She Will Always Hate Me

xii: couldn't blame the guinea pig

WARNING:
This story deals with some heavy topics i.e. mental health, depression, mentions of suicide, physical abuse, as well as eating disorders. Please read at your own risk.

"Yo, why're you so chipper?"

Pacifica looked up from her lunch tray, finding herself face-to-face with the red-headed menace —also known as Scarlett Valentino. It wasn't as though they were enemies, they just had their moments where they never got along. Those moments seemed to be getting more and more frequent.

"I didn't think I looked 'chipper'." Pacifica shrugged halfheartedly and pushed at her food absentmindedly with a fork.

"You're smiling." Scarlett pointed out, as if it were obvious and Pacifica was an idiot.

"Oh?" Pacifica blinked a few times, now staring completely at her lunch tray. "I guess smiling makes one assume that I'm happy."

"Well, it's also your body language." Scarlett plopped down across from Pacifica, elbows pressed against the table, no lunch tray in sight. "You're holding your head higher, your posture isn't slouched —it's more relaxed. My guess is something good happened to you."

Pacifica nodded a few times, completely agreeing with what Scarlett was saying. After all, it was mainly true. Pacifica was in higher spirits than she usually was. It had been a week since she had hung out with the enigma that was Dipper, and every time she thought about it, she couldn't help but smile.

Friend. He had called her a friend, Pacifica realized and it only made her smile more. She wasn't the best at making friends, her tendency to act overly-cheerful sometimes pushed more people away than it brought in. Her current friends she could count on one hand; coming to a short list of four people.

Five, she reminded herself as her smile grew. The mystery boy is your friend now.

"Care to tell the class?" Scarlett rolled her eyes, checking her nails absentmindedly, keeping one eye trained on Pacifica.

"Just a friend I made almost three weeks ago." Pacifica shrugged halfheartedly, like it wasn't a big deal. To Scarlett, it wouldn't seem like a big deal, but it meant so much more to Pacifica. Being an only child was so lonely sometimes.

"Oh." Scarlett said, rather plainly. "I suppose that's good for you."

"It's good for everyone." Pacifica argued back lightly. Pacifica knew that even Scarlett Valentino enjoyed the concept of having friends, yet consistently pushed herself into the loner position.

"Well, if that's all your gonna say, I've got some news, too." Scarlett shrugged and glanced to the spot next to her with a longing expression.

Pacifica knew it all too well. After all, that was Mabel's spot. Mabel Gleeful was Falls High's resident rich kid. She was beautiful, wicked smart, and yet she was friends with someone like Pacifica.

Mabel had been gone for about two weeks. She'd disappeared without a trace, as per usual, with no form of communication, nothing. It wasn't as though this was strange; both Pacifica and Scarlett had gotten used to it. Until Mabel mentioned that her 'disappearances' were because of her parents.

Pacifica had never been properly introduced to Mabel's parents, despite being one of Mabel's closest friends for years, yet she had seen them at school functions, sometimes. They were certainly something else. Pacifica understood difficult parents, considering her own, yet she thought Mabel's parents —at least the way they were described— were just beyond awful.