Chapter Eighty-Six

“Damn, Lila, did you leave the kitchen sink behind or is that in one of your bags?” Clare commented as she buckled up.

“Kitchen sink’s in the backpack,” Lila said sarcastically, buckling herself in as well. Clare chortled before starting the car. Lila had managed to get everything done with ten minutes to spare, so relaxed in her seat a little as Clare drove off towards Asher’s.

“But, seriously, why are you taking so much crap?” Clare asked, glancing suspiciously at the three bulging bags Lila had crammed by her feet.

“I… I’m staying over at Asher’s tonight.”

“WHAT!” Clare screeched, slamming on the car brakes slightly too hard. Lila unhappily rubbed her chest, which had connected unceremoniously with the dashboard.

“Yeah,” Lila confirmed as Clare set off again. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“You sure you guys aren’t friends with benefits?”

“I’m sure. I already told you, I don’t want that. Asher said he didn’t want that, either.”

“Alright,” Clare said dubiously with raised eyebrows. “Maybe you should look at getting on the Pill.”

“Clare!”

“It’s a reasonable suggestion,” Clare shot back. “Besides, it can help regulate your periods, reduce period pain, and whatever.”

Lila’s face started to feel hot, so she turned the heater down slightly. She wasn’t going to be having sex with Asher – at least, not anytime soon. She didn’t need the Pill…

“As your older sister, I feel obligated to recommend it to you anyway,” Clare added seriously. “I’d like to just stay as an older sister, rather than an Auntie, please and thank you.”

Lila huffed, beginning to pick at her nails.

“Plus, it needs time before it starts working properly.”

“Are you being paid by Big Pharma or something?”

Clare snorted. “Girl, I work with a whole bunch of hot girls. Contraception is something we talk about, like, every day. I just picked up a lot of things.”

Lila remained silent for the rest of the car ride, turning Clare’s suggestion in her mind slowly. She still wasn’t anticipating anything like that happening with Asher, but… perhaps reducing her period pain would be useful…

“Alright,” Clare announced once she parked outside Asher’s house. “We’re here. Did you want to offload your bags?”

“I probably should,” Lila replied, unclipping her seatbelt.

She exited the car, hoisting all three bags on one shoulder, and after slogging her way to the front doors, knocked politely. She didn’t have to wait long before they opened.

“Hey- whoa, that’s a whole bunch of stuff,” Asher smiled, taking the bags from her. “I was just chatting to Gabriel. I’ll put these down and finish up my conversation if you wanna head back to the car.”

“Thanks,” Lila replied, relieved that she didn’t have to take off her high-top Converse shoes only to put them back on within seconds. He gave her another smile before disappearing into the depths of the house.

Lila and Clare waited for about ten minutes with no sign of Asher at all.

“What the heck is he doing?” Clare asked, tapping her steering wheel. Her eyes flickered to Lila before turning her attention back to the house. “You’re so lucky I don’t have plans today. Probably should’ve turned the car off if I knew we were going to be waiting this long, though.”

“Thanks for your patience, Clare,” Lila responded earnestly. The fact that Asher was making them wait for so long seemed unusual. Should she call him?

Just as Lila was scrolling through her phone to find his number, Clare sat up straight.

“Uh, why’s he running full pelt at the car?”

Lila immediately looked up. Asher’s face was terrified as he sprinted towards the car, bag frantically swinging on his shoulder.

“I-” Lila tried to offer an explanation but before she could posit one to Clare, Asher wrenched open the passenger side door and dived in, looking harried, his face a ghostly pale colour.

“I thought Marlene was going to kill me,” he announced in between heavy breaths. “But it looks like Gabriel’s gonna.”

“What? Gabriel?” Lila turned in her seat so she could look at Asher, her brows furrowed in confusion and concern. Clare began to swiftly drive away towards the shopping centre as Asher ran his hands over his face. The silence in the car was punctuated by Clare’s music, which she turned down while they waited for an explanation.

“I… talked to him,” Asher finally mumbled vaguely.

“About?” Lila questioned.

Asher glanced up at Lila’s curious face before his eyes slid over to Clare. “Some stuff.”

“Don’t mind me,” Clare said loftily. “I forgot my ears at home.”

Asher looked uncertain. “Just… y’know. Guy things.”

“Guy things?” Clare wrinkled her nose.

Lila shot her a glare. “Thought you forgot your ears.”

“What? I can’t hear you.”

Lila gave a long-suffering sigh before turning to face the front again. With Clare slipping into her nosy ways, she was sure Asher wouldn’t want to go into whatever it was that he was discussing with Gabriel. Though, she had an inkling that it was likely to do with their relationship - or lack thereof.

‘But what did Asher say that made Gabriel so mad?’ Lila couldn’t help but wonder as she watched the world flash by in a swirl of greys and browns, the lack of vibrancy highlighted against the inclement weather.

Clare seemed to take the hint as she turned up the music without engaging in further conversation. Eventually, she rolled to a stop in the drop-off zone.

“Righto, guys,” Clare declared, “go have fun. Not too much fun, though.”

Lila gave Clare a disapproving look as she exited the car. Asher followed suit, fiddling with the strap of his bag as he gently closed the passenger door.

“Thanks for the ride, Clare. No thanks for the heavy innuendo,” Lila said. Clare simply smirked, giving her sister a wink before driving off.

Now that they were alone again, Lila started to feel nervous. Would she lose all sense again and… try and get close to Asher?

The mere thought of the potential of his skin brushing against hers in any kind of way caused a rush of tingles of anticipation to run through her like a zap of electricity. He met her gaze and she immediately clasped her hands together, preferring to look elsewhere, the beginning stages of a blush scattered across her cheeks.

“Where shall we go first?” Asher queried, placing his hands in his pockets. Was he securing them away for the same reason she was?

“U-Uh… we could check out the camera store?”

“Camera store it is.”

They quietly strolled towards the Camera House, Asher continuously clenching and unclenching the strap of his bag. Lila kept her hands close to herself, though she occasionally smoothed down her hair that she’d tied into a half-updo. Lots of teenagers were milling about the shopping centre, seeming carefree and as though they had no particular plans. If only Lila and Asher could be so lucky…

Suddenly, Lila’s breathing stopped and she whipped around behind her. She thought she’d felt a pair of eyes on her, but found nothing. Was Piper following them again?

“Everything okay?” Asher asked. Lila nodded before stopping herself.

“I feel like I’m being watched,” she admitted. Asher crossed his arms, casting a quick look at the customers surrounding them.

“I don’t see anyone,” he concluded. “Doesn’t mean that you’re not being watched, though.”

Lila shuddered. “Thanks for the reassurance.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for Piper,” Asher murmured. “So you don’t need to worry. Just focus on the moment – I’ll handle it.”

“You don’t have to keep your head on a swivel,” Lila replied softly. “I’ll keep an eye out too.”

“If that’s what you want to do,” Asher sighed. “I just… wish she wasn’t around. Move on, y’know. Like, she’s been told so many times to stop. Surely she knows by now that nothing is gonna happen between her and me.”

“I don’t even know if it’s about that anymore,” Lila stated. “I think maybe it’s just an ingrained part of her routine.”

Asher winced. “That… the fact that she has a routine that involves stalking me is just insane.”

“Let’s just keep going with what we’re doing,” Lila suggested. “Even if she’s stalking us, we can’t let her get in the way of our plans.”

“Agreed.”

They arrived at the Camera House within a minute or so. It wasn’t particularly busy, though there were a couple of employees wandering around assisting customers. Each wall was lined with various camera models, accessories, and film. This certainly looked like the place that could help them. Lila and Asher exchanged a glance and simultaneously walked to the counter, both cameras in Asher’s hands.

“Hi,” Lila started confidently, though it quickly left her as she tried to think of what else she needed to say. “I believe you can print photos here?”

The cashier at the counter glanced at Lila over his shoulder before turning towards her, his pale, freckled face showcasing a charismatic smile. He looked to be in his early twenties with a few large piercings in his ears. His brunette hair was spiked up in such a way that it was reminiscent of the Sydney Opera House. Lila wasn’t quite sure whether that was intentional, but it certainly was a talent. Around his neck hung a colourful lanyard with a variety of pins.

“Hey,” said the cashier. “Name’s Max. How can I help?”

Lila relayed that they needed the pictures on their disposable cameras to be printed.

Max gingerly took said disposable cameras, giving them both a cursory glance.

“Look, we do have a few orders going at the moment,” Max said simply. “We can process what you’re giving us, but it might take a bit longer than usual.”

“How much longer?” Asher inquired.

“Should be ready for pickup at about 3 o’clock or so. If you give me your phone number, I can send a text when they’re ready.”

“That good with you?” Asher looked down at Lila expectantly.

“Y-Yeah. For now,” Lila replied. She started to give her number to Max when Asher slid in between her and the counter. He rattled off his number so quickly that Lila wasn’t sure Max got it, but all seemed well, and they left the store.

“Well, we’ve got three hours to kill,” Asher said, stretching his arms. He seemed much more relaxed now that he was no longer in possession of the cameras.

“You hungry?”

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“Could eat, I guess.” Asher patted his stomach as if trying to determine how hungry he was.

“In that case, maybe we should take a look at some shops first.”

“Got any in mind?”

Lila directed Asher to a dollar store full of strange and wonderful knick-knacks. He picked up a small duck statue, looking down at it for a moment. He turned it over, evidently saw the price and hurriedly put it back.

“Jesus,” he murmured to Lila, who was looking at a statue of a gnome holding an umbrella. “Just how expensive is Marlene’s hobby?”

“I mean, she’s got to do something with her money,” Lila responded, bending down and looking at the bunny statues on the lower shelves. “This store’s just a dollar store, though.”

“That was certainly not one dollar.”

Lila snorted, standing back up. “I reckon one day, a long time ago, all of these stores sold things for only a dollar. But things got more expensive.”

“No kidding.”

“Have you never been in one of these before?”

Asher shook his head. “Nah. Never felt the need to.”

“My Mum loves these stores. She always buys the most random stuff from here. One time she came home with an easel. She doesn’t paint or anything, so after she expressed buyer’s regret for a few days, she put a picture of Jesus on it. He joined us at the dinner table for months until Dad cracked the shits and packed Him away.”

Asher laughed so hard, doubling over and nearly knocking over a stand of porcelain figurines, that an attendant asked him to leave. He gave Lila an apologetic look and she waved, continuing her browsing of the wares. Now that Asher wasn’t with her, she felt rather lonely in this store, despite being usually filled with so much wonder whenever she visited one.

She entered the aisle usually reserved for knock-off toys and found a small bin filled with absolutely feral-looking fake Pokémon plushies. She picked up a particularly munted Charmander, inspecting its goofy-looking eyes. While not as nice as an official Squirtle from GameFreak, Lila was sure that Asher would cackle when he saw it.

She purchased it with a smirk and joined Asher outside. He was looking off towards a clothing store, his hands firmly in his pockets again.

“Hey,” she said, trying to maintain a neutral facial expression.

“Hey,” Asher smiled. “Found everything you could ever want?”

“Maybe not,” Lila replied, “but I bought you something.”

He looked surprised, his cheeks slowly turning pink. “You did?”

“It’s not anything impressive,” Lila said, passing him the paper bag with the plushie.

He curiously widened the mouth of the bag and took the Charmander out. He inhaled sharply as he took in its face before starting to indeed cackle.

“What’d they do to my boy?” he asked, his voice perfectly between despair and amusement, turning it over to look at the back. “Why are his flames green?”

Lila watched with a wide grin as he squished it between his hands before lifting it above his head. “Approved!”

They both burst into raucous laughter before sobering up. He put it back into the paper bag and beamed at Lila. “Thanks. He’s a good laugh. I’ll be sure to put him in my room where he can watch over me and the door simultaneously, one eye on each.”

“Probably’ll give you nightmares,” Lila teased.

“Not that that’s anything new,” Asher replied plainly.

“Pardon?” Lila asked, her eyes glued to his. He looked slightly awkward now as he tore his eyes away.

“Just making a silly joke,” he said, his smile fading. He patted the top of the Charmander in his bag. “Where to next?”

They continued to wander throughout the shopping centre, stopping at various stores and showing each other all sorts of weird and wacky items. Eventually, they found themselves inside the bustling Kmart. Kmart was always an overwhelming experience, what with its immense variety and generally cheap prices. They spent some time looking at the homewares, which featured some interestingly bulbous lamps, before deciding to get some food.

“Anywhere you wanna go?” Asher queried, walking backwards ahead of her.

“Not particularly,” Lila mused.

“In that case, let’s go to a place that makes everything you could ever want,” Asher grinned down at her, his eyes filled with excitement at the prospect. “I know the perfect spot.”

As the words left his lips, he froze in place, looking behind Lila’s shoulder. His face looked stuck in surprise. Dread filling her heart, she thought he’d found Piper stalking them.

But, once she whirled around, she saw it was someone much worse than Piper.

Holly. She was unmistakable – her flaxen hair cascaded down her shoulders in loose, perfectly formed curls, her beautiful face rosy with elation and perhaps something else, with her belly beginning to show the secret that had destroyed Asher only months prior. She was holding hands with someone entirely unfamiliar to Lila. At a guess, he looked more like a Grade 12 boy, or perhaps even slightly older, and was as tall as Asher, if not taller, with curly black hair, a strong, square jaw, and rectangular glasses. His face looked both kind and entirely enraptured by Holly’s beauty. Neither seemed to have noticed Asher or Lila standing just metres from them.

As soon as Lila registered what she was looking at, she immediately turned back towards Asher. He still looked like a deer in the headlights and Lila, with no other alternative immediately available to her, looped her arm in his.

“S-Sushi!” Lila said hurriedly. “I feel like sushi.”

She dragged him to the side and he stumbled for a moment before finding his footing. ‘Everything was going so well,’ Lila thought, tears welling up behind her eyes. ‘Of course she had to show up and ruin everything again.’

Asher let himself be led to the nearest sushi store without a word of complaint or agreement. In fact, Lila wasn’t sure whether he was all there anymore. Had his soul been left behind where Holly was with her new boyfriend? Or was he perhaps an old boyfriend? The father of her baby?

Lila’s mind was reeling as they walked on, the once-noisy shopping centre suddenly seeming devoid of any sound at all. Was Asher okay? He was quiet, but at least he was falling into step with her…

She steadied her breathing, surveying the sushi rolls sitting neatly in the display. There was no use getting into a tizzy over this. It wouldn’t be helpful to Asher, who clearly needed time to process. So, for now, she should focus on what was within her means – food.

She gently let go of his arm and queued up for sushi. After a minute or so, Lila placed her order and grabbed the cardboard box containing her food, looking around to see where Asher had gone. It seemed that he was grabbing sushi too, though his box was far bigger than hers.

They wordlessly found a table in the packed food court and ate in total silence. Lila chanced a peek at him now and then, and his frown never faded. ‘So… he was bugged by her,’ Lila thought with a sigh after closing up her empty container. ‘Figures.’

There was no way she was going to ask Asher how he felt upon seeing Holly, or what he was thinking now. That would be a recipe for disaster – and she wasn’t too sure how she’d feel about his answers. Because… if he was still as cut up about it as he seemed, then the prospect of them dating slipped further and further away…

Feeling fidgety, she unearthed the dodgy-looking Charmander from the paper bag. Asher gave her a sideways glance but didn’t say anything as she continued to peer at it. It really did look too goofy to keep to themselves…

With another snicker, she took a picture of it and posted it to her Instagram story with the caption ‘A goofy boi for a goofy boi’ and a laughing emoji. She tagged the store where she had purchased it, looking with keen interest through the other recent posts with that tag. It seemed that a lot of people found strange knock-offs at that store and posted pictures for a laugh.

The distraction did well to keep her hands busy, though once she was done looking through those posts, her mind almost immediately went back to being troubled. Asher finished his fourth sushi roll soon after. He wiped his mouth with a napkin, looking ready to speak before jolting in his seat. Lila blinked at him as he pulled out his phone. He looked down at it and back up at Lila, his eyes seeming wary.

“Photos are ready,” he said quietly. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Lila confirmed, standing up and collecting their rubbish. “Let’s go.”

Whatever Asher might have been about to say, he didn’t enlighten her with it as they walked to the camera store far more subdued than on their first visit.

“Hey, hey,” Max’s voice called out to them as soon as they crossed the threshold. He seemed entirely pleased to see them, grinning from ear to ear. “Your photos are done!”

“Thanks,” Asher replied with a tentative smile. Max’s energy appeared far beyond the usual customer service afforded to patrons as he bounded over to the back room.

They hung around the counter for not even a second when he returned, his exuberance still carrying through his steps.

“So,” he said as he placed the packet of photos on the counter, “you guys fans of QQ?”

“QQ?” Lila repeated blankly, glancing at Asher.

“You guys are Quacklings, right?” Max pressed, looking between them both.

“U-Uh, yep. We’re Quacklings,” Asher said clumsily. Max beamed, pointing at a pin on his lanyard. It looked like a red, plush crown with a yellow, fluffy duck sitting on the top, holding a sceptre that was tipped with what looked like a tiny gaming mouse.

“I got this bad boy the other day,” Max gushed, “I’m so glad Quack Queen’s doing merch now!”

“Gotta hand it to QQ,” Asher replied quickly, standing up straight. “I wanted to get some but I was on the fence since I didn’t know if I wanted to blow my savings on it.”

“Duuuude,” Max crowed, slapping both of his hands onto the counter. “You gotta, man! It’s all so cute and really high quality too. But I’m surprised, I thought you guys were super fans. Your photos looked like a perfect recreation of her streaming setup. The dedication to detail’s incredible.”

Streaming setup? They didn’t take any photos of a streaming setup… right?

Just as Lila was pondering this, Max flipped open the photo envelope. He pulled out the top photo and she was surprised to see that it wasn’t a photo at all – rather a list of the photos showcased in small squares on the left-hand side, and various numbers on the right. Max explained that this was essentially a receipt certifying all the photos that they printed.

“You guys are lucky,” Max commented, after Asher paid for the photos despite Lila’s attempt to thwart this using her own card, “sometimes the quality of the film in disposable cameras means that we can’t print everything. But none of them were write-offs.”

Lila hadn’t considered the possibility that they wouldn’t be able to get everything printed. The news that all was well with the prints relieved her – she wasn’t quite sure what they would’ve done if there were failures.

“See ya later, Quacklings,” Max said cheerily, waving as they departed. “Quackers!”

“Q-Quackers,” Asher responded hesitantly, seeming embarrassed.

They quickly shuffled out of the store, Asher tucking the envelope in the bag with his Charmander.

“That… was weird,” Lila mumbled to Asher. He nodded, his expression thoughtful.

“Is Marlene a streamer?” he wondered aloud to Lila.

“Surely not,” Lila replied. However, thinking about Max’s insistence that they were ‘super fans’ of the ‘Quack Queen’ made her consider the possibility. But when would Marlene even have the time?

“We’ll have to do some research,” Asher stated, scratching his chin. “Perhaps she’s a super fan, rather than QQ herself.”

They stood in the middle of the walkway for a few moments, Lila still considering the prospect of Marlene being a streamer within the recesses of her mind, before Asher spoke again.

“… Did you wanna do something else here, or head home?”

“I think heading back would be a good idea,” Lila said. “Now that we’ve printed the photos, we should think about how we want to go through them.”

“Good idea. Let’s see if Gabriel can pick us up,” Asher suggested, taking out his phone. He stared at it for a moment before sighing heavily. “Here goes…”

He started pacing as he held his phone to his ear. In a low whisper, he asked whether Gabriel could pick them up and it seemed as though Gabriel agreed because Asher shoved his phone back into his pocket only a few seconds later.

“He’ll be here soon,” Asher said, looking tense at the idea.

“So, what happened with Gabriel this morning anyway?” Lila queried, her eyes fixated on Asher’s face, which twisted into a guilty look.

“I… talked to him, like you suggested. About us. Uh, he got really mad.”

“Why’d he get mad?”

Asher paused. “He… well… I told him that you confessed. And that I laughed at you. And before I could get to the ‘why’, he started yelling at me about having poor manners, and asking why I’d turn you down like that since you’re great and I’ve liked you for ages. Eventually, I managed to explain all that, and he still seemed mad but gave me some advice. Then… I told him that you’re staying over, and then he got super angry at me. Chased me out the house.”

“I still can’t imagine Gabriel yelling,” Lila said softly. “Sorry you had to be subjected to that. Did it help?”

“Surprisingly, being yelled at did help,” Asher replied, avoiding her eyes. “I just need some time to go through what he ended up saying… when he wasn’t yelling at me. People don’t really yell at me, so it took me by surprise. Might’ve been just what I needed.”

“I see.”

Of course, though Lila was hopeful from Asher’s comments, the fact that they saw Holly today still didn’t bode well…

They strolled towards the correct exit, pointing out various things here and there to one another, including spots to check out next time. They had a spare minute or two, so they both elected to get Boost smoothies for the ride home. It was a perfect addition to their trip to the shopping centre.

As Lila sucked on her mango smoothie, looking over at a clothing store, Asher flung an arm out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

“Wh-”

Lila’s attempted question was quickly cut off by the appearance of Piper emerging from a crowd of teenagers, looking directly at Asher. Whilst Piper’s mere presence was disturbing enough, her general appearance was even more so. Her straggly brown hair was tangled with various tiny leaves and twigs and her face was flushed and sweaty. She looked much like she had the last time the three of them had PE together – worse for wear, and entirely like her existence was a struggle. Her clothes were covered in dirt – specifically concentrated on her stomach, and her laces were undone. Her eyes were wild and bulging, which Lila instantly likened to how they looked during their confrontation in the locker room in front of their cohort.

“Asher!” Piper shouted, clutching at her side. She raised an arm out as she staggered towards them. Had she been running?

As soon as Piper’s words reached their ears, Asher grabbed Lila by the wrist. He dragged her towards the exit almost at a run. Lila glanced behind them and saw that Piper’s expression looked crestfallen. She hadn’t spoken to either of them in many weeks, though if she had been hanging around the shops the last time Asher and Lila had been there, her stalking evidently hadn’t stopped. Why try and talk to them now?

“Asher, wait!” Piper’s voice broke as she tried to catch up to them, but Asher was faster – they swiftly exited out into the biting cold. Lila’s breath rose in a cloud before her as she tried to get her bearings. Would Piper keep following them?

Lila luckily didn’t have a chance to find out. As though it were an act of divine intervention itself, Gabriel’s car slowly rolled over the pedestrian crossing. Asher promptly let go of Lila’s wrist and flagged Gabriel down before he could go any further.

“Let’s go,” Asher urged, half-sprinting to Gabriel’s car. Lila followed at a similar pace and they both dived into it. A car behind them beeped behind them impatiently as they struggled to get their seatbelts on.

“Hel-” Gabriel attempted to greet them.

“Gabriel, that crazy bitch’s after us, please go,” Asher interrupted, his voice, though measured, still hinted at the panic he must’ve been feeling. Gabriel obliged, speeding off. Lila twisted around in the backseat, trying to see if Piper had followed them outside. Her breathing halted as she saw Piper running and waving after Gabriel’s car. Though she was curious about Piper’s motives in approaching them for once, she couldn’t blame Asher for wanting to get the hell out of there, what with how deranged Piper looked right now.

‘And especially after just seeing Holly… he probably doesn’t ever want to go back to the shops after all that,’ Lila thought, picking at her nails. Plus, he’d hardly wanted to talk to Lila after seeing Holly – there was no way he’d be interested in whatever Piper wanted to say.

With a heavy sigh, Lila settled back into the backseat of the car. While Gabriel and Asher would normally talk at least a little, usually with some mention of the next upcoming meal, this journey was deathly silent. Was Gabriel still mad at Asher? Should she say something? She was surprised that Gabriel hadn’t asked who ‘that crazy bitch’ was. Had Asher told him about Piper?

Squirming in her seat at the prospect of saying anything at this moment, Lila decided to instead ruminate on today’s encounters with Holly and Piper. She was glad that Holly hadn’t seen them – or, at least, didn’t seem to have seen them. She glanced uneasily at Asher in the front seat despite not being able to see much of him. Was he thinking about Holly now? Did seeing her set him back? He’d been incredibly quiet after seeing her, and the unbearable atmosphere in this car made Lila think that was very likely. After all, even though seeing Piper was freaky, especially because of her appearance and actions, he’d entirely forgotten about Piper back when he found out Holly had cheated on him…