Spindle

Chapter 1: Dolly Chandler Does Not Like Soaps.

Lully Evity did not want (at all under any circumstances) to deliver a love note to her step-sister.

She shoved another handful of popcorn into her mouth and flicked the channel button on the remote, hoping that Days Of Our Lives was on so she could annoy Dolly with it. Her step-sister absolutely loathed the show, and it was because of this sole reason that Lully continued to watch it. However, unable to find it, she settled on watching General Hospital instead. Any kind of soap would get Dolly in a bad mood.

She licked the salty butter off her lips and shifted her leg, hearing the folded piece of green paper crunch in her pocket. It made her nose wrinkle. Stupid Jethro, she thought, pulling the note out. It was already worn from the three days it had spent in her jeans, from the number of times she'd opened it to read, and from the number of times she crumpled it up to throw out, but changed her mind.

Lully pulled the green paper out of its fold, reading the shifty penmanship for the eightieth time:

Dolly,

I know this is going to sound all weird and lame, but truth is, I really like you. I've liked you ever since you moved here and I first met you. I just never had the guts to tell you until now. You are the prettiest girl I've ever met, and the funniest, and sweetest. I really hope this letter isn't all for nothing.

- Jethro Davies

Jethro Davies. Lully's best friend. A not-altogether-unattractive boy (who was she kidding, the boy was pure gold) of seventeen, she'd been madly in love with him since she was seven. With his dark hair and bright blue eyes, she found him irresistable -- which was why she'd said yes when he asked if she'd deliver the note.

She'd never wanted to. Ever. Dolly was her rival, the girl who'd moved in four years ago and ruined everything. Blonde and stacked and eyes as purple as stones, she was just perfect. She was sweeter than candy on a stick, and boy did she know it. Jealous by nature, Lully hated her from the start.

And now Jethro Davies liked her. He'd told Lully three days ago, given her the note, and told her to give it to her step-sister. Their conversation went something like this:

Jethro: So you'll give it to her?

Lully: Yes.

Jethro: Really? God, that'd be so cool.

Lully: Uh-huh.

Jethro: Man, Lul, I don't think I've ever loved someone more than her.

Lully: Ah.

Jethro: She's the prettiest person I've ever met.

Lully: That's nice, Jeth.

It hadn't hurt Lully to much to hear him say those last words (she was lying, it hurt her a lot) and so she took the note and shoved it in her front left pocket, and it stayed there for three days, because she didn't want to admit that it wasn't her he loved.

"General Hospital?" came the voice of the sweet girl called Dolly. "Lully, sometimes I think you watch these soaps just to tease me," she laughed.

Lully laughed and went instantly back to her sullen self, pretending to be focused on the old TV screen. She refused to interract with the one who stole her love away from her.

He wasn't yours to lose, she reminded herself darkly.

"You okay?" Dolly asked, sitting down on the other side of the couch.

"I'm fine," Lully said, turning up the volume on the TV.

Dolly wasn't convinced. She took a handful of popcorn from the bowl beside her step-sister and sat back into the charcoal-colored leather. "Come on, Lul," she said, using Jethro's nickname for her.

The nickname made the hair on the back of the girl's neck stand on end. Lully took a deep breath, bit her thin lip, and angry stuffed another handful of popcorn in her mouth to keep herself from saying naughty and unforgiving words.

Dolly sat for a few minutes, watching her step-sister. She knew something was wrong (it was obvious, wasn't it, Lully's emotions were engraved metaphorically on her face and literally on her wrists) but she decided to leave it alone, instead channeling her focus to the TV. "Can we change it? I hate soaps."

The remote was thrown at her face as Lully got up to leave the room.

She'd go for a walk. A walk would cheer her up.