumn at all,” I said trying to sound casual.

“…Yeah…”

She shifted in the bed and sat up. She then proceeded to remove her top almost shakingly and threw it towards her feet before lying down again. That was her way of saying she was fine with that, although it clearly was taking a toll on her.

Her action made me remove my top, all right. Also, my denim shorts since they were uncomfortable to sleep in. At that point you could say I was steaming. It also had the effect of making my heart throb at full capacity as I had an argument in my head.

I wasn’t like that! I really wasn’t. But if that was the case, why was I feeling the way I was? Also, would it really be that bad if I was? I even got her father’s blessing.

At least I think I have.

But what about the rest of the people? What about Violet? Would she accept me?

No, I don’t think she would.

She wasn’t like me. Not that I was like that, mind you. But she did cuddle with me that morning and kissed my navel.

Nah, she was just acting out a dream.

But what kind of dream would make her do that? Was I the subject of the dream? No, of course not. She was a proper lady, I was the dirty minded one. Anyway, she wouldn’t like me back that way. Would we even stay friends if I were? If she knew? Maybe, but we wouldn’t be the same around each other like we were now. Our dynamic would be ruined, and I’d hate that. But… let’s suppose that I was actually like that and that she was too. Not that that was the case, it was just a thought exercise. What then? Would things be different? We already did weird things together, so…would we do even weirder things? That would be… that wouldn’t feel bad, right? No, no, of course it would. What would people think? Well, her father seemed ok, assuming that was what he was talking about… but what about my parents? My father, I had no idea what to expect. My mum though, she would go nuclear. She didn’t seem to like Violet even before they met earlier that day, let alone she being a girl and not rich. I could see her putting me in a psychiatric ward or kick me out of the house. And those were the best-case scenarios. And if she discovered Violet’s dad worked for her… yeah, it would be really bad.

Yeah, I should keep all of that to myself. Not that there really was anything to talk about.

The butterflies I had until that point died down and gave place to a pit in my chest.

“Violet,” I whispered in a cracked voice.

I had started to cry without realising.

Almost immediately she rotated so that she was facing me.

“What’s wrong Abby? Why are you crying?”

“Sorry. It’s nothing.”

“Please, Abby. Tell me. Is it because of your mum?” she said, growing more worried.

“I don’t think she will let us see each other,” I blurted.

I curled into a ball and tears were now pouring out of the eyes as I told her that. It wasn’t the full reason I was crying, but it was the only one I could say out loud.

She didn’t say a word. She just came enveloped her arms around me. We were both sticky and it was too hot for that, but it felt so… reassuring. I could feel a wave of calmness starting to wash away my worries and fears as she came to rest her chin on my head and pated it gently with a shaky hand, her scent filling my head.

“Is it bad that we are friends?”

“No!” I cried. “Even if she tells me to, I won’t let us be apart because of her! Even if she beats me up… that’s the one thing I’ll never do no matter what she does!”

“But… am I not being a problem to—”

“No!” I cut her words as I now also wrapped my arms around her. “If anyone is a problem, it’s her! You are one of the few things that makes me happy! How could you say that?”

“Sorry… I’m just… I’m worried about you.”

“Please, promise me… promise me that you will always be with me,” I begged desperately as I dug myself deeper in her hold.

“I promise…” she said meekly. I thought I heard her add under her breath I also don’t want that to happen.

I must have spent an hour, maybe even close to two crying out my frustrations. I knew I had a lot of stuff buried in my chest, but I had never known I held so much emotional baggage. Having her holding me made me finally be able to put them all out at once. It’s like my being had run out of space from having her enter my life and forced everything else out.

Having now calmed down, I grew aware of what we were doing.

“Sorry. This must be very uncomfortable to you.”

“Yeah… I was… I was so worried I didn’t think about it.”

She now sounded embarrassed. Even so, I decided to be a bit selfish.

“Can we stay like this for just a bit longer?” I asked quietly.

“…Hmm.”

She shyly giggled a bit.

“Just five more minutes?”

“Yeah… Something like that,” I answered while remembering what she was referring.

She just gave me a tug towards her. Feeling my knees pressing on her belly, I unfurled so she could be a bit more comfortable, and I could get just a bit closer to her. Unfortunately, all that crying exhausted me, and I fell asleep almost immediately and didn’t get to savour that proximity for long.

I woke up with a ringing and a gruntle. Fuzzy with sleep, I opened my eyes, and they were met with two pink circles. Hearing a gasp from the top of my head, I looked up, and was met with a slightly startled, fully blushed Violet face, her nose almost touching mine. We were still in the same position as when I had my breakdown. That made me blush too, and I was now trying not to look happy about it. I wasn’t even sure why I was that happy to begin with.

“Morning, Violet,” I mumbled in a trembling voice.

She didn’t answer to that. She just lifted slightly the sheet, peeked under, and proceeded to look back at me.

“Did we…” she drifted.

“Yeah, it appears we fell asleep after all my crying.”

While saying that made me feel even more embarrassed, she on the other hand sighed in a way that sounded like she was relieved before breaking away our entanglement and sitting up on the bed. She did so holding the sheet to cover herself, exposing me in the process. The air felt cold on my skin. Let’s get ready for school she said.

Despite all that happened during the weekend, we acted pretty much the same during the whole day. Not that I expected for us to suddenly walk around, arms linked as we skipped and sang together merrily. This was fine. I was still the silly me and she was still the serious girl that blushed and put up with me. Only thing different was that she seemed a bit more lenient.

All of those nice feelings were taken away from me as soon as I arrived home. I had just shut the door behind me when I heard my mum calling me to meet her at the office.

“Hi mum,” I said as I walked into the room.

“Have a sit,” she ordered.

She stood up and sat directly in front of me, her legs crossed. That was a sign I was about to be scolded. The reason why was quite obvious to me too.

“Mind telling me why you two were at that store?”

“Why? I mean… Violet needed to buy some stuff there, so I went with her.”

“Oh, so she took you along so you would buy her something.”

I looked at her amazed. Just how in the world could she think such a thing knowing nothing about Violet?

“No! I just went to give her an opinion!”

“Is that really it?”

“Yes! Why would you think that about her?”

“Isn’t it obvious? If a girl her age is working as a waitress, her family must be dirty poor, right? I’d even say she is only working at the Le Perrot to find some idiot she can seduce to—”

“V-Violet isn’t like that! She is—”

“Slam!”

My mum slapped the arm of her chair. She was still with a stern face, but her eyes were burning with anger. She uncrossed her legs and tapped her lap.

“Pull your shorts down to your ankles and rest your belly on my legs.”

“Mum please! I have PE tomorrow,” I pleaded.

“Now, Abbigail Gardener.”

Shaking violently, with my sobs making it hard to breath, I did as she commanded.

“Which hand does mummy write with?”

“T-t-the r-r-right…”

“If you know that, why is your butt to my left?”

“S-s-sorry,” I pleaded as I changed my position. As soon as I did so, she grabbed me by the neck and started dishing out her punishment as I covered my mouth. I didn’t beg for her to stop. I knew it was pointless.

“I don’t want you to spend any more time with that Violet girl. Do you understand?” she demanded after she stopped.

“I-I-I won’t do it.”

“Good girl.”

“She is my friend so… I-I-I won’t do it!”

“What?! Why you little…” she yelled as she began her second dose.

That one was even harder and longer. It reached to a point I wasn’t even completely feeling the blows. Either that, or she was getting tired.

“I’m telling you to stop meeting her for your own good,” she said, panting. I have no doubts she believed that, in her own twisted way, it was the truth. Unfortunately for her, I didn’t hold the same belief.

“She is my only friend in years… I just won’t…” I mumbled between sobs.

“I’m cutting off your allowance permanently. Also, if you aren’t back home fifteen minutes after the classes have ended, you better have a good excuse to not be home by then.”

“Fine.”

“And I’m only allowing you three hours of free time during the weekend.”

“Are we done?” I asked in a gesture of defiance. I was still feeling terrified, but I was also tired of that. For some reason, that day was the first I ever stood up to her.

“You’re lucky that I’m tired. Yes, we are done here. I’ve wasted enough time with your stupidity,” she said as she pinched me before standing up without giving me time to do so myself.

She was looking down at me, as I laid on the floor while trying to pull up my shorts, still crying and in pain. I felt like an ant looking up to a mountain.

“You used to be so well behaved,” she said before leaving.

The night of that same day, I was sitting at the dining table, a bit sideways, when my father came home.

We looked at each other without talking at first. He was with a worried face that grew even more worried as he saw my clearly red, swollen eyes. I averted my gaze back to the—for a long time now—completely full and untouched plate I had in front of me.

“I heard you and your mother had an argument,” he began with a coarse voice.

“Y-yeah,” I weakly responded.

“What was it about?”

“It was nothing… really.”

“Look Abbigail, I’m not here to yell at you. I just need to know what happened,” he said as he sat down by my side, placing one of his huge hands over mine. The way he did it so gently gave me some courage to speak.

“She…she doesn’t like… Violet.”

“I’m sorry, erm, Violet?” he asked confused.

“Violet… my friend…”

“What?! She told you not to be friends with her?!” he spoke flabbergasted.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t have to. He knew mum for longer than I did, so he already knew that was entirely possible. Since he went quiet for a while, I stood up and started to take my plate to the kitchen counter when I heard the sound of a chair scrapping the floor.

“Why are you limping?” he asked in a thundering voice.

“I-I fell,” I said without looking at him. My body was starting to shake again and my eyes welling.

“She told me she gave you a punishment…Is that… Is that why?”

I turned my body slightly to him. My body was now in a state it would be more accurate to describe as convulsing. So much so, I dropped the plate on the floor.

“N-no! Mum will…” I panicked as I couched down and started trying desperately to pick up the pieces and food from the floor.

My dad’s face went from worry to completely horrified as he saw my reaction. He walked towards me and gave me a hug as I started to cry all over again.

“I’m going to talk to her. I swear, she will never lay a hand on you again. I swear.”

My phone rang for the third time that day. I hadn’t gone to school, so there was only one person it could be.

I picked it up and confirmed that it was indeed Violet calling me again. I had previously sent her a message saying I had caught a flu, so I was going to skip classes some days. That was a lie. I just couldn’t face her. Not just yet. I wanted so much to be with her right now. To confide with her. To have her comforting me. But I couldn’t. I was still grounded, and I’d just make her worried sick. And I just couldn’t do it.